The present state of the Socinian controversy, and the doctrine of the Catholick fathers concerning a trinity in unity by William Sherlock ... Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707. 1698 Approx. 799 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 203 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2004-03 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A59853 Wing S3325 ESTC R8272 11902974 ocm 11902974 50623 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A59853) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 50623) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 512:7) The present state of the Socinian controversy, and the doctrine of the Catholick fathers concerning a trinity in unity by William Sherlock ... Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707. [12], 388 p. Printed for William Rogers ..., London : 1698. Errata: prelim. p. [12]. Reproduction of original in Union Theological Seminary Library, New York. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Socinianism. Trinity. 2003-11 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-12 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2004-01 Rina Kor Sampled and proofread 2004-01 Rina Kor Text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion THE PRESENT STATE OF THE Socinian Controversy , AND THE Doctrine of the Catholick Fathers Concerning A TRINITY in UNITY . By WILLIAM SHERLOCK , D. D. Dean of St. Paul's , Master of the Temple , and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY . LONDON : Printed for William Rogers , at the Sun against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet . MDCXC VIII . THE PREFACE . I Have little to say to the Reader , having sufficiently Explained the Design of this Treatise in the First Section . Those who remember how this Controversy has been of late managed , may possibly expect , what they will not find , some sharp Resentments of the Ill Usage I have met with , and as sharp Returns ; but I write not to Revenge my self , but to Explain and Vindicate the Truly Ancient , Catholick and Apostolick Faith of a Trinity in Unity , which requires a Composed and Sedate Mind both in the Writer and Reader . For this Reason I have thus long delayed the Publication of this Treatise , the greatest part of which was Printed Two Years since , that those who will ever grow Cool , might have time to recover their Temper : And did I not hope that the Publication of it at this time would tend more to quiet Mens Minds , to stop the Mouths of Hereticks , and to secure the Catholick Faith , than a Passive Silence , it should never see the Light , how much soever my own Reputation might suffer by it . But I persuade my self , That the Authority of the Catholick Church , and of the Catholick Fathers , is not at so low an Ebb , even in this Age , as to be easily despised ; and therefore their Explications , their Arguments , their Answers to the Objections of Hereticks , will have their due weight ; and I have not gone one step further . I appeal to the Catholick Fathers , and am contented to stand or fall by their Sentence . I have not wilfully misrepresented their Sense in any thing , and have taken all possible care not to mistake it ; and as far as Human Authority is concerned , here I must leave the matter , for I know of no further Appeal . The CONTENTS . CHAP. I. SECT . I. THE Present State of the Socinian Controversy ; and how to reduce the Dispute to the Original Question . Page 1. SECT . II. How to reduce this Dispute concerning the Trinity to Scripture-Terms . 4 The Form of Baptism the Rule and Standard of Faith. ibid. That these Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are more easily understood , and give us a truer Idea of a Trinity in Vnity , than any Artificial Terms . 5 , &c. SECT . III. That the Title of God attributed in Scripture distinctly to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , gives us the best Account of their Nature , and must determine the signification of Ecclesiastical Words . 12 This particularly Explained with respect to those Terms , Nature ▪ Essence , Substance , Hypostasis , Existence , Subsistence , Person , &c. 13 , &c. SECT . IV. These Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , prove the real distinction of Persons in the Trinity . 20 , &c. SECT . V. These Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , prove the Vnity , Sameness , Identity of Nature and Godhead , explained at large . 24 SECT . VI. Concerning the Vnity of God. 33 In what sense the Catholick Church believed in One God. ibid. Tritheism an old Sabellian and Arian Objection against the Trinity . 34 How answered by the Catholick Fathers . 37 , &c. CHAP. II. AN Examination of some Considerations concerning the Trinity . SECT . I. Concerning the Ways of managing this Controversy . 51 What Ways the Considerer dislikes . 52 , &c. What way he took , viz. consulting Scripture and Natural Sentiments . 56 SECT . II. Concerning the Traditionary Faith of the Church with respect to the Doctrine of the Trinity . 60 What the Catholick Church is , from whence we must receive this Traditionary Faith. ibid. What Evidence we have for this Tradition from the Ancient Heresies condemned by the Catholick Church . 64 Of what Authority the Traditionary Faith of the Catholick Church ought to be in expounding Scripture . 77 SECT . III. What is sufficient to be believed concerning the Trinity . 80 His Requisites to make it possible for us to believe a thing . 81 SECT . IV. Concerning his state of the Question , That One and the same God is Three different Persons . 84 His Examination of these Terms , God , Unity , Identity , Distinction , Number , and Person . And 1. Of the Notion of God. 86 SECT . V. His Notions and Ideas of Unity , Distinction , Person . His Sabellian Notion of a Person ; that there is but One single Person in the Trinity , as Person signifies properly , a particular Intelligent Being . 88 This he proves from his Notions of Vnity and Distinction ; the Vnity and Distinction of Ideas , of Principle , and of Position . 91 What he means by an obscure confused Knowledge , and a general confused Faith of the Trinity . 101 SECT . VI. What the Scripture requires us to believe concerning the Trinity . 103 His Sabellian Notion of One God , to be adored under Three different Titles and Characters . Ibid. His Scripture-proof of this Examin'd . 104 , &c. His attempt to reconcile this with God's being One and Three . 108 , &c. And with the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity . 113 His Account of the Vnion of God and Man. 115 What end the belief of the Trinity and Incarnation serve , not as a Matter of Faith and Speculation , but as an artificial representation of God's love to man. 120 CHAP. III. AN Account of the Sabellian Heresy , and by what Arguments the Catholick Fathers opposed it . 124 The several kinds of Sabellianism 1. Those who made Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , to be only Three names , appearances , and offices , of the same Person . And here the question was , not whether the Son was a Person , and the Holy Ghost a Person , but whether they were distinct Persons from the Father . 125 By what Arguments the Catholick Fathers opposed this Heresy . 127 2. That the Son is distinguished from the Father , only as a man's word is distinguished from himself . 133 And by what Arguments the Catholick Fathers opposed this Heresy . 134 3. Some made God a compound Being , and Father , Son , and Holy Ghost the Three Parts of this one God. 143 By what Arguments the Fathers opposed it . Ibid. CHAP. IV. COncerning the Homoousion , or One Substance of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost . 150 SECT . I. The true sense of the Homoousion , from those misrepresentations which were made of it , and the Answers which were given by the Nicene Fathers to such Objections . 152 SECT . II. Some Rules for Expounding the Homoousion . 158 SECT . III. What the Nicene Fathers meant by the Homoousion . 163 SECT . IV. A more particular Inquiry into the full signification of the Homoousion , with respect to the specifick Vnity of the Divine Nature . 170 SECT . V. That by the Homoousion the Nicene Fathers did not meerly understand a specifick , but a natural Vnity and Sameness of Substance between Father and Son. 180 Damascen's distinction between one in Notion , and one in reality . Ibid. This appears from their Notion of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 181 And the Catholick Fathers lay the foundation of this Sameness and Consubstantiality of Nature in the Eternal Generation of the Son of the Substance of the Father . 184 To which they added , That the Son receives his whole Substance from the whole Substance of the Father , totus ex toto . 186 Concerning this mysterious and ineffable Generation , Whole of Whole . 187 St. Austin teaches , That the Divine Nature and Essence must not be considered either as a Genus or Species , nor the Divine Persons as Individuals . 194 What Medium there is between the Vnity of Singularity , and a specifick Vnity of Nature . 195 The difference between Three Divine Persons , and Three Individual Human Persons . 199 SECT . VI. A more particular Inquiry what the Catholick Fathers meant by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Sameness and Identity of Substance in the Holy Trinity . 207 Petavius's attempt to prove , that both the Greek and Latin Fathers taught the Singularity of the Divine Nature . Ibid. His Notion of Singularity Considered . 208 His Apology for the Fathers , who , as he says , taught a specifick Vnity , rejected . 211 His Authorities for the Singularity of the Divine Nature Examined . 213 By the Sameness and Identity of Nature the Fathers did not mean Singularity , but such a Sameness as is between Three real subsisting Persons , without the least Change and Variation . 217 That the Fathers resolved the Vnity of God into this Sameness and Identity of Nature . 221 Some Examples in Nature of the distinction betweeen alius and aliud . 227 How the Fathers proved the Vnity of God in opposition to Polytheism from the Sameness and Identity of Nature . 230 That these Arguments do not conclude against a Trinity of Divine Persons . 232 Gregory Nyssen vindicated from Tritheism , and his Answer to Ablabius Explained . 236 The Philosophy of the Ancients about Numbers . 243 The distinction between the Vnity of Number and the Vnity of Nature opposed to the Charge of Tritheism , and a Confutation of a Sabellian Singularity . 246 In what sense the Schools asserted the Singularity of the Divine Substan●e . 248 SECT . VII . Concerning the Distinction of Persons in the Vnity and Identity of the Div●ne Essence . The general Account of this . 254 That both the Fathers and Schools , by a Divine Person understood the Divine Essence and Substance , and nothing else . 260 This proved from that Ambiguity with which the Fathers are charged in the use of these Terms , Essence , Nature , Substance , Hypostasis , &c. 261 That these Terms , Essence , &c. are distinctly applied to each Person of the Holy Trinity . 264 And all those Terms , which are more peculiarly appropriated to signify the Divine Persons , were always used by Catholick Writers in the Notion of Substance , and never thought Catholick in any other sense , as Person , Hypostasis , Suppositum , &c. 265 That a Divine Person is nothing else but the Divine Nature , proved from the Absolute Simplicity of the Divine Nature , which admits of no Composition , as both Fathers and Schoolmen own . 272 According to the Doctrine , both of Fathers and Schools , the Divine Essence and Substance , as subsisting distinctly in Three , is proper and peculiar to each , and incommunicable to one another . 273 Whether the Divine Essence either begets , or is begotten , and how the Fathers and Schools may be reconciled . 274 SECT . VIII . Concerning the Divine Relations . 281 The true Notion of Relative Substances , or Subsisting Relations , explained from the Doctrine of the Schools . Ibid. These Divine Relations secure the perfect Vnity of the Divine Essence . 287 What is meant by an Absolute Substance , and what by Relative Substance . Ibid. This applied to the Doctrine of the Trinity . 288 Three Absolute Substances are always distinctly and separately Three ; Three Relative Substances may be essentially One in the same One Individual Nature . 289 This account the Fathers give of the Vnity of the Divine Essence . 290 Concerning the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that they do not signify Personal Relative Substances , but singular Absolute Substances . 293 The Divine Relations prove the Sameness and Identity of Nature in Three . 298 These Divine Relations give us an intelligible Notion of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the inseparable Vnion of the Divine Persons , and their mutual 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inexistence in each other . 300 This mutual inbeing , can be understood only between the Relatives of the same Individual Essence and Substance . 305 And this gives an Account of the Vnity of Operation . 308 Concerning the Mutual Consciousness of the Divine Persons . 313 The Doctrine of Relations necessary to give us a sensible Notion of a Trinity in Vnity . 326 SECT . IX . A more particular Inquiry into the difference between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Nature and Person , with an Account of some Catholick Forms of Speech , relating to the ever Blessed Trinity . 334 The Faith , and the Philosophy of the Ancients of a different Consideration . Ibid. All the Heresies relating to the Doctrine of the Trinity and Incarnation attributed to this one mistake , that Essence and Hypostasis are the same . 336 This by some charg'd upon Aristotle's Notion of a first Substance . Ibid. The Distinction of Nature and Person in Creatures considered 338 Aristotle's first Substance , and what the Fathers call Hypostasis , is in Creatures the same thing . 339 What the Fathers mean by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in every Hypostasis . 340 No real difference between Aristotle and the Fathers in this Matter . Ibid. The Fathers by a Common Nature did not mean One Numerical Subsisting Nature common to all the Individuals . 341 For what reason they reject 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a particular singular Nature . 343 Hypostasis is Nature with its peculiar Accidents subsisting by it self ; that these Accidents and Personal Properties do not make , but only distinguish Persons . 345 The Hypostasis or Person is the common Nature subsisting by it self . This proved from the Humanity of our Saviour . 346 How improper all these Terms are to explain the Trinity in Vnity . 350 How the Catholick Fathers accommodated these Names of Essence and Person to the Explication of this Mystery . 352 The Common Nature , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One Divinity , is the Divinity of the Father , common to the Son , and Spirit , by a perfect Communication , whole of whole . 354 The true Notion of One Individual Nature . Ibid. Essential Internal Productions are in the Individual Vnity of Nature . 356 The Distinction between Nature and Persons , for that is the true State of the Question , not how Nature and Person is distinguished in each Single Divine Person ; but how One Individual Nature is distinguished from Three Persons in the Individual Vnity of Nature . 360 The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 explained . 362 This applied at large for the Explication and Vindication of several Catholick Forms of Speech concerning the Trinity in Vnity . 365 , &c. The Conclusion , with a short Application to the Socinians . 385 ERRATA . PAge 6. l. 31. d. all . p. 9. marg . r. quae . p. 15. l. 3. r. enow . p 86. l. 8 , 9. r expressions . p. 180. l. 23. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. 165. l. 17. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. 188. l. 16. marg . r. ex i●demutabilis . p. 208. l. 24. Identity , p. 216. l. 5. ● . Man's r. Man. p. 225. l. 34. marg . r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. 230. l. 2. r. Identity . p. 236. l. 14. marg . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 245. l. 10. r. an Angel. p. 304. l. 2. marg . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. 322. l. 12. de Trin. l. 2. marg l. 15. de Trin. l. 7. & l. 32 videri . p. 347. l. 14. r. his . p. 349. l. 12 , 13. r. where-ever . p 350 marg . l. 8. r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . The Curious Reader may observe ●ome other Mistakes , which I hope will not disturb the Sense . THE PRESENT STATE OF THE SOCINIAN Controversy . CHAP. I. SECT . I. The Present State of the Socinian Controversy ; the unreasonableness of it ; and how to reduce the Dispute to the Original Question . THE Faith of the Holy Trinity is so fundamental to the Christian Religion , that if Christianity be worth contending for ▪ That is : For if God have not an Eternal Son , and an Eternal Spirit , the whole Mystery of our Redemption by Christ , and of our Sanctification by the Spirit , which in its Consequences is the whole of the Gospel , and distinguishes it from all other Religions , is utterly lost . Those various Heresies relating to the Divinity , Person and Offices of Christ and the Holy Spirit , which began to appear even in the Apostolick Age , and have ever since under several forms and disguises disturbed the Peace of the Church , is proof enough , how much the great Enemy of Mankind thinks himself concerned by all possible means to corrupt this Faith ; and that great , unwearied , unconquerable Zeal , wherewith the Catholick Fathers have always defended this Faith , shews of what importance they thought it ; and therefore it is no wonder , and ought to give no scandal to Christians , that these Disputes are again revived among us with as much fury and insolence as ever ; for there never was a more unhappy Season for the Enemy to sow his Tares . But that which is most to be lamented is , That the lukewarmness of some , and the intemperate Zeal of others , have given greater scandal to the World , and more shaken the Faith of Christians , than all the Opposition of our Adversaries could have done . I need say no more , the Case is too well known , and the Evil Effects too visible among us . I will make no new Quarrels , if I can help it , but sincerely endeavour to prevent the Mischiefs of what has already happened , as far as is nec●ssary to secure the Faith of Christians , and to wrest those Weapons out of our Enemies hands , which some professed Friends have unwarily furnished them with . To do this , I shall endeavour in the first place to restore this Controversie to its original state , and take off those Vizards which make it appear very frightful to ordinary Christians . This Dispute about the Holy and ever Blessed Trinity , has of late been dressed up anew with some old School-Terms , which how proper soever they may be to give Learned Men a more distinct Idea and Conception of that Adorable Mystery , only amuse common Christians , and confound them , instead of teaching them better . This , as it was at first occasioned by Hereticks , who denied or corrupted the Christian Faith , which forced the Catholick Fathers to use some unscriptural Term● , which by degrees improved into great Subtilties , and disturbed the Church with very nice and wrangling Disputes ; so our Modern Socinians at this day place the main strength of their Cause in these Disputes , and think it a sufficient Confutation of the Faith of the Ever Blessed Trinity , that the Trinitarians themselves cannot agree about the Sense of Person , Hypostasis , Substance , Nature , Essence , nor in what Sense God is One and Three ; but advance very different , and , as they think , contrary Hypotheses , to reconcile the Unity of God with the distinction of Three Persons in the Godhead . As if there were no difference between what is fundamental in this Faith , and such Metaphysical Speculations : As if no man could believe in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , without determining all the Disputes of the Schools . Learned men may dispute these matters , and things may so happen as to make such Disputes necessary ; but the Faith of Christians may be secured , and Heresies may be confuted , without them . The Faith is plain and certain , even all that is necessary to the purposes of Religion ; but men may leap out of their depths , where they can find no footing ; and when such Questions are asked , as no man can certainly answer , it is very likely , that they will be answered very different ways , and upon very different Hypotheses ; and there is no great hurt in this neither , while these different Hypotheses are neither made new Articles of Faith , nor new Heresies , but serve only for Hypotheses , to give a probable Answer to such Questions as ought never to have been asked ; and to stop the mouths of Hereticks , when they charge the Catholick Faith with Nonsense and Contradiction . To distinguish rightly between these two , will set this Controversy upon its true ancient bottom ; which will spoil the Triumph of our Adversaries , and possibly may rectify the Mistakes , and allay and qualify the intemperate Heats and Animosities of those whom a common Faith ought to make Friends . SECT . II. How to reduce this Dispute concerning the Trinity , to Scripture Terms . THE Catholick Fathers have always appealed to the Form of Baptism as the Rule and Standard of Faith ; that as we are baptized , so we must believe , In the Name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost . This is a plain simple Faith , which every Christian may understand , and which every Christian must profess , That there is an Eternal Father , who has an Eternal Son , and an Eternal Spirit , of the same Nature ▪ and inseparably united to himself ; and that this Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are the joint Object of the Christian Faith and Worship . This is the true Christian Faith , and this is all that we are concerned to defend against our Adversaries ; and would men stick to this , without engaging in Philosophical Disputes , which we know little or nothing of , and which the Scripture takes no notice of , we should soon find how weak and impotent all the Attempts of Hereticks would prove . Whatever Disputes there are about the signification of those words Nature , Essence , Substance , Person , Hypostasis , Subsistences , Relations , &c. there is no Dispute about the signification of Father , Son , and Holy Spirit ; we have natural Idea's belong to these words , when applied to Creatures ; and when God is pleased in Scripture to represent himself to us under th●se Characters , if we must understand any thing by them , we can understand nothing else , but what the words signify all the World over : only allowing for that infinite distance there is between God and Creatures , which requires us to abstract from all material and creature imperfections . We must not think that God begets a Son as men do , by corporeal passions , or division of his substance ; or that he begets a Son without himself , or separate from himself ▪ or that because a Creature-father is always older than his Son , therefore God can't beget a Son co●ternal with himself ; for all these Circumstances do not belong to the essential Notion of a Father , but of a Creature-father : But then it is essential to the Notion both of Father and Son , that the Father communicates his own Nature to the Son , and that the Son receives his Nature and Being from his Father ; that Father and Son do truly and really subsist by themselves , though they may be , and when we speak of God the Father and his Son , are inseparably united to each other : that the Son , with respect to his Nature , is perfectly the same that his Father is : the son of a man , as true and perfect Man as his Father is ; and therefore the Son of God , as true and perfect God. By these Arguments the Catholick Fathers confuted both the Sabellians , who made Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , but Three Names ; and the Arians , who denied the Consubstantiality of the Son , or that he had the same Nature with his Father , For both these Heresies destroy'd the essential Notion and Idea of Father and Son ; which includes in it both a real distinction and sameness of Nature ; that they are as really Two , but infinitely more one and the same , than any other Father and Son in Nature are . Now I cannot see , but that as these Names and Characters are better understood , and liable to less dispute ; so they convey to our Minds a more distinct conception of God the Father and his Eternal Son , than any other artificial Terms . Were there no Controversy about Nature , Essence , Person , Substance , Hypostasis , yet they immediately convey no Idea of God the Father and his Eternal Son to my mind , much less give me a more distinct Conception , than these Terms Father and Son do : For they neither acquaint me what God is , nor what Father and Son is ; and as the Schools themselves assert , cannot be Univocally , or in the same sense spoken of Creatures and of God , who is Super-Essential , above all Praedicaments and Terms of Art ; that is , Nature , Essence , Substance , Hypostasis , Person , do not , and cannot signify the same thing , when spoken of God , as when applied to Creatures . And this has occasioned all those Disputes concerning the Use and Signification of these words , when applied to God ; which indeed is no reason for wholly discarding these Terms , which the Perverseness and Importunity of Hereticks has forced the Church to use , and which have now been so long used , that the Ecclesiastical Sense of these Words is very well known to Learned men , if they would be contented to use them in that Received Ecclesiastical Sense in which the Catholick Fathers have always used them ; but yet it is a reason not to clog the Faith of ordinary Christians with them , who are not skilled in Metaphysical and Abstracted Notions ; and it is a reason to reduce the Controversy , as much as possibly we can , to Scripture Terms ; when these Artificial and Metaphysical Terms divide even the Professors of the Catholick Faith , and give too just occasion to the vain Boasts and Triumphs of Hereticks . To represent this matter plainly , I observe , That all all those Unscriptural Terms which the Catholick Fathers made use of for the Explication of this Adorable Mystery , were intended for no other purpose , but to give us some distinct Ideas and Conceptions of what the Scripture teaches concerning the Father , the Son , and the Holy Ghost , by using such Terms as signify something in Creatures , which bears some , though a very imperfect , anology and resemblance to what we are to conceive of God. And therefore the Fathers justifie the use of such words , by shewing , That all they mean by them is contained in Scripture , and reject any Words , and any such Sense of Artificial Words , as cannot be justified by Scripture : Which , by the way , is a more infallible Rule than all Metaphysical Subtleties , to find out in what sense the Fathers used such Words , by observing to what Scripture-Notions they apply them , and how they justifie their use from Scripture , when they are Disputed . If this be the truth of the Case , as it certainly is , then the Catholick Faith does not depend upon the use of these Terms , for it was before them ; for they were intended only to explain and illustrate the Catholick Faith , and to comprise Scripture-Notions in Terms of Art , which must be acknowledged to be of great use , and was by experience found to be so in the Disputes with ancient Hereticks , while the Fathers agreed in the sense of these Terms . But when these Terms themselves are become the great matter of Dispute ; and men who , as is to be hoped , agree in the Catholick Faith , cannot agree about the Propriety and Signification of such Terms , nor how they are to be applied and used , whether in the singular or plural Number , whether substantively or adjectively , in recto or obliquo ; and our Adversaries abuse such Disputes to the Reproach of the Catholick Faith , as a perplex'd , uncertain , contradictious Riddle and Mystery , which men can know nothing of , or can never agree in ; it becomes absolutely necessary at present to take this Controversy out of Terms of Art , and to let our Adversaries see , That our Controversy with them is not concerned in these Disputes : That it is not about the Signification and Use of such words as Essence , Nature , Substance , Person , &c. but , Whether the Supreme , Eternal , Self-originated Father , have not an Eternal Son , eternally begotten of himself , and an Eternal Spirit , the Spirit of the Father and of the Son , eternally proceeding from them : And whether this Eternal Son , and Eternal Spirit , are not True and Perfect God. In this all sincere Trinitarians do heartily agree with each other , and are ready to join issue upon this State of the Controversy , with all their Adversaries , of what denomination soever . And if we can prove from Scripture , That God has an Eternal Son begotten of himself , and that this Eternal Son is True and Perfect God , as the Father is ; and that the Father and Son have an Eternal Spirit , who is True and Perfect God , as Father and Son is ; I hope this is a sufficient Confutation of Socinianism ; and yet all this may be proved , without concerning our selves in any Metaphysical Disputes : And therefore such Disputes as these , though they give opportunity to our Adversaries to make some Flourishes , and to cast Mists before peoples eyes , are not of that moment as they would represent them ; they neither prove Socinianism to be true , nor the Catholick Faith of the Trinity to be false or uncertain . I do not intend at present to dispute this Point with the Socinians , Whether the Son and the Holy Spirit ( for there is no dispute about the Father ) be not each of them True and Perfect God : This has been proved often enough already , to the satisfaction of all sober Enquirers , who pay a just Veneration to Scripture ; and shall be done again , when a fair occasion offers : But the Question under Debate now is , Whether we cannot explain and defend the Doctrine of the Trinity , without the use of Ecclesiastical or Scholastick Terms ; and whether the Disputes of Divines about the Use and Signification of such Terms , proves any D●sagreement in the Faith , when they all consent to the Scripture Explications of it . The great Dispute is about the Distinction and Unity of the Godhead , and by what Terms to express this Wonderful Distinction , and Wonderful Vnion , as some of the Fathers call it . All sincere Trinitarians do agree , That God is Vnus & Trinus , One and Three ; but we having nothing in Nature like this , we know not by what Names to call it : Those who have most critically examined the force of words , find them all upon some account or other defective , or improper for this purpose : That St. Austin well said , That in these Sublime Mysteries we can no more express what we conceive of them in Words , than we can conceive of them as they are . When we profess to believe that there are Three in the Unity of the Godhead the next question is , What Three they are ? That is , By what common Name to call them , which may be multiplied with them , or spoken of them in the Plural Number ; which St. Austin thinks not easily found . The Greeks called them Three Hypostases , which signifies Three Individual Substances : This seemed hard to the Latins , who acknowledged but One Substance in the Godhead , and therefore they called them Three Persons ; though this did not satisfy St. Austin , who looked upon Person as an Absolute , not a Relative Term , and therefore the Plural Predications would not agree with his Rule , quae ad se dicuntur ; that what is predicated absolutely , must be predicated only in the Singular Number : And in truth , if this be a good Rule , it is a demonstration that there can be no common Name for these Three ; for whatever is a common Name for them all , must be absolutely predicated of each of them : And therefore St. Austin could give no other reason why we say Three Persons , and not Three Essences , or Three Gods , but only this , That since we acknowledge there are Three , it is fitting to agree upon some common Name to denote the Trinity by ; and Ecclesiastical Use had given this Signification to the word Person . But then besides this , the great Dispute is , What is meant by a Person , when applied to the Three in the Blessed Trinity : Some adhere to the old approved Definition of a Person , That it is the Individual Substance of a Rational Nature ; which is the very definition of the Greek Hypostasis , as Boetius owns . Others are afraid of this ; for if every Person be an Individual Substance , and there are Three Persons , they know not how to avoid the Consequence , That then there are Three Individual Substances in the Trinity . And consequently , since we can have no other Notion of the Divine Substance , but Infinite Mind and Spirit , there must be Three Infinite Minds and Spirits in the Godhead , which they think infers Three Gods. And therefore they will not allow a Person to be a Substance , at least not an Individual Substance , but a Mode , or at most a Mode of Subsistence , or Relation , or Property , or a Person , in the Tragedian or Comedian sense of a Person , as one represents and personates another ; or to signify an Office or Magistracy , and so one man may be as many several Persons as he has Offices . I can't answer for all these different significations of the word Person , as applied to this Sacred Mystery , especially as they are used by some Modern Writers ; for I believe there is no such material difference between the Fathers and the Schools , as some men imagine ; of which more hereafter : But as to my present purpose , I must profess , I can see no necessity why we must find out a Common Name for the Three in the Blessed Trinity , when the Scripture has given us no Common Name for them ; much less why we should dispute eternally about the propriety and use of such words , to hazard the Catholick Faith , at least the Honour and Reputation of it , together with the Peace of the Church . If I am asked not only Who but What the Three in the Ever-blessed Trinity are ? I know no better Answer to make , than what the Scripture has taught me , That they are God the Father , God the Son , and God the Holy Ghost ; which signifies all that can be express'd by any Artificial and Unscriptural words ; is an Answer liable to no Exceptions or Misrepresentations , and in which all must agree , who believe a Trinity ; and it shames and silences all those Disputes which are often occasioned by other words , though never so wisely and reasonably chosen . This Answer shews us what their Nature is , what their Distinction is , and what Relation they stand in to each other ; which is the most perfect knowledge we can have of the Ever-blessed Trinity in this world . SECT . III. That the Title of GOD , attributed in Scripture distinctly to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , gives us the best Account of their Nature , and must determine the Signification of Ecclesiastical Words . 1. AS for the first , the design of some common Name for these Three , is to form some common Notion and Idea of them , in which they all agree : And is any thing else so common to them ? Is there any thing else which is common to them , but the Name and Nature of God ? Can any thing else give us so true and perfect a Character and Idea of each of them , as this does ? When we say the Father is God , the Son is God , the Holy Ghost is God , we attribute every thing to each of them , which signifies any Perfection ; for the Idea of God comprehends all possible Perfections : And we reject every thing which has the least signification of Imperfection ; we abstract our minds from all Material and Creature-Images , which Names common to Creatures are apt to impose upon us ; and when we are forced to apply any such Names to God , we learn from hence in what Notion to understand such Words , when applied to God. Men may very subtilly distinguish between the formal Conceptions of Nature , Essence , Substance , Hypostasis , Existence , Subsistence , Person , Personality , Suppositality , and the like , and neither understand God nor Creatures much the better for it : But let them but tell us what they mean by these Terms , and then every Child can tell whether they belong to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , or not : For as far as they are included in the Notion of God , and signify true Divine Perfections , so far they belong to all Three : For if the Father be God , the Son God , and the Holy Ghost God , then Father , Son and Holy Ghost , each of them by themselves are whatever is included in the Notion and Idea of God , excepting their Relations of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , whereby they are distinguished into Three . As for Example : If by Nature , Essence , Substance , Existence , Subsistence , however they may differ in their formal Conceptions , they only mean a true and real Being , who actually , perfectly , compleatly is what it is ; God is Essence , Substance , Subsistence , in the most perfect sense of all ; for he is All Being ; his Name is Iehovah ; which as Learned Men most probably conclude , signifies a Plenitude and Perfection of Being , which is such a Perfection as includes all other Perfections in it ; for Perfect Being is every thing which perfectly is . This is the peculiar Name and essential Character of God , and of God only : God is , that is , is Eternal , Essential , Immutable Life and Being ; in which sense the Apostle tells us , That He only has Immortality . Creatures are , but are not Essential Life and Being : Being is not included in the formal Conception or Definition of any Created Nature . Man is a Reasonable Creature , was a true Definition of Human Nature , before any man was created ; and would be so for ever , though all mankind were annihilated . And therefore we may reasonably enough in Creatures distinguish between Nature , Substance , Existence , Subsistence ; if by Nature we understand that Idea or Pattern according to which they are made ; and by Substance , that which is made , whatever it is , whether Matter or Spirit , which is the Subject of those Moral or Natural Perfections which belong to the Idea of such a Creature ; and by Existence and Subsistence , their actual Being which they receive from their Maker , with regard to their compleat or incompleat manner of Existence . But now we can form no Idea of God without perfect life and being ; for whatever else , according to our imperf●ct manner of conceiving , is contained in the Idea of God , is nonsense and contradiction without it : Infinite Wisdom , Infinite Power , and Infinite Goodness , is the Idea of nothing , without Eternal and Necessary Being ; and an Infinitely Perfect Nothing is a contradiction in the very Notion . But Infinite , Perfect , Life , and Being , includes all other Perfections , and is the most simple and comprehensive Idea of God ; for whatever perfectly is , is whatever is any real Perfection . So that there is no foundation , nor any occasion , for such Distinctions , of Essence , Nature , Substance , Existence , Subsistence , in God ; for his Essence , Nature , Substance , is his Being ; and his Being is perfect Existence and Subsistence . These Terms differ in their formal Conceptions , when applied to Creatures ; but in essential Life and Being , these cannot be formally distinguished ; for we cannot conceive Existence or Subsistence , as superadded to Nature , as we do in Creatures ; because Necessary Essential Being , is the Divine Nature : Nor can we distinguish between Essence , Nature , and Substance , because there is no distinction in God between the Subject , and its Faculties and Powers , which is the Foundation of that distinction in Creatures . Men , who do not love to use words without any Notion belonging to them , find themselves extremely puzzled to fit any distinct Ideas to these words when applied to God. When the Fathers and Schoolmen apply these Terms to God , they take care to shew how differently they are used when applied to God , from what they signifie when applied to Creatures : They assert the most absolute simplicity of the Divine Nature without the least composition , and indeed expound all these Terms to the sense of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & Esse , to signify the most Absolute Being , or the most Perfect Is , the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , who is Simple , Perfect Existence : One. St. Austin , whose Authority is sacred in the Schools , will furnish us with sayings enough to this purpose . Nothing is more certain with him , than that in God , to Be , to Live , to Understand , or whatever else we can attribute to God , is all the same , is Perfect Being , or Essence : And therefore he owns the impropriety of those Terms , Substance , and Subsistence , when applied to God. But notwithstanding this , that God is the most Pure Simple Being , without any imaginable composition , yet since we cannot comprize all that is necessary for us to know of God , in one simple uncompounded thought , we must unavoidably conceive the Idea of God by Parts , under different formal Conceptions , such as his Wisdom , his Power , his Goodness , his Truth and Faithfulfulness , &c. for such distinct representations as these , God makes of himself in the Holy Scriptures ; they are what we can distinctly apprehend , and are absolutely necessary for the Government of our lives , and to know what we are to expect from God. But such distinctions as we can frame no distinct conceptions of , as are apt to corrupt our Notions of God with corporeal Representations , and perplex our Minds with endless and inextricable difficulties , ought to be cautiously used , and carefully explained , to prevent all mistakes , and to reduce them to such plain and simple Notions , as come nearest to the absolute simplicity of the Divine Essence . And now , I suppose , it will admit of no dispute , Whether the Father , who is God , be Essence , Substance , Subsistence ; or whether the Son , who is God , be Essence , Substance , Subsistence ; and so in like manner the Holy Ghost . For this signifies no more than To Be in the most perfect and absolute sense of Being , which is the first and most simple Idea of God , Absolute Essence and Being . So that if the Father is , the Son is , and the Holy Ghost is ; each of them is Essence , Substance , Subsistence , in the most Perfect and Absolute sense of these Terms : For if each of them is , and each of them is God ; each of them is , only in that Notion of Being , which is included in the Idea of God , which contains the most absolute Perfection of Being ; that is , all that is absolutely Perfect . And will any Trinitarian deny , That the Father is , the Son is , and the Holy Ghost is ? And then I know not what other Dispute there can be about this matter ; if the Father be God , the Son God , and the Holy Ghost God , then the Father is , the Son is , and the Holy Ghost is , in the most Perfect Notion of Being , and that is all that is meant by Essence , Substance , Subsistence , when spoken of God. In the same manner we may examine the signification of the word Person , which has occasioned no small Dispute . We say that there are Three Persons in the Godhead , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; and each of these Divine Persons is in himself True and Perfect God. Now if we must call these Divine Three , Three Persons , ( which long Use and Custom has made Reasonable , and in some measure Necessary ) the most certain way to determine the signification of Person , when applied to God , is to consider in what sense one who is True and Perfect God , may be called a Person ; for GOD is the Scripture Name and Character which is distinctly attributed to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; and therefore that must give the Signification to all other words of Human Use and Institution , as far as relates to this Mystery . These words Person and Hypostasis , were very anciently used , without any Definition to determine their Signification , till they became matter of dispute . Boetius has given us a definition of Person ; which has been generally allowed of ever since , that a Person is an individual Substance of a rational Nature . Let us then examine whether this definition can belong to a Divine Person , to one who is True and Perfect God. As for Substance , Boetius tells us , That it is essential to the Notion of Person ; for a Person cannot subsist in Accidents , ( much less in Modes , which are less than Accidents ) ; and it is certain no other Notion of Person can belong to one who is God : For a Person who is God , must be Substance in the most Perfect and Absolute sense ; that is , as I have already explained it , Perfect Being and Essence : As St. Austin expresly tells us , That in God , to Be , and to be a Person , is the same thing ; and that when we say the Person of the Father , we mean nothing else but the Substance of the Father ; and thus it is with respect to the whole Trinity . It is certain St. Austin never dream'd of defining a Person , much less a Divine Person , by a Mode : For to make a Person , who is God , and therefore the most Perfect Being , a Mode , which if it be any thing , is next to nothing , no Substance , but a meer Modification of Substance , is both new Divinity , and new Philosophy , unknown either to Fathers or Schoolmen . But meer Substance can't make a Person , unless it be a Living , Understanding Substance , the Substance of a rational Nature : And this must be the Notion of a Person , when applied to God ; for God is Pure Infinite Mind and Intellect , the First and Supreme Life and Intellect ; in whom , to Live , to Understand , and to Be , is the same thing ; as I observed before from St. Austin ; and if a Divine Person signifies One who is God , every Person in the Godhead is Supreme Absolute Life and Intellect : And this is what we must understand by a Person , when we say , That the Father is a Person , the Son a Person , and the Holy Ghost a Person ; for no other Notion of a Person can belong to any one , who is True and Perfect God. There is another Term of great consideration in this definition , which still remains to be Explained , and that is Individual , That a Person is an Individual Substance of a Rational Nature ; which Boetius opposes to Vniversal Substances , which are nothing else but the abstracted Notions of generical or specifick Substances ; which have no real and actual Subsistence , and therefore are not properly Substances , but only the Ideas of Substances , and therefore are not Persons neither ; for Substance and Person are only in Singulars and Individuals , which Subsist by themselves . Thus Human Nature considered in general as common to all Mankind , has no actual Subsistence , and therefore is not a Human Person , but it subsists only in particular Men , and that makes every particular Man a Human Person ; for the Person of the Man , is nothing but the Man himself . And so St. Austin tells us it is in the Holy Trinity ; the Person of the Father , is the Father himself ; and the Person of the Son , is the Son himself ; and if Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are Three , they must be Three Persons ; for each of them is himself , and not the other ; and Three Selfs are Three Persons ; I , and Thou , and He , are Personal Pronouns : I my self , Thou thy self , He himself ; by which Argument the Catholick Fathers prove against the Sabellians , that Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are Three Persons , by these Personal Pronouns , which the Scripture applies to them ; as our S●viour speaks of himself in the first Person , I and my Father ; of his Father in the Second Person , I thank Thee , O Father ; of the Holy Ghost in the Third Person , when He the Spirit of truth shall come . Now I , and Thou , and He , must signifie Three distinct Persons , or Three Selfs : Person indeed , as St. Austin observes , is not a Relative Term , but is spoken ad se of the thing it self : For if Person were a Relative , then as we say , The Father is the Father of his Son , so we must say , The Person of the Father is the Person of the Son , which is absurd ; but yet Person must be praedicated Plurally according to the number of Selfs ; for as many Selfs as there are , so many Persons are there ; for Selfs make numbers , because one self is not another . Three singular intelligent Selfs , singulares intelligentes , as Melancton calls them , is the proper Notion of Three Persons ; and in this sense , Father , Son and Holy Ghost , are Three Persons , if each of them be True and Perfect God. For God is certainly himself . If the Father be God , the Father himself is God ; if the Son be God , the Son himself is God ; if the Holy Ghost be God , the Holy Ghost himself is God. This is the plain express Doctrine of Scripture , and what every man may understand , and what every one who believes a Trinity must profess , and no man needs believe more . SECT . IV. These Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , prove the real Distinction of Persons in the Trinity . II. THESE Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , especially when the Name GOD is Attributed to each of them , That the Father is God , the Son God , the Holy Ghost God , proves a real and substantial distinction between them ; for these are opposite Relations which cannot meet in the same Subject : For a Father cannot be Father to himself , but to his Son ; nor can a Son be Son to himself , but to his Father ; nor can the Holy Ghost Proceed from himself , nor in this sense be his own Spirit , but the Spirit of the Father and Son , from whom he Proceeds . And therefore the Father is not the Son , nor the Holy Spirit ; nor the Son the Father , or Holy Spirit ; nor the Holy Spirit either Father or Son : And yet , if each of them be God , each of them Perfectly is , or is Perfect Being , and therefore are as Perfectly Distinct , as three which perfectly are , and are not one another . To talk of Three Distinct Beings , Substances , Minds , or Spirits , may be Misrepresented by perverse Wits , to the prejudice of the Divine Unity , though the Catholick Fathers , besides Hypostasis , did not scruple to use the same , or other equivalent Expressions , concerning the Holy Trinity , when they disputed against the Sabellians ; yet if we believe a Trinity , whether we will or no we must acknowledge Three ; each of which Perfectly Is , or is Perfect Being , and no one is the other : For if we deny this , we must either deny , that the Father Is , or that the Son Is , or that the Holy Ghost Is ; and to deny either of these , is to deny a Trinity . And if it be Objected against this , That according to St. Austin's Notion , ( though it was not peculiarly his , but common to all the Greek and Latin Fathers , nay to the Schoolmen themselves , and must be owned by all Men of Sense ) that esse , vivere , intelligere , sapere , velle , bonum esse , magnum esse , &c. to be , to live , to understand , to be wise , to will , to be good , and to be great , or whatever else we can attribute to the Divine Nature , is but unum omnia , all one and the same in God : I say , if it be Objected , that the consequence of this is , That to say , that in this sense of Is , the Father Is , the Son Is , the Holy Ghost Is , is equivalent to asserting Three Distinct Substances , Minds , Spirits , Lives , Understandings , Wills , &c. in the Trinity , I cannot help it . St. Austin was never yet charged with Tritheism . Let them either deny what St. Austin and the rest of the Fathers teach about this matter , and try if they can defend the absolute S●mplicity of the Divine Nature without it ; or let them deny , if they think good , that the Father Is , the Son Is , and the Holy Ghost Is , in this Notion of Perfect and Absolute Being ; or try if they can find such a medium between Perfect Is , and is not , as can belong to any Being which is True and Perfect God ; or allow ( which is the true solution of it ) that Is , and Is , and Is , Essence , and Essence , and Essence , are but One Eternal Is , One Eternal Essence , as they are but One God : Of which more presently . I always was of opinion , that these Terms in the plural number , ought not to be familiarly used , because few Men can conceive of them , as they are worthy of God ; and therefore the Fathers were v●ry cautious in using them , which they very rarely did , but when they were extorted from them by the perverse importunity of Hereticks ; but I cannot see how it is possible to deny three Selfs , or three Is's in the U●ity of the Godhead , without denying a Trinity ; and if each of these Three be himself and not another , and each of them Is , and Is by himself ; this is the least we can say of the Ever Blessed Trinity , and this is all with respect to their Distinction , that we need say of them . So that if Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be so in a true and proper Notion , are in truth and reality what these Names of Father , Son , and Spirit , signify : That the Father is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a true , proper , natural , Father ; the Son 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a true , proper , genuine , Son ; and the Holy Ghost , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in a true , proper sense , the Spirit of the Father and the Son , as the Catholick Fathers always Professed ; they must be as truly and perfectly Distinct , as Father and Son are . The only Question then is , Whether these Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , signify naturally and properly when spoken of the Holy Trinity , or are only metaphorical and allusive Names ; though what they should be Metaphors of , is not easy to conceive , and as absurd to conceive , that there should be any Metaphors in God , who is all Perfect Essence and Being . The Divine Nature and Perfections , which we cannot conceive of as they are , may be expressed by Metaphors taken from some thing which is analogous in Creatures ; upon which account we read of the Hands , and Eyes , and Ears , and Bowels , and Mouth of God. Creatures may serve for Metaphors , for Shadows , and Images , to represent something of God to us , but the reality of all is in God. So that we may allow Father and Son in some sense to be Metaphorical Names , when applied to God ; not that God the Father is not in the highest and most perfect sense a Father ; and his Son a most proper , natural , genuine Son , but because the Divine Generation is so perfect a Communication of the Divine Nature and Being from Father to Son ; that Human Generations , Creature-Fathers and Sons , are but obscure , imperfect images and resemblances of it . When any thing is spoken Metaphorically of God , the Metaphor and Image is always in the Creatures ; the Truth , Perfection , and Reality of all in God. And if this be a certain and universal rule , then if God be a Father , if he have a Son , an only B●gotten Son , Begotten Eternally of himself , not Made , nor Created , but Begotten ; though this Eternal Generation be infinitely above what we can conceive , yet it is evident , that God the Father is more Properly and Perfectly a Father , and his Son more Properly and Perfectly a Son , than any Creature-Fathers or Sons are . But , I think , this will admit of no Dispute , if we own , that God has a Son , who is himself True and Perfect God ▪ For a Son , who is Perfect God , is God of God. That he is a Son , proves that he receives his Nature from his Father , for this is Essential to the Notion of a Son ; That he is Perfect God , proves the Perfection of his Generation from the Perfection of his Nature : For to be Perfect God , of Perfect God , is to receive the Whole , Perfect , Undivided Nature of his Father , which is the most perfect Generation that is possible , for a Whole to beget a Whole . And if God the Father , and his Son , be Truly and Perfectly Father and Son , they must be Truly and Perfectly Distinct ; That is , they are in a proper sense Two , and by the same reason , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are Three : And we need no other proof of this , but the very Names of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , if we understand them in a proper and natural Sense . SECT . V. These Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , prove the Unity , Sameness , Identity of Nature and Godhead . III. THESE Names of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , as they signify and prove a real Distinction between these Three , so they also signify and prove the Unity , Sameness , Identity of Nature , and Godhead : Which reconciles the Faith of the Trinity with the Faith of one God : The same One Divine Essence and Godhead , being and subsisting , Whole , Perfect , and Entire in each of these Divine Three . I shall Explain and Confirm this matter more at large hereafter ; and therefore at present shall only briefly represent this Notion , and the reason of it . One Eternal Self-Originated Divine Nature , is One Divinity and One God ; and nothing can destroy the Unity of God , but what destroys the Unity of the Divine Nature , by Division or Multiplication : And if this be the true Notion of the Unity of God ( and if it be not , I would desire to know , why this is not , and what is ) then the Unity of God may be preserved in Three , each of whom is True and Perfect God , if the same One Divine Nature , or Divinity , subsists distinctly in them all : And the very Characters and Relations of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , do necessarily infer and prove , the same One Divinity in them all : And therefore the Christian Trinity is so far from contradicting , that it establishes the Faith of one God : As to explain this in a few words . All Christians agree , That God , whom we call the Father , is an Eternal Self-Originated Being , who had no beginning of Being , and received his being from no other , and that there is no other Self Originated Being , but himself . This is the Notion which all Mankind have of One God , That there is one Infinite , Eternal , Self-Originated Being or Nature ; and if there be ( as it is certain there is ) but one such Nature and Divinity , there can be but One God. And this is Established in the Christian Faith , which owns but One God the Father , who is therefore in Scripture , in a peculiar manner , called the One God , and the Only True God. Thus f●r all Christians are agreed ; but here our Arian and Socinian Adversaries stop : For how can the Son be God , and the Holy Ghost be God , if the Father be the only Self-Originated Being , and the One True God ? Now the very Notion of a Son Answers this difficulty , or at least proves , that so it is , however it may exceed our finite Comprehension . It is Essential to the Notion of a Son , to be of another , of him , whom we call his Father , and to receive the same Nature from him . Man begets a Man , and God begets God ; but there is an infinite distance between these two , as there is between God and Creatures . When Man begets a Man , he does not Communicate his own whole entire numerical Nature to his Son , but with part of his own Substance Communicates the same specifick Nature to him , or a Nature of the same kind ; and therefore a Man and his Son are two Men , as having two particular Natures , though specifically the same . But if we believe , that God has a Son , begotten by him of himself , I say , not created out of nothing , nor made of any other prae-existent Nature or Substance , but eternally begotten of himself , we must acknowledge , that the Father and the Son are perfectly One , excepting that one is the Father , and the other the Son. All men , who know any thing of the Divine Nature , know , that God is the most Pure , Simple , Uncompounded Being ; and if God , who has no parts , and cannot be divided into any , begets a Son , he must Communicate his Whole , Undivided Nature to him : For to beget a Son , is to Communicate his own Nature to him ; and if he have no parts , he cannot Communicate a part , but must Communicate the Whole ; that is , he must Communicate his whole self , and be a second self in his Son. Now a Whole , and a Whole of a Whole , are certainly two , but not two Natures , but one Nature , not meerly Specifically , but Identically One ; for it is impossible that a Whole , which is Communicated without Division , or Separation , should have the least imaginable diversity from it self , so as to become another Nature from it self ; for a Whole of a Whole must be perfectly and identically the same with that Whole of which it is ; for a Whole can be but One. This is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ▪ Sameness and Identity of Nature , which the Fathers assert , and whereon they found the Unity of the Godhead . And this is the meaning of that distinction of the Schools , between unum numero , and re numerata , one in number and in the thing numbred . Two must always be allowed to be Two in number , as Father and Son are , though they are but One in re numeratâ , in the Sameness and Identity of Nature , as Christ tells us , I and my Father are One ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Neuter-Gender , which must relate to Nature , not to Number . To distinguish or multiply Natures , there must be some real or notional diversity and alterity between them , as Boetius observes : But a Whole can never differ in the least from the whole of which it is , no more than the same Whole can differ from it self ; and it is this Sameness and Identity , which is called a Numerical Unity of Nature , and is peculiar to the Divine Nature , there being nothing like it in Creatures : Not that the Divine Nature considered as in the Father , is the same in number with the Divine Nature as communicated to , and subsisting distinctly in the Son ; for then the Father and the Son can't be two ; for the Person of the Father and his Divinity , or Divine Nature , is the same ; and the Person of the Son , and his Divine Nature is the same ; and if this Oneness relate to number , there can be but One Person , as there is but One Nature : but a Numerical Unity of Nature does not exclude a Number of Persons , each of whom has the whole Divine Nature Perfectly and Distinctly in himself ; it does not exclude the actual and perfect communication of the same Divine Nature to more than one , but only excludes all imaginable diversity and alterity ; and what is not aliud , is unum ; that which is not another thing , another different Nature , is but One : That is , the Divine Nature is numerically One , in opposition to any other Absolute , Self-originated Divinity , not in opposition to the Eternal Communications of its self to the Son and Holy Spirit . If the Divine Nature , as actually and distinctly subsisting in Three , be as perfectly One , as the Idea of God is One , as any specifick Notion , suppose of Human Nature , is One ; then it is Identically and Numerically one and the same . And indeed this is the true reason why the Catholick Fathers so often represent the Unity of the Divine Nature by Allusions and Metaphors signifying a specifick Unity ; because the Divine Nature , as subsisting in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , is as perfect●y one and the same , as the specifick Notion and Idea of any Nature is , which abstracts from all the diversities and differences which are found in Individuals . Which one Observation will help us to expound several disputed passages in the Fathers , as I could easily shew , were that my present business . Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , though they have one undistinguished , undiversified Nature , and therefore are One in Nature ; yet are Three in Number , because they have this one undivided , undistinguished , undiversified Nature , after a different manner , which the Greeks called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the manner of Existence , or the manner how they come to be , which though it sounds very harshly when applied to that which has no beginning of Being , ( as most other expressions do , when applied to God , and Criticized on by perverse and Comical Wits ) must be allowed in such a qualified sense as is proper to an Eternal Being , or we must deny Eternal Generation and Procession , which is , though not the beginning , yet a Communication of Being : And thus the Fathers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Mode , or manner of Existence , and Being is , that he is Self-originated , and receives his Being from no other ; the Son 's is , that he is Eternally Begotten of the Father , and receives his Nature and Being without any beginning , from the Father ; the Holy Ghost's is , that he Eternally Proceeds from Father and Son ; and this is all the distinction that is between them : They have but one undivided , undiversified Nature ; but these opposite Relations necessarily prove them Three in Number , as I have already shewn ; though the Divine Essence , the res numerata , is but One ; it being Communicated from Father to Son , and from Father and Son to the Holy Ghost , Whole of Whole ; which makes it perfectly one and the same Undivided , Undiversified , Essence , Subsisting Distinctly , but not Separately , in Three . That this is the true Notion both of the Fathers and Schools , and all that the wisest Schoolmen meant by the Singularity of the Divine Essence and Nature , which they acknowledged to subsist in Tribus Suppositis , or Personis , whole and entire in Three distinct Persons or Subjects , may appear in due time , when Men have recovered their Temper so far , as to be capable of hearing Reason , and of understanding plain Sense . But my only design at present is to shew , that these Relations in the Ever Blessed Trinity , of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , Vindicate the Faith of the Trinity from the Imputation of Tritheism . Three Gods must signifie Three Absolute , Independent , Self-originated D●vinities , Three such as we acknowledge the Person of the Father to be , who is Infinitely P●rfect , and is of himself ; and all the Catholick Fathers acknowledge , that Three Fathers would be Three Gods : Three such Absolute Beings , though equally Perfect , and every way alike , would be Three Divine Self-originated Natures , or Three Individuals of the same specifick Nature ; that is , Three Gods , as Three Individuals of Human Nature are Three men . But Father , Son , and Holy Ghost are not Three Absolute Divine Natures , nor Three Individuals of One specifick Nature , but are Three Singulars of One Individual Nature , Communicated whole and entire from Father to Son , and from Father and Son to the Holy Ghost : So that there is but one and the same Divine Nature in all Three , and therefore but One Divinity , and One God ; unless one and the same Divine Nature can be Three Gods. To number Three , each of whom is himself True and Perfect God , does not prove Three Gods , unless you can multiply and number Natures too ; for One Divine Nature is but One God ; but Three Gods must have Three Appropriate , and Incommunicable Divine Natures ; which the very Relations of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , deny in the Christian Trinity . There is but One Self-originated Divinity in the Person of the Father ; and the very Name of Son proves that he is not of himself , but has , and is , all that he has , and is , from the Father , and is all that the Father is : H● i● G●d ●f G●d ; now God of God , is Another , and is True and Perfect God , but is not Another God , because he receives all from his Father , has the same Divine Nature that his Father has , has nothing but what his Father has , and has all that his Father has ; T●tus ex Toto , Whole of Whole ; which is but One Undivided , Undiversified , One Numerical Whole , One God. This seems to be the true Reason why St. Austin , and after him the Schoolmen , lay such stress upon the Relations in the Trinity , to salve the Unity of the Divine Nature . For by Relations the Schools mean , Relationes Subsistentes , Subsisting Relations , or Relatives , not Relations without a Subject ; which St. Austin rejects as absurd : For nothing can be Predicated Relatively which has not some Being and Substance of its own to be the foundation of that Relation : A Man who is a Master , a Man who is a Servant , must be a Man , or he could not be the Subject of any Relation , either of Master , or Servant ; and thus , as he adds , Father must signifie a positive Being , something that he is himself , or else there is nothing to sustain a Relation to another ; and the like must be said of the Son and Spirit . Now these Relations in the Trinity , of Father , Son , and Spirit , though each of them have the whole Divine Nature and Substance , do yet prove that there are not Three Absolute Independent Divinities , but only One Divine Nature and Substance : As St. Austin speaks of Father and Son , utrunque Substantia , & utrunque Vna Substantia ; they are both of them Substance , and both of them One Substance ; for the Son must receive his whole Being from his Father , and therefore have the same One Nature and Substance that his Father has ; which proves , that a Trinity of Relatives can be but One God , because they can have but One Divine Nature in them all . But this is beyond my present design . Thus I have given a short view of the Catholick Faith of the Holy and Ever Blessed Trinity : We are B●ptized into the Name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost ; and if we are Christians , we must Believe in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , and we need not believe nor understand any more than what these Names , when applied to God , do plainly and necessarily signify . This I have explained as easily and familiarly as possibly I could , that ordinary Christians , who are not skilled in School Terms or Subtilties , may know what they are to Believe , and see the plain Reasons of it . This is what all Christians , who sincerely Believe a Trinity , are agreed in ; That there is an Eternal Father , who has an Eternal Son , and an Eternal Spirit , of the same Nature with himself : That the Father is God , God of himself ; The Son is God , God of God , True and Perfect God , Begotten of his Father from all Eternity ; That the Holy Ghost is God , True and Perfect God , Eternally Proceeding from Father and Son : That the Father is not the Son , nor the Son the Father , nor the Holy Ghost Father or Son ; but they are Three , truly and really distinct from each other : But that Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , have all the same One Divinity , Communicated from the Father to the Son , and from Father and Son to the Holy Spirit , and therefore are but One God. All this , as I have shewn , is necessarily included in the Names and Relations of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; which if they be not empty Names , but signify any thing real , must signify all this . And what is there unintelligible in all this ? Such a Distinction , and such an Unity as is signified in the very Names of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , necessarily prove that God is Three and One : If the Father is himself True and Perfect God , the Son himself True and Perfect God , the Holy Ghost himself True and Perfect God , and the Father is not the Son , nor the Son the Father , nor the Holy Ghost either Father or Son , then there are Three , each of whom is in himself True and perfect God , and that is a Divine Trinity : And if the Father communicates his whole Nature without division or separation to the Son , and Father and Son communicate the same whole Nature to the Holy Spirit , they are in the most perfect notion One , there being one and the same whole entire perfect Divinity in all Three . A Whole , a Whole , and a Whole , are Three in number , but are but one Identical Nature ; for a Whole of a Whole must be the same Whole ; and in this Unity of Nature consists the Unity of the Godhead . I grant a Whole of a Whole is very unconceivable to us ; and so is the Notion of an Eternal self-originated Being , and of Creation , to the full as unconceivable , as the Eternal Generation of a Whole from a Whole : But this is a difficulty in the Notion of an Eternal Generation , not of a Trinity in Unity : If God begets a Son , as the Scripture assures us he has an only begotten Son , he must communicate his own Nature to him ; and besides the Testimony of Scripture , That all the Father has is the Son 's , his whole Nature and Divinity , Reason assures us , that God being a pure simple Being , without composition or parts , if he communicate his Nature to his Son , he must communicate it whole and entire , without division or separation ; and if this be so , it is certain , that Father and Son , he who begets , and he who is begotten , are Two ; and it is as certain , that the same whole Divinity , communicated by the Father to the Son , is but the same One Divinity ; and One Divinity , though actually subsisting in Three , can be but One God , not Three Gods. It is certain , this is the most perfect Unity that can be , between Three who are truly and really the same , and yet distinct ; for they can n●ver be more One , than to be Three Same 's , and Three Wholes ; for the Communication of a Whole may make a Number , but cannot distinguish or multiply Nature . SECT . VI. Concerning the Unity of God. BUT our Socinian Adversaries , and some who would not be thought Socinians , have espoused such a Notion of One God , as makes the Faith of a Trinity absolutely irreconcilable with the Faith of One God. By One God , they mean One who is God ; but the Faith of the Trinity owns Three , each of whom is by himself True and Perfect God ; and I grant it is as absolutely impossible to reconcile these two , as it is to reconcile Contradictions ; for to say that there is but One who is God , and to say that there are Three , each of whom is God , is a manifest Contradiction ; and yet without saying this last , we must deny a Trinity . It is in vain to think to solve this with Words without Sense : If there is but One who is God , we must either make Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , Three Names , or Modes , or Manifestations of the same One Numerical Divine Person ; which was the ancient , exploded , anathematized Heresy of Noetus and Sabellius ; or we must make the Son and Holy Spirit to be mere Creatures , if we allow any Personality to them , as Arius , Macedonius , Paulus Samosatenus , and such like Hereticks , and our Modern Socinians do . But we , with the Scriptures and the Catholick Church , reject this Notion of the Unity of God , which is to assert the Unity , but to deny a Trinity . And because this seems to be so prevailing a Notion at this time , I shall shelter my self as well as I can , under the Authority of the Catholick Fathers , and the Catholick Church . That there is but One God , was always the Faith of the Catholick Church , as appears from all the Ancient Creeds ; but then they did not believe in One God , as One God signifies One Divine Separate Person ; which is never expressed in any Christian Creed , but in One God the Father , who has an only begotten Son , and an Eternal Spirit , in the Unity of the same Godhead . There is no Christian Creed , which teaches the Belief of One God who is not a Father ; and if the One God be a Father , he must have a Son of his own Nature and Substance ; and the Son of God , consubstantial with God the Father , must be God the Son. This is what Tertullian tells us , That there is One God , with his Oeconomy , that is , with his only begotten Son , and Eternal Spirit . The Catholick Church so believed in One God , as to acknowledge Three Persons , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , each of which is truly and really God , as they must necessarily do , if they believed a Trinity : And upon this account they were charged with Tritheism , or with asserting Three Gods , because they owned a Trinity of Divine Substantial Persons , really distinct from each other , each of which is truly and perfectly God. So that this is no new Charge against the Asserters of a Real and Substantial Trinity ; and the Ancient Christians had no regard to it ; for Tritheism in this Objection signified no more than the B●lief of the Trinity , or of Three Divine Persons in the Unity of the Godhead , which is the true Christian Faith. As to shew this briefly : In answer to this Objection against the belief of a Real Substantial Trinity , from the Unity of God , they tell us it is Judaism and Heresy , to place the Unity of the Godhead in the Unity of a Person ; to teach that there is but One Divine Person , as there is but One God. We may find enough to this purpose in Tertullian against Praxeas , and Athanasius against the Sabellians ; in St. Hilary , St. Austin , and many others . Athanasius commends the Iews for opposing the Polytheism and Idolatry of the Gentiles : But then he charges them with as great Impiety themselves , in denying the Son of God , by whom all things were made , and in accusing those of Polytheism who worship the Father by the Son. — And he exhorts his Readers to separate themselves from those Iudaizers who corrupt Christianity with Iudaism , who deny God of God , and teach One God in the Iewish Notion of it : In which he taxes the Sabellians , who taught that the Word of God is like the Word and Wisdom of a Man , within him , in his Heart and Soul ; and therefore that God and his Word are but One Person . St. Hilary frequently takes notice of this Corruption of the Evangelical Faith , as he calls it , under the Pious Profession of One God , to deny the Only begotten God , to deny Christ to be born God , or to be True God , but only a Powerful Creature , thereby to preserve the Faith of One God , which they think the Birth of God does overthrow . In which he distinctly charges the Sabellians and Arians ; the first for making God but One Person , for fear of introducing a Trinity of Gods with a Trinity of Persons ; the other for making Christ a mere Creature , though the first and most powerful Creature , for fear of making a Second God , should they have owned him to be God of God , of the same Substance with the Father . In opposition to this , he tells us what the true Faith is , which they have learned from Divine Revelation , Neither to preach Two Gods , nor One Solitary Divine Person ( for so solus must signify in this place ) ; and undertakes to prove both from the Evangelists and Prophets , That when we profess our Faith in God the Father , and God the Son , we must neither own God the Father and God the Son to be One Person , as the Sabellians did , nor Two different Substances , as the Arians did : For when God is born of God , this Divine Nativity will neither admit a Unity of Person , nor a Diversity of Nature : For Father and Son , he who begets , and he who is begotten , must be Two Persons ; and the Son who is begotten of the Substance of his Father , must be consubstantial with him . It were easy to multiply Quotations to this purpose , both out of these and numerous other Ancient Writers ; but this is Proof enough , that the Primitive Fathers would not be frighted out of the true Catholick Faith of a Real and Substantial Trinity , by the loud Clamours of Tritheism ; but rejected such a Notion of One God , as confined the Godhead to One Single Solitary Person , as Iudaism , and an Anti-trinitarian Heresy . For we know in what sense the Iews owned but One God ; viz. in the very sense that the Socinians and all Anti-trinitarians do ; that is , That there is but One who is God , but One Divine Person ; and in this sense these Ancient Fathers rejected it . But besides these general Sayings , they industriously confute this Notion of the Unity of the Godhead , which confines it to one single Person ; that the One God is so One , that there is and can be but One Divine Person , who is true and perfect God. The Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament do expresly teach , that there is but one God ; This the Ancient Hereticks perpetually objected against the Doctrine of the Holy and Ever Blessed Trinity : And St. Hilary observes , what danger there is in answering this Objection , if it be not done with great caution : For it may be equally impious to deny , or to affirm it . For the True Catholick Faith of One God lies between two such contrary Heresies , as are ready to take advantage one way or other , whatever Answer you give . If you own that there is but One God , without taking notice , that this One God has an only begotten Son , who is True and Perfect God , the Arians take advantage of this against the Eternal Godhead of the Son : If you say , That the Father is God , and the Son God , and yet there is but One God , the Sabellians hence conclude , That Father and Son are but One Person , as they are One God. But in opposition to both these Heresies , he tells us , That though the Catholick Church did not deny One God , yet they taught God and God , and denied the Unity of the Godhead both in the Arian and Sabellian Notion of One God. And consequently , That they professed to believe God , and God , and God , though not Three Gods , but One God ; yet in that very sense which both Ancient and Modern Hereticks call Tritheism . There is no dispute but the Scripture does very fully and expresly teach us , That there is but One God. Hear , O Israel , the Lord our God is one Lord , 6. Deut. 4. which our Saviour himself approves , 12. Mark 29. and the Scribe expounds 32. Well master , Thou hast said the truth , for there is One God , and there is none other but He : And this is often confirmed both in the Old and New Testament : But then the Fathers think that they have an unanswerable Argument to prove , That by One God , is not meant , that there is but One who is God , because the same Holy Scriptures which teach us , that there is but One God , do attribute the Name , and Dignity , and Power , and all the Natural Perfections of God , to more than One. St. Hilary explains this Argument at large ; the sum of which in short is this : That we must learn the knowledge of God from Divine Revelation ; for Humane Understandings , which are accustomed to Corporeal and Bodily Images , are too weak of themselves to discern and contemplate Divine things ; nor is there any thing in our selves , or in Created Nature , that can give us an adequate notion and conception of the Nature and Unity of God : We must believe God concerning himself , and his own Nature , and yield a ready assent to what he reveals to us . For we must either deny him to be God , as the Heathens do , if we reject his Testimony ; or if we believe him to be God , we must conceive no otherwise of him , than as he himself hath taught us . This is very reasonable , if we believe upon God's Authority , To believe all that God reveals , and to expound the Revelation by it self ; not to put such a sense upon one part of the Revelation , as shall contradict another ; but to put such a sense upon the words , as makes the whole consistent with it self . As in the present Dispute concerning the Unity of God. The Scripture assures us , that there is but One God , and we believe that there is but One God. Excepting the Valentinians , and such kind of Hereticks , all Christians , both Catholicks , and Hereticks , agree in this Profession . But the Question is , In what sense the Scripture teaches that there is but One God ? Whether this One God signifies One single Divine Person , or One God with his Only begotten Son and Eternal Spirit , who have the same Nature and Divinity ? The Arians and Socinians embrace the first Sense of the words , That One God is One Divine Person , and for this reason will not own Christ , or the Holy Spirit , to be True and Perfect God , because there is but One God , and Three Divine Persons , they say , are Three Gods. Now unless we will pretend to understand the Divine Nature , and the Divine Unity , better than God himself does , we must refer this Dispute to Scripture ; and if we have the same Authority to believe more Divine Persons than One , that we have to believe but One God , then the Unity of God in the Scripture-notion of it , is no Tritheism , nor any objection against the belief of a Trinity ; for there may be but One only God , and yet Three Divine Persons in the Unity of the same Godhead . This is St. Hilary's Argument , and it is a very good one , That Moses himself , who has taught us , that there is but One God , has taught us to confess , God and God ; that we have the same Authority to believe the Son of God to be God , that we have to believe One God. And therefore , though we do , and must believe One God , we must not so believe One God , as to deny the Son of God to be God , for this is to contradict Moses and the Prophets . This Argument he prosecutes at large throughout the IV th and V th Books of the Trinity , and alledges all those Old Testament Proofs for the plurality of Divine Persons , and for the Divinity of Christ ; which , whatever opinion some Modern Wits and Criticks have of them , have been applied to that purpose by all Christian Writers from the beginning of Christianity ; and were that my present Business , might be easily vindicated from the Cavils and Exceptions of Hereticks . St. Paul tells us , That there is One God the Father , of whom are all things , and we in him ; and One Iesus Christ , by whom are all things , and we by him , 1 Cor. 8.6 . St. Hilary finds this God of whom are all things , and this Lord by whom are all things , in the Mosaical History of the Creation . And God said , Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters , and let it divide the waters from the waters ; and God made the firmament , and divided the waters , &c. 1. Gen. 6 , 7. Where , as he applies it , the Father commands , and the Son , his Almighty Word , makes all things . So the Psalmist tells us of the Father , He spake , and it was done ; he commanded , and it stood fast , 33. Psal. 9. Or as it is in the 148 th Psal. 5. He commanded , and they were created . And by whom they were created , St. Iohn tells us ; In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with God , and the Word was God. All things were made by him , and without him was not any thing made , that was made , 1 Joh. 1 , 2. This he thinks proves a plain distinction of jubentis Dei , & facientis Dei , God that commands , and God that does ; for common sense will not allow that they should be one single Solitary Person , much more reason have we to distinguish them , when both the Old and New Testament distinguish them . But whatever dispute this may admit , that Account Moses gives of the Creation of Man , he takes to be an unexceptionable Proof of a Plurality of Divine Persons ; And God said , Let us make man in our image , after our likeness . — So God created man in his own image , in the image of God created he him , 1. Gen. 26.27 . Now if we understand these words as spoken by God , in the same sense as we should and ought to understand them , had they been spoken by men , ( which St. Hilary lays down as a Principle , That God speaks to us as we speak to one another , and expects to be understood by us according to the common use and acceptation of such forms of speech ) then let Vs make man in Our Image , after Our Likeness , cannot signify a singular and solitary Person ; for such a form of speech naturally imports a Plurality of Persons , and a common Nature and Likeness . No single solitary Person speaks to himself to do any thing , but only wills and chuses what to do , and exec●●es his own purposes ; much less does he speak to himself in the Plural Number , which in common use signifies some Companions and Partners in the work . Let Vs make , cannot signify One single Person , nor can Our Image admit Two Persons of an unlike and different Nature , when the Image is but one and the same ; and therefore this must prove , that there are more Divine Persons than One , and that they have all the same Divine Nature . Were God but one single and solitary Person , this would be a most unaccountable form of speech ; and there can be no pretence to put such a harsh sense on the words , unless we certainly knew that there was no other Divine Person , but he who spoke ; but then if instead of knowing this , we certainly know the contrary ; that when God made the World he was not alone , but had his Eternal Substantial Wisdom , the Person of the Eternal Word with him , by whom he made the world , this puts the matter out of doubt : And this St. Hilary proves fr●m that account which Solomon gives of Wisdom , 8 Prov. 22 , &c. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way , before his works of old . I was set up from everlasting , from the beginning , or ever the earth was . — Then I was by him , as one brought up with him , rejoicing always before him : And therefore the Father was not alone , and did not speak to himself when he made the world ; his own Wisdom , a Divine Eternal Person , co-operating with him , and rejoicing in the Perfection of his Works . But besides this , he proves at large , that the Angel which so often appeared to Abraham , Hagar , Iacob , to Moses in a Burning Bush , and is in express terms called God , the Judge of the world , the God of Abraham , and Isaac , and Iacob , was not a Created Angel , nor God the Father , and yet was True and Perfect God , even the Son of God , who in the fulness of time became Man ; and adds several Passages in the Psalms and Prophets , which plainly own a Divine Person , distinct from God the Father , to be True and Perfect God. I need not tell those who are acquainted with the Writings of the Ancient Fathers , that they all insist on the same Arguments to prove the same thing ; that there is not in any one point a more universal Consent amongst them , which is too Venerable an Authority to be over-ruled by Criticism ; it being no less than a Traditionary Exposition of Scripture from the Apostolick Age. But I am no further concerned in this at present , than to shew what Notion the Catholick Fathers had about the Unity of God. These Fathers did not fence against the Objection of Tritheism , by distinguishing away the Divinity of the Son , and of the Holy Spirit , by making the Son God ex accidenti , & secundum quid ; for they knew nothing of an accidental or secundum quid God ; which I must own sounds to me very like Blasphemy and Contradiction ; that when this Name God , signifies the most necessary and absolutely Perfect Being , any Person to whom this Name does naturally and essentially belong , should be God by Accident , or only in a limited and qualified sense : But without fearing the Charge of Tritheism , they with Moses and the Prophets own another Divine Person distinct from the Father , but as Real and Substantial a Person , and as truly and perfectly God , as the Father is : Insomuch that Tertullian , when he had alledg●d that T●xt , 45. Psal. 6 , 7. which the Apostle to the Hebrews applies to Christ , 1. Heb. Thy throne , O G●d ▪ is for ever and ever , the scepter of thy Kingdom is a right scepter . — Therefore God thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl of gladness above thy fellows ; was not a●raid to add , Ecce Duos Deos ! Behold Two Gods ! That is ▪ Two Divine P●rsons , each of whom is by himself truly and essentially God ; for notwithstanding this , he would not say there are Two or Three Gods , and gives his reason for it : He owned a Plurality of Gods , even Tritheism it self , in that sense of the word Tritheism which the Arians and Sabellians objected against the Faith of the Trinity , as Three Gods signify no more than Three Divine Substantial Persons , each of whom is truly and perfectly God , as having distinctly in himself the whole and perfect Divine Nature ; but this he and the other Fathers deny to be Tritheism ; they are God , and God , and God , but not Three Gods : And they think it a sufficient proof , ( as any man would , who believes the Scripture ) that this is not the Scripture-Notion of Tritheism , because the same Scripture which teaches us that there is but One God , attributes not only the Name and Title of God , but the Divine Nature and Perfections , to more Persons than One. And this is the only Answer that need be given , and the best Answer that can be given to this Objection of Tritheism ; for God knows his own Nature , and his own Unity best : And it is enough for us to acknowledge God to be One , as the Scripture teaches him to be One ; that is , that there is but One God , but that this One God has an Eternal only begotten Son , and an Eternal Spirit , in the Unity of the same Godhead . This is the account Tertullian gives us of those Expressions , when the Scripture asserts that there is but One God , and that there is none besides him . For without denying the Son , we may truly affirm , That there is but One only God , whose Son he is . For though he has a Son , he does not lose his Name of the One and only God , when he is named without his S●n ; and so he is , when what is said , is appropriated to him as the first pers●n ; for in the order of Nature , a●● of ou● Conceptions , the Father is befo●●●he Son , and therefore must be named b●●ore him : So that there is but One God the Father , and besides him there is no other ; which does not deny the Son , but another God ; which rejects the multitude of False Gods which the Heathens worshipped ; but the Son , as being inseparably united to him , is included in the Unity of the Father's Godhead , though not named ; which as he well observes , he could not be , without making another God of him . Had the Father said , There is no other God besides me , excepting my Son , this had made the Son another God , a new separate Divinity ; and would have been as improper , as if the Sun should say , There is no other Sun besides me , excepting my Rays . The Sum of which is this : That the Title of the One and only God , and besides him there is no other God , does in a peculiar manner belong to the Father , who is the One only God with his Son and Spirit ; but this does not exclude the Son or Spirit from being true and perfect God ; for they are not other Gods from the Father , but have the same Divinity , and are inseparably ●mited to the Father , and therefore are included in the ●●ity of the Godhead , without being named ; whereas th●●r being named would have excepted them out of the Unity of the Godhead , and made other Gods of them : And though the Son when he is named al●ne , is called God , this does not make Two Gods , because he is God only by his Unity with his Father . St. Hilary gives much the same account of it ; That when the Scripture teaches that there is One God , and no other God besides him , this does not exclude the Son of God from being true and perfect God , because the Son is not another God : He being of the same Substance with God the Father , God of God , and inseparably united to him : Another God does not signify another Divine Person , but another Divinity , another separate and independent Principle and Fountain of Deity . And besides this , St. Hilary endeavours to prove at large from several Texts of the Old Testament , that this very expression , of one God , and no other besides him , is applied not only to the Father , but to the Son , and is very justly applicable to each of them , because each of them have a Personal and Incommunicable Unity . The Father is the One God , and there is none besides him ; for he is the only Deus Innascibilis , the only God , who is God of himself , without any Communication of the Divine Nature to him from any other Divine Person . The Son is the One God , and there is none besides him ; that is , the Deus Vnigenitus , the only begotten God ; and there is no other begotten God but he : So that each of them is the One God : For between One and One , that is One of One , there is no Second Nature of the Eternal D●ity . I shall not dispute these matters now , which will be more proper in another place ; it is enough at present , that we learn from them what Sense these Fathers had concerning the Unity of God ; viz. That it is not the Unity of a S●ngle Person , so as to exclude all other Persons from the Name and Nature of God , but a Unity of Nature and Principle ; That there are not Two different Divinities , nor Two Principles of Divinity , which have no Communication with each other ; but that there is One Self-originated Being , who communicates his own Nature , without Division and Separation to his Eternal Son , and by and with his Son to his Eternal Spirit . Thus St. Hilary concludes this Dispute , That to confess One God , but not a solitary God ( that is , not one single solitary Person ) is the Faith of the Church , which confesses the Father in the Son : But if out of ignorance of this Heavenly Mystery , we pretend that One God signifies One single Divine Person , we know not God , as not owning the Faith of God in God. This is plain sense which every Christian may understand , and what every one must believe who wi●l be a Christian : We must believe in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , that the Father is not the Son , nor the Son the Father , nor the Holy Ghost either Father or Son ; and that each of these Three is in himself , as distinguished from the other Two , true and perfect God ; but though they are Three , and each of them true and perfect God , yet they are not Three Gods , because there is but One and the same Divinity in them : The same individual numerical Divine Nature , being whole , perfect , undivided in them all ; originally in the Father , by Generation in the Son , and by Procession in the Holy Ghost , as I have already explained it , which is the most perfect Unity we can conceive between Three Wholes , or Three , each of which have the same whole undivided Nature distinctly in themselves . If this will not be allowed to be such a Unity as is included in the Notion of One God ; that the natural Notion of One God is of One only who is God , which is contradictory to the belief of Three , each of whom is in himself true and perfect God ; the answer the Catholick Fathers give to this ( as I have now shewn ) ought to satisfy all Christians ; that this is not the Scripture-notion of One God , That there is but One , who is God ; because the same Holy Scriptures which teach us , that there is but One God , do also teach us , that there are Three in the Unity of the Godhead . That not only the Father is God , as an Infinite , Eternal , Self-originated Being , and upon this account in a peculiar manner called the One and only true God ; but the Son also is true God , and the Holy Ghost true God , by the Communication of the same Divine Nature to them . Now God knows his own Nature and Unity best , and if he declares himself to be but One God , but yet requires us to believe his Eternal Son to be true and perfect God , and his Eternal Spirit to be true and perfect God ; it is certain that the Divinity of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost is very reconcilable with the Unity of God. For as far as Revelation must decide this Dispute , we are as much obliged to believe , That the Father is God , the Son God , and the Holy Ghost God , as we are to believe , That there is but One God. Those who will not acquiesce in this , must appeal from Scripture to Natural Reason , which is a very absurd and impudent Appeal ; for the plain sense of it is this , That they will believe their own Reason before the Scriptures , in matters relating to the Divine Nature and Unity , which all wise men acknowledge to be so much above human comprehension : That is , That they know the Unity of God better than God himself does ; or , which is the same thing , That they will never believe any Revelation to come from God , or any thing , how express soever the words are , to be the meaning of the Revelation , any farther than their own Reason approves it : Of which more elsewhere . And yet I dare appeal to any man of a free and unbiass'd Reason in this Cause , What is that Natural Notion we have of One God ? Is it any thing more , than that there is and can be but One Eternal Self-originated Being , who is the Principle or Cause of all other Beings ? And does not the Scripture , do not all Trinitarians , with the whole Catholick Church , own this ? Do not all the Christian Creeds teach us to profess our Faith in One God the Father , from whom the Son and the Holy Spirit receive their Godhead ? Thus far then Scripture , and Reason , and the Catholick Faith agree : Does Reason then deny , that God can beget of himself an Eternal Son , his own perfect Image and Likeness ? If it does , then indeed Scripture and Reason contradict each other : But I believe these men will not pretend to prove from Reason , That God could not beget an Eternal Son ; and if this cannot be proved by Reason , as I am certain it never can , then Reason does not contradict Scripture , which teaches us that God has an only begotten Son : And if God have an only begotten Son , Reason will teach us that the Son of God must be True and Perfect God , and yet not another God , because he has one and the same Nature with his Father . This is all that any Christian need to believe concerning this matter , and all this every Christian may understand ; and all this every one who sincerely believes the Faith of the Holy Trinity , does and must agree in : Those who do not , I will at any time undertake to prove to be secret Hereticks , and Enemies to the Christian Faith : and as for those who do , I will never dispute with them about some Terms of Art , and the Propriety of Words , in a matter which is so much above all words and forms of speech . And here I leave this matter upon a sure Bottom ; and here we are ready to join Issue with our Socinian Adversaries . Our only Controversy as to the Doctrine of the Trinity with them is , Whether the Son , and the Holy Spirit , each of them , be True and Perfect God : If we can prove this , which has been the Faith of the Catholick Church in all Ages , we need dispute no other matters with them ; nor can any Disputes among our selves give any Support to their Cause . A Dispute about Words may look like a difference in Faith , when both contending Parties may mean the same thing ; as those must do , who sincerely own and believe , That the Son is True and Perfect God , and the Holy Ghost is True and Perfect God , and that neither of them are the Father , nor each other . And therefore those different Explications of the Doctrine of the Trinity which the Socinians of late have so much triumphed in , and made more and greater than really they are , and more sensless too by their false Representations , can do them no real service among Wise Men , tho it may help to amuse the Ignorant . If any men have subtilly distinguished away the Catholick Faith , they may take them to themselves , and increase their Party by them : But if this were the Case , as I hope it is not , it is no Objection against the Catholick Faith , that some men openly oppose it , and others , at least in some mens opinions , do secretly undermine it . There is reason to guard the Christian Faith against all inconvenient or dangerous Explications , which seem to approach near Heresy , if this be done with due Christian Temper and Moderation ; but I hope the Disputes of the Trinitarians are not so irreconcilable , but that they will all unite against a Pestilent and Insolent Heresy , which now promises it self glorious Successes only from their private Quarrels . CHAP. II. An Examination of Some Considerations concerning the Trinity . SECT . I. Concerning the Ways of managing this Controversy . BEfore I put an end to this Discourse , it will contribute very much to the better understanding of what I have said , and give a clearer Notion of the Use of it , to apply these Principles to the Examination of a late Treatise , entituled , Some Considerations concerning the Trinity . The Author I know not ; he writes with Temper ; and though he takes the liberty to find fault , he does it Civilly , and therefore he ought to meet with Civil Usage , and so he shall from me , as far as the bare Censure of his Principles will admit . I was , I confess , startled at the first entrance , to find him own the Vncertainty of our Faith in these Points ( concerning the Trinity ) ; for if after the most perfect Revelation of the Gospel that we must ever expect , and the Universal Tradition of the Catholick Church for above Sixteen Hundred years , this Faith is still uncertain , it is time to leave off all Enquiries about it . As for the many absurd and blasphemous Expositions that have been made of this Doctrine ; if by them he means the Ancient Heresies which infested the Church , they are so far from rendring our Faith uncertain , that ( as I shall shew him anon ) the very Condemnation of those Heresies by the Catholick Church , gives us a more certain account what the true Catholick Faith was . I agree with him , that the warm and indiscreet Management of contrary Parties , has been to the Prejudice of Religion , among unthinking people , who hence conclude the uncertainty of our Faith ; and it concerns good men to remove this Prejudice , by distinguishing the Catholick Faith from the Disputes about Ecclesiastical Words , and the Catholick Sense of them ; and I hope I have made it appear this may be done , and then the Faith is secure , notwithstanding these Disputes ; and as for any other Offence or Scandal , let those look to it , who either give or take it . This Considerer dislikes all the Ways and Methods which have hitherto been taken to compose these Disputes . 1. He dislikes those who are for reverencing the Mystery of the Trinity , without ever looking into it at all ; who think it proposed to us only as a Trial and Exercise of our Faith ; and the more implicit that is , the fuller do we express our Trust and Reliance upon God. Now if by not looking into it at all , he means not enquiring what they are to believe concerning the Trinity , nor why they believe it ; this I acknowledge is a very odd sort of Faith ; but I believe he cannot name any such men whose avowed Principle this is : An Implicit Faith is only meritorious in the Church of Rome , but then an Implicit Faith is to believe without knowing what or why ; but these Ignoramus or Mystery-Trinitarians ( as some late Socinian Considerers have insolently and reproachfully called them , and whom our Author ought not to have imitated ) never teach such an Implicit Faith as this , much less admire the Triumph and Merit of Faith in believing Contradictions , and the more the better . Under all the appearance of Modesty and Temper , these are very severe and scandalous Reflections upon some of the Wisest and Greatest Men amongst us , and which this Considerer had little reason for , as will soon appear . The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the most Fundamental Article of the whole Christian Faith , and therefore an explicite Knowledge and Belief of it is essential to the Christian Profession , and thus all Protestant Divines teach ; and whatever Voluminous Disputes there may be about it , the true Christian Faith of the Trinity is comprized in a few words , and the Proofs of it are plain and easy : For the Scriptures plainly and expresly teach us , that there is but One God ; and that the Father is God , the Son is God , and the Holy Ghost is God ; that the Father is not the Son , nor the Son the Father , nor the Holy Ghost either Father or Son ; as I have already explained it : This we all teach our people to believe upon the Authority of Scripture ( which is the only Authority we can have for matters of pure Revelation ) , and expound those Texts to them which expresly contain this Faith , and vindicate them from the Cavils and perverse Comments of Hereticks : And this , I think , is not to reverence the Mystery , without ever looking into it at all , when we look as far as we can , till Revelation bounds our prospect : And this is to look into it as far as God would have us , and as far as is necessary to all the purposes of Religion ; that is , as far as the knowledge of this Mystery is of any use to us . Now when this is done , there are a great many wise men who think we ought to look into this Mystery no further ; and there seems to be a very good reason for it ; viz. because with all our looking , we can see no further . There are indeed some curious Questions started about reconciling the Unity of God with the belief of a Trinity , in which there are Three , each of whom is by himself True and Perfect God ; for if there be but One God , how can there be Three , each of whom is True God ? Now whatever Answer may be given to such kind of Objections and pretended Contradictions , these Learned Men think there is no reason to clog the Christian Faith with them , nor to disturb the minds of ordinary Christians with such Subtilties : That the Authority of God who has revealed this , and the acknowledged Incomprehensibility of the Divine Nature , is a sufficient Answer to all Objections ; and as ridiculously as a Witty Man may represent this , That is the truest Faith , not which can believe Contradictions , but which can despise the pretence of Contradictions , when opposed to a Divine Revelation ; for that resolves Faith wholly into Divine Authority , which is the true Notion of a Divine Faith. To say that this will not suppress any of our Doubts or Disputes in Religion , is a manifest mistake ; for such a profound Veneration for the Authority of God , would silence them all : And whatever is the Natural Propension of the Soul to the search of Truth , Natural Reason will tell us , that there are a thousand things which we can know nothing of , and that it is in vain to search after them ; but that the Divine Wisdom is unsearchable , and therefore God is to be believed beyond our own knowledge or comprehension ; and when we are agreed about the Truth and Certainty of the Revelation , that will silence all our Disputes about what is revealed , and set bounds to our Enquiries . And I never knew before , the danger of submitting our Reason to Faith , of a blind resignation of judgment ( as he is pleased to call it ) to a Divine Revelation , for that is the matter in debate . Blasphemies and Contradictions may , and have been imposed upon mens Faith , under the Venerable Name of Mysteries ; but such Blasphemies and Contradictions were never revealed in Scripture , and therefore belong not to the present Enquiry , which only concerns believing what we allow to be revealed , without looking any farther into it . We allow all men to examine the Truth and Certainty of the Revelation , and to examine what is revealed ; but here we must stop , and not pretend to judge of what is revealed , by the measures of human Reason , which is so inadequate a Rule for Divine and Supernatural Truths . This is all very plain ; and if he will allow the Truth of this , he must confess , that what he has said upon this first Head is nothing to the purpose . It is a very popular thing to decry Mysteries , and to cry up Reason , but to be very cautiously imitated , because it is generally found that such men are either no great Believers , or no very deep Reasoners . 2. In the next place he tells us of a very strange sort of men , who call the Doctrine of the Trinity an Incomprehensible Mystery , and yet are at a great deal of pains to bring it down to a level with Human Vnderstanding ; and are all very earnest to have their own particular Explications acknowledged as necessary Articles of Faith. An Incomprehensible Mystery is what Human Reason cannot comprehend ; to bring an Incomprehensible Mystery down to the level of Human Vnderstandings , is to make it comprehensible by Reason ; and those are notable men indeed , who undertake to make that comprehensible by Reason , which at the same time they acknowledge to be incomprehensible : It is to be hoped this Considerer does a little mistake them : Men may be-believe the Trinity to be an Incomprehensible Mystery , and yet speak of it in words which may be understood , which does not pretend to make the Mystery comprehensible , but to deliver it from Nonsense , Jargon , and Heresy ; that is , not to explain the Mystery , which is and will be a Mystery still , but to secure the true Christian Doctrine of the Trinity , which they desire may continue an Article of the Christian Faith still . There are , he tells us , a third sort of men who are for no Mystery ; that is , the Socinians ; and I was glad to find them censured and rejected , but wonder'd how they came to be numbred among those men who have laboured in this good design of explaining the Trinity , and reconciling the Disputes about it . Well : All these Methods have proved ineffectual ; let us then ( to omit other matters ) enquire what Course our Considerer took to make himself a fit and competent Judge of this Controversy : Take the account of it in his own words ; I have endeavoured to deliver my self from Prejudice and Confusion of Terms , and to speak justly and intelligibly : And not being yet prepossess'd in favour of any particular Explication , the better to preserve my freedom of examining the Subject in hand , I have purposely forborn to search the Fathers , Schoolmen , or Fratres Poloni , or read over any later Treatises concerning this Controversy , while I was composing the present Essay , resolving to consult nothing but Scripture and my own Natural Sentiments , and draw all my Reflections from thence , taking only such which easily and without constraint offered themselves . Thus Des Cartes made a New Philosophy , and this is the best way that can be thought of to make a New Faith. This has an appearance of great Indifferency and Impartiality , but it is a great mistake when men boast in this as a virtue and attainment , and an excellent disposition of mind for the Examination of Matters of Faith. I never in my life yet saw any one example to the contrary , but that when men who had been educated in the Christian Faith , and tolerably instructed in the meaning and the reasons of it , could persuade themselves to be thus perfectly indifferent whether it were true or false , but this indifference was owing to a secret byass and inclination to Infidelity or Heresy . It is in vain to pretend such an absolute freedom of Judgment , without being perfectly indifferent which side is true or false : For if we wish and desire to find one side of the question true , and the other false , this is a Byass , and our Judgment is not equally poiz'd . And certainly in matters of such vast consequence as the Christian Faith , and especially that great Fundamental Article of the Holy Trinity , such an Indifferency as this is , can never recommend either an Author or his Writings to sober Christians . Will this Considerer then own , that it was indifferent to him when he undertook this design , whether the Doctrine of the Trinity should upon Examination appear true or false ? If it were not , the Socinians will tell him that he had not preserved a Freedom of Judgment , and then he did well in not consulting the Fratres Poloni , for he had condemn'd them without hearing ; or if he were persuaded concerning the Doctrine of the Trinity , Was it indifferent to him whether the Sabellian , or Arian , or True Catholick Notion of a Trinity , contained in the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds , were the True Faith ? That is , Was it indifferent to him , whether the Ancient Heresies condemn'd by the Catholick Church , or that Faith which the Catholick Church has always own'd and professed , be the True Faith ? For my part , I confess , I am not thus indifferent ; I will never shut my eyes against plain Conviction , which is all the Freedom of judging which is allowable ; but my Prejudices are , and I hope always will be , on the side of the Catholick Faith. No wise man can be thus indifferent . And we shall find this Considerer was not so very indifferent ; for the main Principles he reasons on , are some Popular Mistakes and Prejudices , which he seems to have espoused without due Consideration . But let us allow him to be as free and unprejudic'd as he pleases , I cannot think that he took a good method to understand this Sacred Mystery . He laid aside Fathers , Schoolmen , and other later Treatises concerning this Controversy , and consulted nothing but Scripture , and his own natural Sentiments . To consult Scripture is indeed a very good way , and absolutely necessary in matters of pure Revelation , which can be certainly known no other way ; but the Fathers at least are very good Guides , and have very great Authority in expounding Scripture ; and our Natural Sentiments , otherwise called Natural Reason , is a very bad , a very dangerous Expositor of Scripture in such Supernatural Mysteries , and has no Authority in these mattters ; and how our Considerer has been misled by his Natural Sentiments , will soon appear . A few words might serve for an Answer to the Considerer ; but since this is the great Pretence of Socinians and other Hereticks , to set up Scripture and Natural Reason , against Scripture and the Traditionary Faith of the Catholick Church ; and our Considerer and some other unwary Writers chime in with them , it will be very necessary to shew how this betrays the Catholick Faith , and makes Reason and Criticism the Supreme Judge of Controversy ; and then men may dispute on without end , and believe at last as they please . The Considerer tells us , I take it for granted in a Protestant Countrey , that Scripture is the only Standard of all necess●ry Revealed Truths : Neither in the present Case is there any room for a Traditionary Faith. For besides that all the Fathers and Ancient Writers ground their Exposition of the Trinity wholly upon Scripture , I cannot conceive that the Subject is capable of a plainer Revelation ; as I shall endeavour to shew more fully in the following Discourse . What this last Clause means , we shall understand better hereafter ; but his denying a Traditionary Faith , is very extraordinary ; for if we can prove from the most Authentick Records , what the constant belief of the Catholick Chu●ch has been , especially in the first and purest Ages of it , This I take to be a Traditionary Faith ; nor is it the less Traditionary because the Fathers and Ancient Writers sound their Expositions of the Trinity wholly upon Scripture : For if this be true , then we have a Traditionary Faith of the Trinity , and a Traditionary Exposition of the Scripture , for the Reason and Proof of that Faith , both in one ; which I take to be a greater Authority , and safer Guide , than mere Scripture and our Natural Sentiments : And though Protestants allow Scripture to be the only Standard of Faith , yet he might have remembred , that the Church of England requires us to expound Scripture as the Ancient Fathers expound it . But this Wholly is a Mistake ; for the Primitive Fathers pleaded Tradition as well as Scripture against the Ancient Hereticks , as two distinct , but agreeing Testimonies ; as this Author might have known , would he have been pleased to have consulted Irenaeus and Tertullian de praescriptionibus , with divers others . What he means by a plainer Revelation , I cannot tell ; it makes it somewhat plainer , to know what the Catholick Faith has always been , and what the Catholick Interpretation of Scripture has always been ; which is the plainest and strongest Answer to Wit and Criticism , and Natural Sentiments , when they contradict this Traditionary Faith. But to discourse this matter more particularly , I shall enquire , 1. What that Catholick Church is , from whence we must receive this Traditionary Faith. 2. What Evidence we have of this Tradition concerning the Trinity , in the Catholick Church . 3. Of what Authority this ought reasonably to be in expounding Scripture , SECT . II. Concerning the Traditionary Faith of the Church , with respect to the Doctrine of the Trinity . FIrst then , Let us consider what that Catholick Church is , from whence we must receive this Traditionary Faith. Now since Christ gave the Supreme Authority of preaching the Gospel , and planting Churches , to his Apostles , those only must be reckoned the true Apostolick Churches , from which we must receive the true Christian Faith , which were planted by the Apostles , or by Apostolick men , and lived in Communion with them . It is not sufficient to prove any Doctrine to be the true Primitive Faith , That it was preached in the Apostles days , but that it was the Faith of the Apostolick Churches , which were planted by the Apostles , and received their Faith from them ; for that Only is the Primitive and Apostolick Faith. And therefore though Arians and Socinians could prove their Heresies to be as Ancient as the Apostolick Age , ( as we grant something like them was ) this does not prove theirs to be the true Christian Faith , if it were not the Faith of the Apostolick Churches . And this was very visible in those days , what these Churches were which were planted by the Apostles , and lived in Communion with them , and is very visible still in the most Authentick Records of the Church . For the Hereticks which sprang up in that Age , separated themselves from the Apostles , and thereby made a visible distinction between the True Apostolick Churches , and Heretical Conventicles : And in after-Ages they either separated themselves , or were cast out of the Communion of the Church . This St. Iohn accounted a great advantage to the Christian Church , and an Infallible Proof of False Doctrine and Heresy , as it certainly was at that time ; for if the Apostles taught the True Faith , those who separated from the Apostles , and preached another Gospel , which they never learnt from them , must be Hereticks ; 1 Ioh. 2.18 , 19. Little Children , it is the last time ; and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come ▪ even now there are many Antichrists ; whereby we know that it is the last time : They went out from us , but they were not of us ; for if they had been of us , they no doubt would have continued with us ; but they went out , that they might be made manifest , that they were not all of us . The Separation of Hereticks in that Age was a visible renouncing the Apostolick Faith and Communion ; and therefore how many Heresies soever started up , it was still visible , where the Apostolick Faith and Tradition was preserved ; and this was of admirable use to preserve the Faith of the Church sincere and uncorrupt : For had these Hereticks continued in Communion with the Apostles and Apostolick Churches , and secretly propagated their Heresies , and infected great numbers of Christians , without dividing into distinct and opposite Communions , it would have been a great dispute in the next Age , which had been the true Apostolick Faith , when the Members of the same Churches , which all their time lived in Communion with the Apostles , should preach contrary Doctrines , and pretend with equal confidence , Apostolick Tradition ; which the greatest Hereticks might very plausibly have done , had they always lived in Communion with the Apostles : But they went out from us , says St. Iohn , that they might be made manifest , that they were not all of us ; that the world might know how to distinguish between Catholick Christians , and Hereticks ; and between the True Catholick Faith , and the Corrupt Innovations of Perverse men . And this I take to be a good reason to this day , why we should keep the Communion of the Church sincere and uncorrupt , and not set our doors open for Arians and Socinians , and all sorts of Hereticks to mix with us ▪ For though , since the C●mmunion of the Church has b●en so broken and divided by Schisms , and Factions , and H●resies , it is no proof of the True Apostolick Faith , merely that it is the Faith of such a Church , ( though the Church of Rome still vainly pretends to such Authority ) yet it would soon ruin the Christian Church , and the Christian Faith , to have no distinction preserved between true Apostolick Churches , and the Apostolick Faith , and the Conventicles of Hereticks , the impure Off-spring of Cerinthus and Ebion , of Photinus or Arius . And therefore I cannot but abhor that Accommodating-Design which some men have expressed so warm a Zeal for , to Comprehend away the Faith of the Holy Trinity , in some loose general Expressions , without any particular determined Sense , and to purge our Liturgies of every thing that savours of the Worship of the Blessed Trinity , that Arians and Socinians may join in Communion with us : Which is a plausible Pretence , under the Notion of Christian Charity and Communion , to betray the Christian Faith : Not expresly to renounce it , but to bury it in silence , as a Useless and Church-dividing Dispute . I am satisfied this Holy Faith can never be Confuted ; but could these men prevail , it might soon be Lost. But to return : This is a sure Foundation for our Enquiries into the Faith of the Primitive Church , To know what the Primitive Church is ; for otherwise we may mistake Old Heresies for the Primitive Faith. But those Churches which were planted by the Apostles or Apostolical men , and received their Faith from them , and lived in Communion with them , are the true Primitive and Apostolick Churches , and their Faith is the true Primitive Apostolick Faith ; and what that was , Iustin Martyr and Irenaeus assure us ; The Faith and Worship of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost : And what their Faith was as to all these Three Divine Persons , is evident from the Writings of those Ancient Fathers , who preserved the Succession and Communion of these Apostolick Churches . But this is not what I intend at present ; but from hence it appears , That those Ancient Heresies which were rejected and condemned by the Apostolick Churches , as soon as they appeared , could not be the Apostolick Faith. These Hereticks separated from the Apostles , and Apostolick Churches , and therefore could not receive their Faith from them ; nor did they pretend to this , while the Apostles lived , though they forged new Gospels , and Acts , and Revelations for them when they were dead . And thus all the Heresies of Simon Magus , Menander , Cerinthus , Ebion , Valentinus , and all those other Divisions and Subdivisions of Hereticks , who denied or corrupted the Doctrine of the Divinity of our Saviour , or his Incarnation , are all rejected from the Apostolical Faith ; for these Hereticks did not receive their Doctrines from the Apostles and Apostolick Churches , as they themselves owned by their Separation from the Apostolick Churches ; and these Churches gave Testimony against their Corruptions , as soon as they were known ; and there is no need of any other Confutation of them , if we allow the Doctrine of the Apostles to be the only Infallible Rule of Faith. This is the Argument from Prescription , which Tertullian insists so largely on , and is frequently urged by Irenaeus , and other Catholick Writers ; which is not , as some mistake it , an Argument merely from Antiquity ; for though the true Faith was ancienter than any Heresies , yet some Heresies had Antiquity enough to make them venerable , if that alone would do it ; but the Argument was from the Tradition of the Apostolick Churches , which were planted by the Apostles , and had preserved an uninterrupted Succession from them , and all the world over taught the same Faith , without any material change or variation : Whereas none of these Heresies , how Ancient soever they might be , could pretend to such an Original , were never taught by the Apostles , or any Apostolical men , nor were received or owned by any Churches planted by them . And this is an unanswerable Argument , as long as we can reasonably suppose the Tradition of the Catholick Faith , and the Communion of the Church , was preserved entire , which it visibly was , at least till the first Nicene Council ; and during all this Period , had we no other ways to know it , we might learn the Faith of the Catholick Church , by its opposition to those Heresies which it condemned . 2 dly . And this is the only Evidence which I shall at present insist on for the Catholick Tradition of the Faith of the Holy and Ever blessed Trinity ; for we may see the plain Footsteps of the Ancient Catholick Tradition concerning Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , in those Ancient Heresies . Simon Magus was the first Heretick we read of , and may be very justly accounted the Father of many of the Ancient Heresies , having led the way , and sown the Seeds and Principles of them . Now if we believe that Account which Epiphanius gives of him , this wicked Impostor pretended himself to be God , both Father and Son , and affirmed that his Lewd Woman , who was called sometimes Helena , sometimes Selene , was the Holy Ghost . These Names and Distinctions of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , he could not possibly learn from any persons , but only from the Christian Church , in which he was baptized in the Name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost . And therefore we may observe , that before his Baptism he only pretended to be some Great One , and the deluded people thought him to be the great power of God , 8. Acts 9 , 10. But when he was baptized , and soon a●ter apostatized from the Christian Faith , the Devil , whose great Power he was , set him up for the God of the Christians , both Father and Son. And though he blasphemously attributed these Titles of God the Father and Son to himself , and wickedly corrupted this Faith , by making the Father and Son but one Person under different appearances ; that he appeared to his Countreymen the Samaritans as God the Father , and to the Iews as the Son ; yet there had been no pretence for this , had not the Christian Church owned Jesus Christ , the Son of God , to be true and perfect God. For had the Father been God , and the Son a mere Man , it is certain Father and Son could never be the same Person : And besides the Wickedness and Impudence of the Impostor , in pretending himself to be Father and Son , it had been ridiculous to pretend this to Christians , had he not known that the Catholick Faith taught the Son to be True and Real God , as well as the Father ; and then if he could persuade them that he was God the Father , he might with the same ease persuade them that he was God the Son too , under a different appearance . Thus when he pretends that his wicked Strumpet was the Holy Ghost , by whom he created the Angels , which created the World ; the very Prophanation of this Holy Mystery shews what the Faith of the Church in that Age was concerning the Divinity of the Holy Ghost ; for he could have no other Inducement to make his Woman , whom he calls the Holy Ghost , such a Divine Power , but because he knew the Christian Church believed the Holy Ghost to be God , and the Spirit of God , as he made her to be his Divine Creating Intelligence . Another Heresy concerning the Person of Christ , attributed Divinity to him , owned him to be the Son of God , though not of the Maker of the world , ( who they said was but an Inferior Angel ) , but of the Unknown and Incomprehensible Father ; and that he appeared indeed in the world like a Man , but was no true and real Man. Now what should put such a wild Conceit as this into their heads , had they not known this to be the Catholick Faith , That Jesus Christ was the Son of God ? Their eyes could not see him to be God , but they saw him to be a Man , and yet they deny him to be a Man , and teach that he was the Son of God , in the form and apparition of a Man : Which is a plain indication what the Catholick Faith was , That Christ was both God and Man. This they could not believe , that the Son of God would so unite himself to Human Nature , as to become true and real man ; and yet they thought it so evident that he was the Son of God , or at least saw that this Faith was accounted so sacred , that they would not venture to deny that , and therefore chose to deny his Humanity , and make a mere Apparition of him . But then on the other hand , Cerinthus and Ebion thought it too evident to be denied , That he was a true and real Man ; and therefore they taught , That Iesus was a Man , and no more than a Man , born as other Men are , of Ioseph and Mary . But then it is worth considering , how they came to make this the distinguishing Doctrine of their Sect , That Christ was but a mere Man , if the Apostolick Churches , whom they opposed , and from whom they separated , had not taught , That he was more than a Man , That he was God as well as Man. Was there ever any Dispute either before or since , concerning any other Man in the world , who was owned to be a Man , Whether he were a mere Man or not ? When one sort of Hereticks deny Christ to be a Man , and another deny him to be God , and both of them in contradiction to the Apostolick Faith , it is a very strong presumption at least , what the True Catholick Apostolick Faith was , That Christ was both God and Man. And yet Cerinthus himself , though he makes Jesus to be a mere Man , owns Christ to be a Divine Person , and that this Christ descended on Jesus at his Baptism , in the form of a Dove , and rested on him , or dwelt in him , and wrought Miracles by him , but left him at his Crucifixion , and flew up again to Heaven . So that , according to Cerinthus , from the time that Jesus was baptized , till he was crucified , the Divinity was very nearly and intimately united to him ; not that he was God and Man in one Person , as the Catholick Faith teaches , but yet that Jesus Christ was a Divine and Human Person , though Christ was one Person , and Jesus another . And therefore as the Nicene Creed ( which we find also in the Ancient Oriental Creeds ) teaches us to believe in One God the Father Almighty , Maker of Heaven and Earth , and of all things visible and invisible ; not to exclude Christ from being the Maker of the World , but in opposition to those Hereticks who would not allow the Supreme God , who is the Father of Christ , to be the Maker of the World , but attributed the Creation of this World to one or more Inferior Angels ; So they add , And in One Lord Iesus Christ , the only begotten Son of God , in opposition to those who made Christ and Jesus Two Persons . And yet in this very Heresy we may see what the Ancient Catholick Faith was , That Jesus Christ was God and Man ; as Cerinthus himself owned , though he would not unite Christ and Jesus into One Person , nor make the Union inseparable . The Valentinian Heresy , though dressed up after the mode of the Pagan Theology , was a manifest Corruption of the Christian Faith , under a Pretence of a more perfect knowledge of Divine Mysteries ; and we may still see the broken Remains of the Catholick Tradition of the Trinity among them . Their Pleroma , by which they seem to understand the Fulness of the Deity , as St. Paul uses that Phrase , 2 Col. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , That the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in Christ bodily . I say , this Pleroma consisted of several Aeons or Divine Persons , which were propagated from the Unknown and Incomprehensible Father in gradual Descents , and all together made up the Compleat and Perfect Deity ; which were more or fewer , according to the various Fancies of Hereticks . Now from these wild Conceits we may in some measure learn what the Catholick Faith was : That the Godhead was not confined to one Single and Solitary Person , but that there is such a Foecundity in the Divine Nature , as communicates it self to more Persons than one . For had it been the known and received Faith of the Christian Church , That there is but One Person in the Godhead , as well as but One God , there had been no pretence for these Hereticks , who called themselves Christians , and boasted of a more perfect knowledge of the Christian Faith , to have invented such a number of Aeons , which they included within their Pleroma , as the several Emanations of their Deity . And we may observe , that most of the Names which they gave to their several Aeons , are Scripture-Names and Titles , which the Pagan Theology knew nothing of , and which they could learn no where , but from the Christian Church . Basilides , I think , was one of the first who gave us any distinct account of these Aeons , which was new modell'd by Valentinus , and other succeeding Hereticks ; and his first and Supreme Aeon , as Epiphanius tells us , was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; The Unbegotten One , who only is the Father of all , and by others is called the Propater , and the Unknown , Invisible , Incomprehensible Father . Now though the Heathens very familiarly call their Supreme God , the Father of Gods and Men , with respect to his Creating Power ; yet as the Notion of Father is founded in a substantial Generation , as these Hereticks plainly understood it , so it is the peculiar Character of God under the Gospel , who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , his only begotten Son. It is certain the first Person in the Godhead was never called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the One that is unbegotten , but to distinguish him from One who is begotten ; the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the only begotten ; who is God also , but God o● God. And it is observable what Tertullian tells us of Heracleon , That he made his first Ae●n to be illud quod pronunciat , which some Criticks not understanding , think to be a defect in the Copy ; but the sense is plain , that his first Aeon is he that pronounceth , or speaketh ; by which he represented the Eternal Generation of the Word : So that his first Aeon is the Pronouncer or Speaker , that is , the Father of the Eternal Word , which St. Iohn tells us was in the beginning , was with God , and was God : Which shews that this is nothing else but a disguized Corruption of the Catholick Faith , concerning the Eternal Generation of the Word from the Eternal Unbegotten Father . To confirm this , I observe farther , That most of the Names which they give to their other Aeons , are such Names , Titles , or Characters , as the Scripture gives to Christ , or the Holy Spirit , which they have multiplied into so many distinct Persons or Aeons , such as the Mind , Word , Prudence , Power , and Wisdom ; Truth , Life , Light , the Only begotten , the Paraclete , and the like . Valentinus indeed , as Epiphanius observes , did model his Thirty Aeons according to Hesiod's Genealogy and Number of Gods , and with some manifest allusions to them ; but yet he retained as many Scripture-Names as he could , the better to reconcile unwary people to his fabulous Genealogi●s , as the hidden and mysterious sense of Scripture . And it is impossible such Fables should ever have obtained any Credit , had they not been grafted on the Catholick Faith , and pretended to improve it with new degrees of Light and Knowledge . When these Heresies were pretty well silenced , up start Noetus and Sabellius , who ran into the other Extreme . The Valentinians had corrupted the Doctrine of the Trinity , by multiplying Three Divine Persons into Thirty Aeons , besides all their other Pagan and Fabulous Conceits about them : This offended these men , as downright Polytheism ( as indeed it was no better ) ; and to avoid this , they reject a Trinity of Real and Substantial Persons , for a Trinity of Names ; that Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are but Three Names of the same Person , who is sometimes called the Father , at other times the Son , or the Holy Ghost , with respect to his different Appearances or Operations : Or they made the Son and Holy Ghost not Two Persons , but Two Personal Attributes in God , his Wisdom , or Power : Or they made the Trinity but Three Parts of One Compounded God , as a Man consists of Body , Soul , and Spirit ; which of late have been revived among us , under different Names . After these men , arose Arius and his Followers , who out of great Zeal also for the Unity of God , framed a New and more Subtile Heresy : They were sensible that Father and Son were not Two Names , but Two Real Distinct Persons , and therefore they attributed the whole entire Divinity to the Father , and made the Son not to be God by Nature , but the most Perfect and Excellent Creature , as Perfect an Image of God , as any Creature can be , but not Consubstantial with God , nor Coequal and Coeternal with him . All these Heresies were rejected and condemned by the Catholick Church in their several Ages , as soon as they appeared , and were taken notice of : And this is one very good way to learn what the Catholick Faith was , from its Opposition to those Heresies which the Catholick Church condemned , and from the Corrupted Remains of the Ancient Faith which appeared in them . For these Hereticks were originally Christians , and professed themselves Christians , and therefore did not wholly renounce the Christian Faith , but grafted their Heresies on it . As to confine my self to the Subj●ct of the present Dispute , What we are to understand by Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , Whether Three Distinct , Real , Substantial Persons , or not ; each of whom is distinctly by himself True and Perfect God , but in the Unity of the same Divine Nature and Godhead . Now that this was the received Faith of the Catholick Church , we may learn both from the Valentinians ▪ Sabellians , and Arians . Though the Valentinians , as I observed before , had corrupted the Doctrine of the Trinity , either with the Platonick Philosophy , as that it self had been corrupted by the Iunior Platonists ; or with the Pagan Theology ; yet the Propagation of their Aeons in different Degrees and Descents from the first Supreme Aeon , the Unbegotten One , and the Invisible and Incomprehensible Father , as they stile him , shews what they thought the Catholick Faith was , concerning the Eternal Generation of the Son , and Procession of the Holy Spirit , which they took to be a Substantial Generation and Procession ; and accordingly in imitation of this Faith , asserted a Substantial 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Emanation of one Aeon from another ; and which is more , none of the Ancient Fathers who wrote against this Heresy , as far as I have observed , ever quarrel with them upon this account . Nay Tertullian , though he abominates these Heresies , owns this Probole or Emanation in a true Catholick Sense ; and tells us , that these Hereticks borrowed this word from the Catholick Faith , though they fitted it to their Heresy : And challenges any man to say whether the Divine Word be not produced by the Father ; and if it be , Here , says he , is the Prolation or Emanation , which the true Catholick Faith owns . And adds , That the fault of this Heresy was not their producing one Aeon from another , but that besides the number of their fictitious Aeons , they did separate these Emanations and Aeons from their Author ; that the Aeons knew not the Father , nay , desired to know him , but could not know him ; and was e'en dissolved with Passion and Desire ; whereas in the Catholick Faith there is the most Inseparable Union of the Son with the Father , and the most Intimate and Perfect Knowledge of him . So that Tertullian allows of a Real and Substantial Production of the Person of the Son from the Person of the Father ; as the Valentinians pretended of their Aeons ; and asserts , that these Hereticks learnt this from the Catholick Faith of the Trinity : And that the Church must not reject this Probole , Prolation , or Emanation , in an Orthodox , Catholick Use of those words , because Hereticks abuse them , to countenance their own Heresies . As for the Noetians and Sabellians , ( for however they explain the Doctrine of the Trinity , whether by Three Names , or Three Powers , or Three Parts , while they Teach , That the One God is but One Single Person , the Heresy is the same ) it is impossible the Catholick Church should reject this Heresy , without asserting Three Distinct , Real , Substantial Persons in the Unity of the Godhead , each of whom is as True and Perfect God , as each of Three Men , Peter , Iames , and Iohn , is a True , Perfect , Distinct Man ; though these Three Men are not uni●ed , as the Three Divine Persons are . The occasion of this Heresy was , That they thought that Three Real Distinct Persons in the Godhead were Three Gods ; and therefore , though being profess'd Christians , and consequently baptized in the Name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost , they durst not deny Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , yet neither would they own Three Divine Persons , but turned them into Three Names , or Three Parts of One Person ; which has much more sense in it than Three Modes ; though Three Modes of the same Person , let them call them Three Personalities if they please , is the same Heresy , if there be but One Suppositum ; as One Man may be the Subject of Three , or Three and twenty Modes , and be but One Human Person still . Noetus and Sabellius did certainly apprehend , that by Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , the Catholick Church understood Three Distinct , Substantial , Divine Persons , or else why should they charge them with Tritheism upon this account , and turn Three Persons into Three Names , or Three Parts of One and the same God , to avoid the Imputation of Three Gods ? And if this had not been the belief of the Catholick Church , what meant their Zeal against this Heresy ? For all the Wit of Man can't find a Medium between Sabellianism , and Three Divine Substantial Persons . A Trinity must be Three Somewhats , as it has been lately called ; and then it must either be One Suppositum or Person , under Three Names , or Three Modes , or compounded of Three Parts ; or be Three Distinct Suppositums and Persons . Now if this had been the Catholick Faith , That the Trinity is but One Suppositum or Person , under Three Names or Modes , &c. I cannot imagine why the Catholick Church should have quarrell'd with these Hereticks , or they with the Catholick Church , unless they both mistook one another : But if the Sabellians and Catholicks understood themselves and each other , and did intend to contradict each other , we certainly know what the Catholick Faith was : For there is nothing contradicts a Noetian and Sabellian Trinity , but a Trinity , of Distinct , Substantial , Divine Persons . And Novatianus well observes , That these Hereticks did acknowledge the Divinity of Christ ; That whoever Christ was , it was evident from those Characters given of him in Scripture , That he was True and Perfect God : And because the Father is True and Perfect God , and Christ True and Perfect God , for fear of owning Two Gods , they make the Father and the Son to be but One and the same Person . The Arians denied the Eternal Godhead of Christ , and made a Creature of him , though the most excellent Creature , the Minister and Instrument of God in making the World ; and the reason of this Heresy was the same ; viz. for fear of a Plurality of Gods , should they allow Christ to be True and Perfect God. And this still is a plain evidence what they thought the Catholick Faith to be ; not only that Christ was True and Real God , but that he was Truly and Really a Distinct Person from God the Father ; so distinct , that if they should acknowledge him to be True God , he would be a Second God ; which they thought contradicted the Faith of One God. Well : Though they would not own him to be True God , yet they own him to be a distinct Person from the Father , as distinct as God and a Creature are distinct . Do the Catholicks now quarrel with the Arians , that they have made a Substantial Person of the Son ( as in reason t●ey ought to have done , had th●y not believed the Son to be a distinct Substantial Person ) ; this Dispute we hear nothing of ; but the only Dispute was concerning the Consubstantiality of the Son with the Father ; and that proves , that they did own the Son to be a Substantial Person ; for were he not in a true proper sense a Person , and a Substantial Person , he could not be Consubstantial with the Father . Nay , St Austin expresly tells us , That Arius agreed with the Catholicks against the Sabellians , in making the Son a distinct Person from the Father ; and if so , the Catholicks taught , That the Son was as distinct a Person as Arius did , though not a Separate and Created Person , as he did . Now when Arius would have reduced Christ into the number of Creatures , though he made him the first and most excellent Creature , created before the World , and God's Minister in making the World , as like to God as a Creature can possibly be , but not of the same Nature with God ; the Catholick Church would not bear this , but in a most Venerable Synod collected from most parts of the Christian World , condemn this as contrary to the Faith always received and owned in their several Churches . Thus far , at least , the Tradition of the Church was Sacred and Venerable , and the concurrent Testimony of all these several Churches , was a more certain Proof of the Apostolick Faith , than all the Wit and Subtilty of Arius : For Wit may patronize New Errors , but cannot prove That to be the Ancient Apostolick Faith , which the Church had never received from the Apostles , nor ever heard of before . This I take to be a very sensible Proof what the Faith of the Christian Church was , from the Times of the Apostles till the Council of Nice ; and consequently , what that Faith was which the Church received from the Apostles : And this abundantly satisfies me , That whatever loose Expressions we may meet with in some of the Fathers , before the Arian Controversy was started , and managed with great Art and Subtilty ( though I know of none but what are capable of a very Orthodox Sense ) , it is certain that they were not Arians , nor intended any such thing in what they said . For had Arianism been the Traditionary Faith of the Church , it must have been known to be so ; and then how came the Church to be so strangely alarm'd at the first news of it ? Or what shall we think of those Venerable Fathers and Confessors in that Great Council , who either did not know the Faith of the Church , or did so horribly prevaricate in the Condemnation of Arius , when they had no other apparent Interest or Temptation to do so , but a Warm and Hearty Zeal for the Truly Ancient and Apostolick Faith ? It is certain Arius never pretended Catholick Tradition for his Opinion , but undertook to reform the Catholick Faith by the Principles of Philosophy , and to reconcile it to Scripture by new-coin'd Interpretations ; though in this he fail'd , and found the Great Athanasius an over-match for him . It is not with Faith , as it is with Arts and Sciences of Human Invention , which may be improved in every Age by greater Wits or new Observations ; but Faith depends upon Revelation , not Invention ; and we can no more make a New Catholick Faith , by the power of Wit and Reason , than we can write a True History of what the Apostles did and taught , out of our own Invention , without the Authority of any Ancient Records : Men may do such things if they please , but one will be Heresy , and the other a Romance . And yet this is the bold and brave Attempt of Secinus and his Disciples : They are so modest indeed , as not to pretend Antiquity to be on their side ; they can find no other Antiquity for themselves , but in Cerinthus and Ebion , who separated from the Catholick Church , and were rejected by them ; and it does not seem very modest , to set up such men as these , against the Universal Consent of the first and purest Ages of the Church . The Socinians , who know very well what the Charge of Novelty signifies in matters of Religion ; That a New Faith is but another Name for New Heresies ; Though they reject the Doctrine of the Fathers , and the Catholick Tradition of the Faith from the Apostolick Age , yet they appeal to Scripture and Natural Sentiments , as the greatest and best Antiquity , in opposition to Apostolick Tradition . This is our Considerer's way , which he prefers before a Traditionary Faith ; and by the same reason the Socinians may oppose it to a Traditionary Faith : And if we must always expound Scripture by our Natural Sentiments , this Author had best consider whether he can prove a Trinity by Natural Reason ; or fairly reconcile the Natural Notion of One God , with the Catholick Faith of the Trinity , or of Three , each of whom is True and P●rfect God , from the mere Principles of Natural Reason ; for if he can't , he must not in his way find a Trinity in Scripture : But of this more hereafter . 3. Let us now , in opposition to this pretence , consider of what Authority the Traditionary Faith of the Catholick Church ought to be , in expounding Scripture . The Holy Scripture , at least in pretence , is allowed on all hands to be a Compleat and Authentick Rule of Faith ; but the question is , since men differ so much in expounding Scripture , What is the safest Rule to expound Scripture by ; whether the Traditionary Faith of the Church , or our Natural Sentiments , or Natural Reason ? I do not mean , that we must learn the Critical Sense of every Text from Catholick Tradition ; for we have not in all points such a Traditionary Exposition of Scripture ; though even in this respect , we shall find that the Catholick Fathers have unanimously agreed in the Interpretation of the most material Texts relating to the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity , and the Divinity and Incarnation of Christ. They sometimes indeed alledge such Texts , especially out of the Old Testament , as our Modern Criticks will not allow to be proper and apposite ; but even this shews what their Faith was ; and yet these very Expositions , which have been so anciently and unanimously received ( though they may appear at this distance of time too forc'd and mystical ) have too Sacred and Venerable an Authority to be wantonly rejected . We may learn from Christ and his Apostles , what mysterious and hidden Senses were contain'd in the Writings of the Old Testament , such as it is very probable we should never have found in them , had not Christ and his Apostles explained their meaning : And the nearer any Writers were to the Apostolick Age , the more they were addicted to these Mystical Interpretations ; which is a good reason to believe that they learnt it from the Apostles themselves . But this is not what I now intend ; my present Argument reaches no farther than this ; That if we can learn what the Doctrine of the Catholick Church concerning the Holy Trinity , and the Divinity and Incarnation of Christ has always been : Then 1. It is very reasonable to conclude , That they received this Doctrine from the Apostles , it being the Faith of those Churches which were planted by the Apostles , received their Faith from them , and always lived in Communion with them . 2. This makes it reasonable to believe , that this very Faith is contained in the Writings of the New Testament ; for , I suppose , no man questions , but that the Apostles taught the same Faith by Writing , which they did by Preaching ; and then this is a Demonstration against all such Interpretations of Scripture as contradict the Catholick Faith ; whatever fine Colours Wit and Criticism may give them . Nay , 3. It is a certain Proof , That these Primitive Christians , who received these Inspired Writings from the Apostles which now make up the Canon of the New Testament , did believe that the same Faith which the Apostles and Apostolical men had taught them by Word of Mouth , was contained in their Writings ; for they could not possibly have believed both what the Apostles taught , and what they writ , if their Preaching and Writings had contradicted each other . We know what the Faith of the Primitive Church was , and we know they received these Apostolical Writings with the profoundest Veneration , as an Inspired Rule of Faith ; and had we no other presumption of it but this , we might safely conclude , That they found the same Faith in these Writings , which the Apostles had before taught them by Word of Mouth . But besides this , we find that all the Catholick Writers appeal to the Scriptures , and prove their Faith from them ; and the Authority of such men who were so near the Fountain of Apostolick Tradition , must be very Venerable . 4. I shall only add this , That since we know what the Catholick Faith was , and how the Catholick Fathers expounded Scripture , if the Words of Scripture will naturally and easily admit that Sense , much more if they will not admit any other Sense without great force and violence , let any man judge which is most safe and reasonable , to expound Scripture as the Catholick Faith and Catholick Fathers expound it , and as the Scripture most easily and naturally expounds it self , or to force New Senses and Old Heresies upon Scripture , which the Catholick Church has always rejected and condemned . This , I hope , may satisfy our Considerer , that he did very ill in rejecting a Traditionary Faith , and venturing to expound Scripture by his Natural Sentiments , which is a very Unsafe Rule in Matters of Pure Revelation , of which mere Natural Reason is no competent Judge . SECT . III. What is sufficient to be believed concerning the Trinity . THus far , I fear , our Considerer has been a little unfortunate ; or if it do not prove a Misfortune to him in forming his Notion of a Trinity , his Luck is better than his Choice . Let us proceed to his next Enquiry , What is sufficient for Christians to believe concerning the Trinity ; or , which is all one in this case , what is necessary to be believed ? What the meaning of this Question is , I can't well tell ; nor why he makes sufficient and necessary all one ; for , at least , they are not always so . That is sufficient which is enough for any man to believe ; that is strictly necessary which every man must believe : But let him take his own way ; he quits the Term sufficient , and enquires what is necessary to be believed ; whereas in many cases , that which is absolutely necessary for all , may not be sufficient for some : I should much rather have enquired how much may be known concerning this Glorious Mystery , than how little will serve the turn ; which argues no great Zeal for it . Well : What is necessary to be believed concerning the Trinity ? He answers , Nothing but 1. What 's possible to be believed . And 2. What 's plainly revealed . Here we begin to see what the effect is , of consulting nothing but Scripture and Natural Sentiments . I hope he meant honestly in this ; but if he did , he expressed himself very incautiously ; for these two Conditions are very ill put together , when applied to matters of Revelation . Plainly revealed , had been enough in all reason , unless he would insinuate , that what is plainly revealed may be impossible to be believed ; and that how plain soever the Revelation be , men must judge of the possibility of the thing by their own Natural Sentiments , before they are bound to believe it ; which makes Natural Reason , not Scripture , the final Judge of Controversies . But we must follow him where he leads us ; and thus he divides his whole Work. 1. To consider how far it is possible to believe a Trinity . 2. What the Scripture requires us to believe in this matter . As for the first , he tells us , There are two requisites to make it possible for us to believe a thing . 1. That we know the Terms of what we are to assent to . 2. That it imply no Contradiction to our former Knowledge : Such Knowledge I mean , as is accompanied with Certainty and Evidence . This in some sense may be true ; but as it is thus loosely and generally expressed , it is very like the Socinian Cant and Sophistry . By knowing the Terms , he means having distinct Natural Ideas of what is signified by such Terms ; as he himself explains it ; — I can believe it no farther than the Terms of which it is made up , are known and understood , and the Ideas signified by them consistent . So that all Divine Mysteries must be examined by our Natural Ideas ; and what we have no Natural Ideas of , we cannot , we must not believe : And this once for all condemns all Supernatural Faith , or the belief of Supernatural Objects , though never so plainly revealed ; for we have no Natural Ideas of Supernatural Objects : And though Revelation may furnish us from the Resemblances and Analogies in Nature with some Artificial Ideas , this will not serve the turn ; for though they know what such Terms signify when applied to Natural , they know not what they signify when applied to Supernatural Objects , nor have they any Ideas to answer them : As for Instance ; We know what Father and Son signify when applied to Men ; but when we say , God is not only Eternal himself , but an Eternal Father , who begot an Eternal Son ; these Terms of Father and Son , begetting and being begotten , must signify quite otherwise than they do among men , something which we have no Idea of ; and therefore say the Socinians , All this is unintelligible and impossible to be believed , unless we can believe without understanding the Terms : This Considerer asserts the Premises , he had best consider again how he will avoid the Conclusion . Another Socinian Topick is Contradiction , and this our Considerer makes another requisite to the possibility of believing , That the thing do not imply a Contradiction to our former knowledge ; that is , to any Natural Ideas : And here he learnedly disputes against believing Contradictions ; and that it is not consistent with the Wisdom , Iustice , and Goodness of God to require us to believe Contradictions . But if instead of all this he had only said , That God cannot reveal such plain and evident Contradictions , as he cannot require us to believe ; and consequently , That whatever is plainly revealed , implies no Contradiction , how much soever it may be above our comprehension , because God does require us to believe what he plainly reveals ; this had put an end to this Dispute , and left the belief of the Trinity possible , whatever difficulties we might apprehend in conceiving it : But this great Zeal against believing Contradictions , when applied to the belief of the Trinity , is a very untoward Insinuation , as if the Doctrine of the Trinity , as commonly understood , were clogg'd with Contradictions , and that we must cast all such Contradictions ( which in the Socinian account is the Doctrine it self ) out of our Faith ; and therefore , That whatever the Scripture says , we must put no such sense on it as implies any Contradiction to our former knowledge . This is an admirable Foundation for Considerations concerning the Trinity ; and what an admirable Superstructure he has rais'd on it , we shall soon see . I may possibly discourse this Point of Contradictions more at large elsewhere ; at present I shall only tell this Author , That as self-evident as he thinks it , this Proposition is false , That it is impossible to believe what implies a Contradiction to our former knowledge ; and that God cannot require us to believe it . I grant that all Logical Contradictions which are resolved into is , and is not , are impossible to be believed , because they are impossible to be true ; and such is his Contradiction about the Whole and its Parts ; for to say , That the Whole is not bigger than any of its Parts , is to say , That a Whole is a Whole , and is not a Whole ; and that a Part is a Part , and is not a Part. But contradictory Ideas may both be true , and therefore both be believed , and every man believes great numbers of them : The Ideas of Heat and Cold , White and Black , Body and Spirit , Extension and No Extension , Eternity and Time , to have A Beginning and to have No Beginning , are contradictory Ideas , and yet we believe them all ; that is , we believe and know that there really are such things , whose Natures are directly opposite and contrary to each other . Now when there are such Contrarieties and Contradictions in Created Nature , it may justly be thought very strange to true Considerers , that our Natural Ideas should be made the adequate measures of Truth or Falshood , of the Possibilities or Impossibilities of things ; that we must not believe what God reveals concerning himself , if it contradicts any Natural Ideas . And yet I challenge this Considerer , and all the Socinian , Sabellian , Arian Fraternities , to shew me any appearance of Contradictions in the Doctrine of the Trinity , but what are of this kind ; that is , not Logical Contradictions , but Contradictions to our other Natural Ideas : And if our Natural Ideas of Created Nature contradict each other , it would be wonderful indeed if the Divine Uncreated Nature should not contradict all our Natural Ideas . Every thing we know of God is a direct Contradiction to all the Ideas we have of Creatures ; an Uncreated and a Created Nature , an Infinite and a Finite Nature , are direct Contradictions to each other : Eternity without Succession , Omnipresence without Extension , Parts , or Place ; a pure simple Act , which is all in one , without Composition ; an Omnipotent Thought , which thinks all things into Being , and into a Beautiful Order ; these and such like Ideas of God are direct Contradictions to all the Ideas we have of Creatures ; and can any Contradiction then to any Ideas of Created Nature be thought a reasonable Objection against believing any thing which God reveals to us concerning himself ? But of this more hereafter . SECT . IV. Concerning his State of the Question , That One and the Same God is Three Different Persons . THese are his Preliminaries , Axioms , Postulata's , all in the strict demonstrative way ; but now he comes to apply all this more closely to the business in hand ; but then he very unfortunately stumbles at the Threshold . The Proposition he proposes to examine by these Principles , is this , That One and the same God is Three Different Persons . Where he met with this Proposition in these very Terms , I know not ; I 'm sure there is no such Proposition in Scripture , nor did I ever meet with it in any Catholick Writer : It is very far from giving us a true and adequate Notion of the Catholick Faith concerning the Trinity ; it is of a doubtful signification , and in the most obvious sense of these words ( which I fear will appear to have been intended by this Considerer ) is manifest Heresy : For if by One and the same God , he means , That there is but One who is God ; and , That this One and same God is Three different Persons ; it is the Heresy of Sabellius at least , if he would have owned the Term different , which inclines more to the signification of diversity , than of mere distinction , which savours of Arianism , and more properly relates to Natures than to Persons . We meet with different forms of speech in Catholick Writers concerning the Unity and Trinity in the Godhead , all which must be reconciled , to form a distinct and compleat Notion of the Trinity . That Deus . est Vnus & Trinus , God is One and Three , is very Ancient , and very Catholick . That the Father is the One God , in a peculiar and eminent sense , is both the Language of Scripture , and of the Church . That each Person , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , is by himself True and Perfect God , is likewise the Doctrine both of the Holy Scriptures , and the Catholick Fathers . That the Trinity is One God ; That Father and Son are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Vnum , One Divinity , Christ himself teaches us : That Father , Son , and Spirit , are also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One , St. Iohn teaches us . And nothing is more familiar both with the Greek and Latin Fathers , than to call the Trinity One God ; and in consequence of this , That One God is the Trinity ; though this they rather chose to express by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One Divinity in Three Persons . And whoever would give an account of the Catholick Faith of the Trinity , must have respect to all these Notions , and not content himself with any one of them , as , to make the best of it , the Considerer here does , when he only proposes to enquire , How One and the same God is Three Persons : But he ought to have enquired also in what sense each Person is by himself True and Perfect God ; and the Person of the Father in a peculiar and eminent sense the One God ; and to have framed his Notions of Unity and Distinction with an equal regard to all these Catholick Expositions ; which would have secured him from the Sabellian Heresy , which now his Words are very guilty of , whatever He himself be . But let us now proceed to his Examination of these Terms , God , Vnity , Identity , Distinction , and Number , and Person . As to the Notion of a Deity , he confesses he has not a ful● and adequate Idea of God ; but yet he knows which of those distinct Ideas he has in his mind , are applicable to God , and which are not . But the present question does not conce●n the Idea of God , which I hope we are all agreed in , That God is a Being infinitely perfect : But whether this Name God , in the Question of the Trinity , signifies only One who is God , or One single Divine Person ? Or , Whether this Name , and the perfect Idea which belongs to it , be applicable distinctly to Three , to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; That each of them is True and Perfect God , and neither of them is each other , and all Three but One God ? This had been the true Explication of the Term God , as applied to the Doctrine of the Trinity , To have told us what is meant by God , when this Name is peculiarly attributed to the Person of the Father , when it is attributed to each Person distinctly , and when it is jointly attributed to them all , That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are One God : ●t is certain all this must be resolved into the same One Divinity , which is perfectly in each of them , and insepara●ly and indivisibly in them all : And the true stating of his matter had been very proper , and would have saved all his other Labour . And therefore to save me some labour , I will briefly tell him how the Catholick Fathers understood it ; which is the only possible way I know , of reconciling these different Expressions . When they tell us , That the Person of the Father is in an eminent and peculiar manner the One God ; by this they understand , That the Father alone is self-originated , and from himself ; That the Whole Divinity and Godhead is originally his own , which he received from no other : Which is the first and most natural notion we have of God , and of One God. When they say , That though the Father in this sense be the One God , yet the Son also is True and Perfect God , and the Holy Ghost True and Perfect God , they ascribe Divinity to the Son and Holy Ghost , upon account of the Eternal and Perfect Communication of the Divine Nature to them : For he who has the True Divine Nature , is True and Perfect God : And therefore the Son , who is eternally begotten of his Father , of the Substance of his Father , and is Consubstantial with him , is True and Perfect God , but God of God ; and the like may be said of the Holy Spirit , who eternally proceeds from Father and Son. When they teach , That the Trinity is One God , they mean by it , That the same One Divinity does subsist whole and entire , indivisibly and inseparably , but yet distinctly in them all , as I have already explained it : So that the Unity of the Godhead gives an account of all these Expressions , Why the Father is said to be the One God , and yet that the Son is God , and the Holy Ghost God , and Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , but One God. All this is taught in Scripture , and is the Faith of the Catholick Church ; and I would never desire a better Proof of the Truth and Certainty of any Notion , than that it takes in the whole Mystery , and answers to every part of it ; which no other account I have ever yet met with , can do . SECT . V. An Examination of his Notions and Ideas of Unity , Distinction , Person , &c. AND now the Sabellian Scene opens apace : If the Heresy of Sabellius was , That there is but One who is God , but One Divine Intelligent Person , as well as One Divine Nature , this our Considerer expresly owns , and does his Endeavour to prove it absolutely impossible that it should be otherwise ; that is , That the Catholick Faith , asserted and defended by the Catholick Church , against Sabellius , is absolutely impossible . To explain the word Person , he tells us , It signifies one of these two things ; either a particular Intelligent Being ; or an Office , Character , or some such complex Notion , applicable to such a Being : If you would know in which of these senses we must understand the word Person , when we say there are Three Persons in the Trinity ; he tells us plainly , That the simple Idea ( of God ) can be applied but to One single Person , in the first sense of the word Person , as it signifies a particular Intelligent Being , Nature , or Principle . — And that all the Personal Distinction we can conceive in the Deity , must be founded on some accessory Ideas , extrinsecal to the Divine Nature ; a certain Combination of which Ideas , makes up the second Notion signified by the word Person . And for this he appeals to Natural Sentiments , mistaking Heresy for Nature . And if we fairly and impartially examine our own Thoughts upon this Subject , we shall find , That when we name God the Father , we conceive the Idea of God , so far as we are capable of conceiving it , as acting so and so , under such respects and relations ; and when we name God the Son , we conceive nothing else but the same Idea of God over again , under different relations ; and so likewise of the Holy Ghost . Noetus , Praxeas , or Sabellius , never taught their Heresy in more express words than these . And what is to be done now ? Must we dispute this Point over again with the Considerer , and confute a Heresy which has been so early , so often , and so constantly condemned by the Catholick Church ? For my part , I can pretend to say nothing new , which has not long since been much better said by the Catholick Fathers ; and therefore before we part , I shall acquaint him with their Judgment in the Case , and leave it to rest on their Authority and Reasons . But it may not be amiss to mind this Considerer , That he has all the Schoolmen ( as far as I have heard , or had opportunity to consult them ) as well as the Catholick Fathers , against him , in his Notion of a Person ; for they all receive Boetius's Definition , That a Person is an Individual Substance of a Rational Nature . Or it may be the Authority of Melancthon may be more considerable with him ; who tells us , That the Church in this Article of the Trinity understands by Person , an Individual , Intelligent , Incommunicable Substance : And adds , That the Ancient Ecclesiastical Writers distinguish between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that there is but One Essence or Nature , and Three Hypostases ; that is , Three really subsisting , not commentitious , vanishing , confused , but distinct , particular , Intelligent Persons . And the Censure he passes upon Servetus upon this score , is very remarkable . That Fanatical Fellow Servetus plaid with the word Person , and contended , That in Latin it anciently signified a Dress or Habit , or the distinction of an Office ; as R●scius is sometimes said to act the part of Achilles , sometimes of Vlysses : Or , the Person of a Consul is one thing , and the Person of a Slave is another , as Cicero speaks ; that it is a great thing to maintain the Character of the Person of a Prince in the Commonwealth : And this Ancient Signification of the Word he slily wrested and applied to the Article concerning the Three Persons of the Godhead : But let us fly from , and abhor such wicked Artifices ; and know , That the Church speaks after another manner ; and that Person signifies an Individual , Intelligent , Incommunicable Substance . And it will be of great use to form and fix this Notion in our minds ; to contemplate the Baptism of Christ , where all Three Persons were most evidently represented and distinguished : The Father spoke in an audible Voice , This is my beloved Son ; the Son is seen standing in the River ; and the Holy Spirit descends on him in a visible Appearance . But since the Considerer makes a great Flourish with his Ideas , and clear and distinct Conceptions , and fetches his Proofs from the most intimate knowledge of Nature , he may take it ill if no notice or regard be had of them : We see very well where he has been trading ; and I doubt the Ingenious Author of Human Vnderstanding , will have more Disciples of different kinds than he was well aware of , in whom he will have no great reason to glory : For it requires more Skill than every man is Master of , to form simple and distinct Notions and Ideas , and to apply them dexterously to their proper Subjects . And to refer all men to Natural Ideas and Perceptions , when so very few know how to distinguish between Natural Notions , and the Prejudices and Prepossessions of Education , the Delusions of Fancy , and the Byass of Inclination , is like the Quakers appeal to the Light within , which is just what every man will have it to be . Our Considerer reduces all the Notions he can find of Vnity and Distinction , to Three Heads : The Unity or Distinction of Ideas , of Principle , and of Position ; and undertakes to prove from them all , That it is impossible , or absolutely unconceivable , that there should be more than One Intelligent Person , in the proper Notion of a Person , in the Godhead . Now in the first place I would be glad to hear a good reason why the Considerer takes no notice of that old received definition of One , that Vnum est Indivisum ; that is One , which is Undivided : The most perfect One is that which neither is nor can be divided ; an absolute perfect Monad , which is absolutely and perfectly Simple , without any Parts to be divided into : And this is the Unity of the Divine Nature , as Scripture , Fathers , Schoolmen , and all men of improved and exercised Reason teach ; and it is strange he should not find this Notion of Unity among all his Natural Ideas , which is the only Natural Notion of the Divine Unity , and belongs to no other Being . And this would have given him a true Catholick Notion of the Unity of God in a Trinity of Persons ; for all agree , That the Divine Nature is indivisibly and inseparably One. And this is another thing I would be glad to know the reason of , Why in such an Enquiry concerning the Unity and Distinction of the Trinity , he takes no notice of that Old Catholick distinction , That God is One in Nature , and Three in Persons ; which would have been a good direction to him , what kind of Unity , and what distinction to have enquired after : What Unity belongs to Nature , and what it is which distinguishes Persons : But our Considerer has no regard to the different Notions of Nature and Person , but applies all his Notions of Unity to a Person , which as far as they are true , belong to Nature , and from the Unity of Nature proves against the Catholick Faith , that there can be but One proper Divine Person . And there is one thing I am sorry for , That having mentioned a very good Notion , he let it slip between his fingers without making any use of it . He tells us , That Identity is nothing else but a repetition of Vnity , as Number is of difference . This is very Catholick , and it is great pity we hear no more of it . Upon this Principle the Fathers justify the Unity of the Godhead in a Trinity of Persons : For the Divine Nature is but One , a perfect Monad , and is communicated whole and entire , without the least Division or Separation , to the Son and Holy Spirit , and therefore is perfectly and identically one and the same in all Three ; for the perfect repetition of a Monad and Unit makes no Number : God , and God , and God , are not Three Gods , but One God , because the same Divine Nature , without the least difference or diversity , is distinctly in them all ; and the repetition of what is perfectly the same , makes no Number ; but Father , Son , and Holy Ghost are three , for they are really distinguished from each other , not by any difference of Nature , but only by Personal differences , or the different manner of having the same Nature : That the Father has the Whole Divine Nature originally in himself , is God of himself : The Son receives the same Divine Nature by an Eternal Generation , and is God of God : And the Holy Ghost in like manner by an Eternal Procession from Father and Son : This incommunicably distinguishes Persons , that one can never be another ; and this is difference enough to make a Number ; not to make Three Gods of them , because the Divine Nature is perfectly One and the same in Three , but to distinguish them into Three Persons , each of whom is True and Perfect God , and all but One God. Why the Considerer should wave such a Notion as this of Unity and Distinction , which any one would have thought his own Notions of Identity and Number must unavoidably have led him into , I cannot guess ; but I hope this may satisfy him , that there are other Notions of Unity and Distinction , than what he insists on , and such as may be as easily understood , and which fairly reconcile the belief of Three proper Divine Intelligent Persons , with the Unity of the Godhead : But let us now briefly consider his Ideas of Unity and D●stinction . 1. The first is , The Vnity of Idea : This he discourses of very confusedly , and does not seem well pleased with it himself : The Unity of the Idea he places in being perceivable at one view , and having one uniform appearance : Which makes it one Idea indeed , right or wrong , but proves no other kind of Unity : This he grew sensible of , that the reality of things may not answer our Ideas or Appearances ; and I know not how they sh●uld , unless our Ideas answer the Reality of Things ; for Things are to be the Patterns for our Ideas , not our Ideas for Things . But the Considerer , by forsaking his good old Rules , for new Methods of Thinking , has quite mistaken the Question . When we enquire into the general Notion of Unity , the meaning is not , When we conceive of any thing as One , but what it is that makes any thing One. The Unity of Idea , whether simple or compounded , may be Answer enough to the first Question , Tha● a●l that is comprized in one Idea , if our Idea be right , belongs to one thing ; but , as he owns , we cannot prove that our Idea answers the Reality of Things , and therefore I know not what this Rule is good for at all . But our general Notion of Unity is of a very different Consideration ; and our particular Ideas of particular Things , contribute nothing to it : For the question is not , How many Things are united in One Being ? or , How many partial Conceptions are united in One Idea ? But , What it is that makes it One ; or what the formal Conception of its Unity is ? But our Considerer takes heart at last , from the Unity of the Idea of God , to prove that there can be but One Divine Person in a proper sense ; or but One who is True and Perfect God. His Argument is this ; We cannot conceive that any Object should be truly and adequately represented to any Mind or Vnderstanding under One Idea , and truly and adequately represented under Three Ideas . And what is the Cons●quence of this ? That he tells us plainly , That all the Perfections ( of the Deity ) though considered separately under different apprehensions by our imperfect Faculties , being really but One simple Idea , can be applied to but One single Person , in the first sense of the word Person , as it signifies a particular Intelligent Being , Nature , and Principle . 1. Now in the first place this Argument supposes an Idea which truly and adequately represent its Object , and yet our Considerer is so modest as not to pretend to a full and adequate Idea of God : And therefore , according to his own way , he can never conclude from the Idea of God , That it can belong but to One single Person , because he has not an adequate Idea of the Divine Nature ; and then there may be something in the Idea of God , which he does not comprehend , which may make it applicable to more Persons than one . Certainly it seems very reasonable , when we confess that we have not an adequate Idea of the D●vine Nature , to refer this whole Dispute , not to Natural Ideas , which can never determine it , but to Revelation , which is more certain and more perfect than our Natural Knowledge . 2. I grant , That One Object cannot be truly and adequately represented to my mind under One Idea , and truly and adequately represented under Three different Ideas : But it is as true , That One and the same Idea may be truly and adequately applied to Three distinct and different Persons : The adequate Idea of Peter can be applied to none but Peter ▪ but the Idea of Man , or of Human Nature , may be truly and adequately applied to Peter , Iames , and Iohn , and to every single human Person in the world . The Idea of God , as abstracted from the Consideration of a Trinity of Persons , is only the Idea of the Divine Nature , which is but One , and can never be Three different Natures ; for the Divine Nature always was , and always will be but One and the same ; and this is that One Object which is adequately , in his sense , represented by One Idea . And this is the account the Catholick Fathers give of the Unity of God , That there is but One Divinity , One Divine Nature in Three Persons ; and thus the Trinity is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the One Divinity , that One Object represented by the One Idea of God. The Divine Persons are not distinguished by any difference of Nature , which is One and the same in all , but by Personal differences ; That the Father is unbegotten , the Son begotten , and the Holy Ghost proceeds from Father and Son : These are Three different Ideas for the Three Divine Persons ; but the Idea of the Divinity is but One , as the Divine Nature is One and the same in all . Could he indeed prove , That the Idea of God is not only One simple Idea , but the Idea of One single Person , that would be somewhat more to the purpose ; it would be such an Argument against a Trinity of Persons , from the Idea of God , as Necessary Existence , as included in the Idea of God , is for the Being of God : But this he can never prove ; and at best , these Arguments from Ideas are thought too fine and subtle by most men . 2. His next kind of Unity is a Vnity of Principle ; that is One thing , which has but One Principle of Action : And we cannot conceive that One Principle or Nature should be but One , and yet Three different Principles and Natures . But I suppose he can conceive , That if One and the same undivided Principle and Nature be and act in Three , these Three are One by the Unity of Principle and Nature . And this is the Catholick Faith of the Trinity , not Three different Principles and Natures in Three Persons , but One and the same Principle and Nature , inseparably and indivisibly subsisting and acting in Three : Upon account of which Identity of Principle and Operation , the Catholick Fathers asserted but One Life , Energy , and Power , not confusedly , but distinctly in Three ; which asserts the Unity of Principle , together with the real distinction of true and proper Persons . If indeed he can prove from his Vnity of Principle , That One Nature and Principle can live , subsist , and act but in One ; such a Unity of Principle as this , will admit but of One single Person , and must overthrow the Catholick Faith of a Real Trinity . But though the Unity of Principle does prove That to be but One , which has but One Principle ; it does not prove , That this One Nature and Principle can be but in One. 3. His Third kind of Unity is very surprizing , especially as applied to the Unity of God ; it is the Unity of Position , of Place , or of Vbi . When we perceive any Object in a continued Position , bounded and fenced out from other things round about it , all within such Terms and Limits we call One. Bless me ! thought I ; How is this applicable to the Unity of God ? who has no Body , no Parts , no continued Position ; can't be bounded and fenced round about , nor confined within Terms and Limits ; and therefore can never have this Vnity of Position , which is a very sorry kind of Unity at best . His Philosophy belonging to this Head is very admirable ; but to let that pass , he would not be thought to attribute Extension to Spirits ; but the Idea of a Point is more applicable to Spiritual Beings ; but a Physical Point is extended still , though it be the least conceivable Extension , and has parts , and therefore can't represent simple Unity , and is the Idea of Body , not of Spirit . Nor does he think local presence or determination any way contained within the Idea of a Spiritual Being , and therefore this can't belong to the Unity of a Spirit . Well : But he is not able to comprehend the Vnion or Separation of Two Spiritual Beings , without considering them in the same or different Localities . I know not how to help this , that he can't conceive of Spirits , but only after the manner of Bodies . Are Spirits united by Juxta-position of Parts , or Penetration of Dimensions ? If not , One Vbi can't unite them , though Separate Vbi's may prove them Separate . But still what is all this to the Unity of God ? Why , he tells us , It is plain at first sight , that we cannot possibly conceive God under any difference of Position : I add further , That we cannot conceive God under any Position , and therefore the Unity of Position can never belong to the Vnity of God. But the reason he gives why we can't conceive God under any difference of Position , is , because we cannot exclude Omnipotence from any imaginable point of Space ; nor can we include it in it ; which proves that God has no Position , but is present without Position , as he is without Extension , and without Parts . God needs no place to subsist in , but is Place to himself , and Place to every thing else ; as the Hebrews called God Mak●m , or Place ; according to S. Paul's Notion of it , That in him we live , move , and have our being ; that as all things receive Being by his Almighty Word , so all things subsist in Infinite Mind , as the Ideas and Notions of things do in Finite Minds . God could not create any thing without himself , because there is nothing extra without him ; and this is the Omnipresence of God , not his Commensuration to Infinite Space ; which is a gross Corporeal Representation of Omnipresence by Infinite Extension , or Commensuration to Infinite Extension , and makes something else as Infinite as God , viz. Infinite Space , which must be commensurate to God , if God be commensurate to Space ; but the Omnipresence of God is his Comprehension of all things in himself . And yet his way of proving the Omnipresence of God from his Omnipotence , That we cannot exclude Omnipotence from any imaginable Point of Space , if by Omnipresence he means an Essential Omnipresence , as he must do here , is not so self-evident as he seems to think it : The only foundation of it is this , That nothing can act where it is not ; which holds true only where Contact is necessary to Action , that is , only in Bodies , whose Power consists in Contact , or touching each other ; but any Being which acts without Contact , as God certainly does , may be Omnipotent , without being Omnipresent ; that is , may act at an Infinite distance , without any Local Presence with the thing on which it acts . It is the first time , to the best of my remembrance , that ever I met with this Notion , That 't is the limited Powers and Faculties of Created Beings , which are the foundation of all local distinction . Finite Creatures indeed have finite and limited Powers ; but it is not the limitation of their Powers and Faculties , but of their Presence , which makes a local or Vbi distinction : If this were so , Power must be proportioned to Presence , which we know is false ; for the greatest things , which fill the largest space , are not the most powerful : Spirits , which fill no space at all , have the greatest Power , and most enlarged Faculties . But it is time to see the Pinch of this Argument from the Vnity of Position ; and the Sum of it is this : Whatever is One , must be in some One Place or Vbi , which distinguishes and separates it from other things : That he cannot conceive the distinction of two or three Beings from each other , without considering them in so many different Places or Localities : That God is Omnipresent , and he can no more conceive Three Omnipresent , than he can conceive Three straight Lines drawn between the same Points . That is , in plain English , There are not Three Distinct Infinite Spaces for Three Distinct Omnipresent Persons to be in , and therefore there cannot be a Trinity of True and Proper Persons ; but as there is but One Omnipresent Divine Nature , so there can be but One single Omnipresent Person ; and there is an end of the Trinity , till we can find room in the world for Three Persons , each of whom is Omnipresent . I perceive our Considerer has not been so fair and equal as he pretended to be . He would not consult the Fathers , for fear of Prejudices and Prepossessions ; but either good Wits jump , or he has taken care to consult the Ancient Hereticks ; for this was the old Sabellian Argument , which was long since answered and scorned by Athanasius ; as he will find in the Chapter of Sabellianism , to which I refer him and the Reader . But in good earnest , does any sober Christian want an Answer to this Argument ? Does God then fill a Space , as Bodies do , that Three Divine Omnipresent Persons must have Three separate Localities , and be commensurate to Three Infinite Spaces ? Has God any Place ; does he subsist in any thing but himself ? If the Considerer can't conceive any Beings to be distinct without distinct Localities , How does he distinguish God from Creatures , when he owns that God is in every imaginable Point of Space , that is , in the very same Vbi's and Localities , whereever any Creatures are ? But do not all Catholick Christians own , That there is but One Infinite , Inseparable , Undivided Nature , in Three Persons ? And must this One Undivided Monad be in Three separate Localities , because it subsists in three distinct Persons ? especially when these distinct Persons are whole and entire in each other ; as our Saviour assures us , I am in the Father , and the Father in me . And is not this a wonderful demonstration against Three Real and Proper Persons in the Trinity , That there cannot be Three such Infinite Omnipresent Persons , unless they subsist in Three Infinite and Separate Localities ? But enough of this in all reason . These are the Premises , from whence with so much open Assurance and Confidence he draws that Sabellian Conclusion , That the Idea of God being really but One simple Idea , can be applied but to One single Person , in the first sense of the word Person , as it signifies a particular Intelligent Being , Nature , or Principle . — From whence , he says , it follows , that according to the Notions we are capable of framing of Vnity and Distinction , — all the Personal distinction we can conceive in the Deity , must be founded on some accessory Ideas , extrinsecal to the Divine Nature . So that there is not a Trinity in the Divine Nature , as the Catholick Church has always believed ; but the Divine Nature , which really is but One single Person , is a Trinity with respect to something which does not belong to the Divine Nature , but is extrinsecal to it . Whether these be not New Terms and New Doctrine too , unknown to the Catholick Church , or known only as condemned Heresies , I appeal to all men , who will consult any Catholick Historian , or any Catholick Father , without prejudice . And here I might reasonably enough break off ; for I have followed the Considerer till we have heard him demonstrate against a Trinity of Real , Proper Persons in the Unity of the Godhead ; which puts an end to the whole Dispute about a Trinity in Vnity , because there is no such thing . He has found out indeed a Unity for God , but it is not a Unity in Trinity , but the Unity of One single Person ; and he has found a Trinity , but it is not a Trinity in the Unity of the Divine Nature , but a Trinity of extrinsecal accessory Ideas . But since he has used some Art in palliating this Heresy , it will be necessary to take off the Disguise . The first step he makes to it , is by seeming to own , That there may be some greater Mystery and Obscurity in the Doctrine of the Trinity , than that Account which he has given of it : But if this Account , says he , of the Trinity be too easy , and falls far short of those high expressions of distinction found in Scripture ( as I think it does ) , and no other , grounded upon any Notions our Souls have framed of Vnity and Distinction , can be true or consistent ( as I have before particularly proved ) , then it necessarily follows , That God must be One and Three in some way or manner not conceivable by human Vnderstanding . Here he thinks he has found a safe Retreat : He asserts , and proves ( as he would have us believe ) from all the Notions of Distinction and Unity which our minds can frame , That God is and can be One in no other Notion , than of One single Person , in the first and proper sense of a Person , for an Intelligent Person ; and that God neither is nor can be Three in the sense of Three Proper Distinct Persons : If you charge him with Sabellianism for this , then he retreats to an obscure , confused knowledge ; to such a way and manner of God's being One and Three , as is not conceivable by human Understanding . Well : But will he allow us with this obscure and confused knowledge , to believe the Holy Trinity to be Three Divine , Proper , Distinct Persons , and One God , in a way and manner unconceivable by Human Vnderstanding ? By no means ! This he has proved by all the Notions of Unity and Distinction cannot be true or consistent ; nor is it possible for us to believe what we do not understand the terms of , or what contradicts our former knowledge ; and we are not bound to believe what is not possible to be believed , nor can God in Justice or Goodness require such a Faith of us , as we have already heard : So that Sabellianism we may believe , and must not believe any thing contrary to it ; and then we may believe that there is something more in it than we understand , if we please . And therefore we may observe , That he is not concerned about any difficulties in the Notion of the Divine Unity , which all Catholick Writers have been most concerned for ; how to reconcile the Unity of God with a Trinity of Divine Persons ; but that which troubles him most , is the Distinction , which the Catholick Fathers never disputed about , but positively asserted in the most proper and real sense , against the Sabellian Hereticks : But he seems sensible , as well he may be , that the Sabellian Notion of Persons falls very short of those high Expressions of Distinction which are found in Scripture : And here it is that he allows of an obscure and confused Knowledge . When he has rejected a True Personal distinction , all other kinds of distinction he can think of , will not answer those high expressions of distinction found in Scripture ; and therefore provided you do not believe them distinct Persons , you may believe , if you please , that there is some other unknown and unconceivable distinction between them . This is plainly what he means by his obscure confused Knowledge , by his general confused Faith , by his general confused Notion of the Trinity ; and therefore he religiously keeps to that form of words , That One and the same God is Three ; which must be understood in his Notion of One and the same God , that is , One single Person ; for all his Notions of Vnity and Distinction are on purpose designed to prove , That One God can't be Three , in a true and proper Notion of a Person ; and therefore he never so much as names that question , How Three Divine Persons are One God ? Which can never be reconciled to a Sabellian Unity of a Single Person . SECT . VI. What it is the Scripture requires us to believe concerning the Trinity . THE Considerer having laid the Foundations of Sabellianism in his Natural Sentiments , proceeds to examine what the Doctrine of the Scripture is concerning this matter ; and to reconcile the Scripture to his Natural Sentiments ; though the more reasonable and safer way had been first to have learnt the Faith from Scripture , and then to have corrected the Mistakes of his Natural Sentiments by Scripture . I do not intend to enter into a long dispute with him here , but shall only let the Reader see what it is he would prove , and what he asserts ; for his whole business in short is to prove , That the Sabellian Notion of the Unity of God , or of One single Person , and of Three Names , Titles , Characters , extrinsecal Respects and Relations , is the True Scriture Doctrine of the Trinity . This he very freely tells us , That the Sum of all that the Scriptures plainly and expresly teach concerning a Trinity , is this , That there is but One only God ( and what he means by One only God , we have often heard ) , the Author and Maker of all things : But that One God ought to be acknowledge and adored by us under those Three different Titles or Characters of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost : Which Words are very remarkable . He does not say , That this One God is to be acknowledged and adored in Three , who have the same One Divinity subsisting whole , and perfect , and distinctly in each of them , which is the Catholick Faith : But this One God is to be acknowledged and adored by us under these Three different Titles and Characters of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost : So that Father , Son , and Holy Ghost are not the One God , for neither of them is God , but they are only the different Titles and Characters of the One God ▪ And though God , when represented by different Characters , is God still under each Character , yet neither of the Characters is God , no more than the Titles and Characters of a Man , is the Man. Now one might have expected that the Considerer should have proved , That the Scripture-Notion of One God is , That there is but One single Divine Person ( in the true and proper Notion of the word Person ) who is God ; and that these Names of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , do not in Scripture signify Three Distinct , Real Persons , but are only Three Different Titles and Characters of the same One Divine Person : This indeed had effectually proved what he pretends to ; but he was too wise to attempt either . The first he says nothing at all of , but takes it for granted , that he has demonstrated That by his Natural Notions of Unity and Distinction ; but had he not first demonstrated that nothing could be true and consistent , and that God can require us to believe nothing which contradicts his Natural Notions , he should have a little enquired what the Notion of Scripture is about this matter : But taking it for granted that he had already demonstrated this , That One God signifies One single Person , he only proves , That the Titles and Characters of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , belong to God ; and therefore , That these Terms must all be so understood , as to include the same God ( the One single Divine Person ) in their Signification . The first , I think , he proves well enough , That these Titles and Characters of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , belong to God ; and this vindicates him from being a Socinian : But when he applies all these Titles and Characters to One and the same God , that is in his sense , to One and the same single Person , this proves him to be a Sabellian ; for this was the Doctrine of Noetus and Sabellius , That these different Titles and Characters did belong but to One single Person , who is God. He proves , That these Titles and Characters , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , do signify God , from the forms of Baptism , Salutation , and Blessing . Go teach all nations , baptizing them in the name of the Father , of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost . The grace of our Lord Iesus Christ , and the love of God , and the communion of the Holy Ghost , be with you all . From whence , as he adds , I infer , That all these terms , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , signify God ; because I cannot possibly conceive 't is agreeable to the nature of the Christian Religion , that the Ministers of it should teach , baptize , or bless the people in any other name but God's . I like this Argument very well , but if it proves any thing , it proves more than he would have it , That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are each of them by himself true and perfect God , and not all Three One single Person ; for it seems altogether as absurd to teach , baptize , or bless in Three Names and Titles , when there is but One single Person signified by those Three Names . And therefore his Inference is not very plain , That if any One of these Terms signify God , they must all Three signify God ; and if all Three signify God , they must all Three signify One and the same God ; for God is One. This is very artificial , but not plain : The consequence is plain , That if Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are the Names of God , they must all signify One God by the Unity and sameness of Nature , because there is but One God ; but not by the Vnity of Person , because the Scripture mentions Three , each of whom is God : Which proves , That God is One in Nature , but Three in Persons ; as the Catholick Church has always believed . As for what he adds , That the One Supreme God , the Lord and Maker of all things , is here meant by the word Father , is a thing not questioned ; and therefore S●n and Holy Ghost are terms expressive of the same Divine Nature ; may in some sense be allowed , if he will distinguish between Nature and Person ; but according to the sense of Scripture , and the belief of the Catholick Church , Father , Son , and H●ly Ghost , are the names of Three Real , Distinct , Divine Persons , not of One Divine Nature , in the sense of One Pers●n . But though we allow this with the Catholick Church , That the Father is the One Supreme God ; we have no reason to allow this to the Considerer , who will not allow Father , Son , or Holy Ghost , to be Names of Divine Persons , or to be Names or Relations of the Divine Nature , considered as the Divine Nature ; for he says they are extrinsecal , that is , ●xtra-essential , Ideas , Titles , Characters , Respects , Relations ; and therefore Father , according to this Hypothesis , is not the essential Name of the One Supreme God , but given to him for some extrinsical and extra-essential reasons ; is his Name , not by Nature , but by Institution , and then must be proved to be his Name ; which the mere form of Baptism cannot do , for the Name God is not expressed in it ; much less does it prove , That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are One and the same God , or One single Person . It is evident indeed from other Texts , That Father is the Name of God , but then it is the Name of God the Father ; and the Son is the Son of God , and the Holy Ghost the Spirit of God , the Spirit of the Father and of the Son ; and this does prove , That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , have the same One Divinity , the same One Divine Nature , as the very Names and Relations of Father , and Son , and Spirit , prove : But surely this does not prove , That God the Father , and his Son , are the same One single Person , as well as One God ; for Father and Son all the world over signify Two distinct Persons ; for no One Person can be Father and Son to himself ; nor can the Eternal subsisting Spirit of God be the same Person with that God whose Spirit he is . Unless he allows that Father in the form of Baptism is the Name of a Person , he can prove nothing from it ; and if Father be the Name of a Person , Son , and Holy Gh●st , must be the Names of Persons also ; and then the Names and Relations of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , necessarily prove , That they are not One single Person , but Three Persons . Thus he proves the Son to be God , from that Religious Worship which is paid to him ; which does indeed prove him to be God , but not the same One Person with the Father : Our Considerer is much mistaken , if he thinks it sufficient to prove , That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are the Titles and Characters of the same One single Person , who is the One God , if he can prove that each of these Names signify One who is God. And the truth is , if these Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , do not signify Persons , they cannot signify God ; for then they are not Names of Nature , but something extrinsecal and accessory to the Divine Nature ; and therefore they may be the external Denominations of him who is God , but not the Names of God , considered as God , and therefore cannot signify God ; because they do not signify the Divine Nature in the Persons of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , but something extrinsical and accessory , that is , something which is not essential , and therefore which the Divine Nature might be without . I hope the Considerer did not think of this Consequence , That it is possible that God might neither have been Father , Son , nor Holy Ghost ; which yet must be allowed possible , if these be mere extrinsecal and accessory Titles and Characters : Nay , this must be allowed , unless we will grant that these Names signify Three Real , Subsisting , Intelligent , Coeternal Persons , in the Vnity of the same Godhead . But these Three Persons do somewhat puzzle him . That God should be called Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , is as easily to be believed , as that he should be called Adonai , Elohim , and Jehovah : That the same thing should be signified and expressed by several Names , is no such incredible Mystery . Which still shews us what it is he believes and would prove in all this , That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are but Three Names of that One single Person , who is God. But , as he proceeds , if we allow that these terms , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are all applied to God in Scripture , 't is not thought sufficient to say , That these are Three several Names , which signify God ; but we are further required to believe , That God is One and Three ; the same God ( not the same single Person ) , but Three different Hypostases or Persons ; and that one of these Three Hypostases or Persons is both God and Man. These are the Hard Sayings which puzzle some mens understandings . This is the Faith of the Catholick Church , and will always be Hard Sayings to Sabellian Understandings , which they will never be able to reconcile with their Hypothesis of One single Person in the Godhead . But let us hear how he clears himself of these difficulties . He observes in the first place , That these Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are applied to God in Scripture in a different way from what any of his other Names are . So far he is in the right ; but what is this different way ? In short , it is this ; That the other Names of God signify only partial Conceptions of the Divine Nature , such as Self-existence , Power , &c. and are all contained within the same Idea of God , and therefore cannot be the foundation of any distinction in the Godhead . Let this pass . But each of these Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , includes the whole Idea we have of God , and something more ; as being extrinsecal and accessory to the Divine Nature , and the whole Idea of God full and compleat , before the application of these terms . Let us examine this first . He says , Each of these Names includes the whole Idea of God. I beseech you how can that be , when they signify something extrinsecal and accessory to the Divine Nature , and the whole Idea of God may be conceived full and compleat without them ? For if these Names are not included in the Idea of God , which is full and compleat without them ( which Assertion , by the way , overthrows the whole Christian Faith of the Trinity ) , how can they include the Idea of God in them , which they are not so much as any part of , much less the whole , and something more ? I grant the Names of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , may connote the Idea of God , as the Name of a King and a Father connote the Idea of a Man who is King and Father , which I suppose is all he intends by it ; but then the King must be a Man , and the Father must be a Man , to connote the Idea of Man : And thus in the Blessed Trinity ; if these Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , connote the Idea of God , the Father must be True and Perfect God , and the Son must be True and Perfect God , and the Holy Ghost must be True and Perfect God ; for neither Father , Son , or Holy Ghost , connote the Idea of God upon any other account , than as the Whole and Perfect Divine Nature subsists in each of them , and that makes the whole Idea of God belong to each of them . To proceed : He tells us , That though all these Names are separately and together affirmed of God , yet each of them in so peculiar a manner , that there are several occasions , where , when one of these terms is used with relation to God , 't would be improper to use either of the other . That is , when it is proper to call God Father , it is improper to call him , Son , or Holy Ghost , and so on the contrary : But the reason of this in his Hypothesis , is not that their Persons are distinct and incommunicable , but that there are several occasions which make such change of Names improper : As a Man who is a King , a Husband , and a Father , all these Names do separately and together belong to him , but you must have a care of speaking improperly , by applying these Names to improper Relations . Well : however , From hence , he says , it follows , that these Three Names of God , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , must denote a Threefold difference of distinction belonging to God. I grant , it makes a distinction of Names and external Offices and Relations in God , but no distinction of Hypostases and Persons , which was the distinction to be shewn ; but this he absolutely rejects ; for it must be no other difference or distinction , but such as is consistent with the Vnity and Simplicity of the Divine Nature . This we would all subscribe to , did he mean honestly ; but his Vnity and Simplicity of the Divine Nature , is nothing else but the Unity and Simplicity of One single Person ; and all the distinction he will allow these different Names to make , is no more than what One single Person is capable of . For each of these Names includes the whole Idea we have of God , and something more . Very right ; if we allow these Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , to be the Names of true and proper Divine Persons ; for then each of them is true and perfect God , and the whole Idea of God is included in each of them , because the whole Divine Nature is in each of them ; otherwise neither of these Names include the Idea of God , but only connote it , as I have already observed . And what he adds , That as far as these Names express the Nature of God , they all adequately and exactly signify the same ; is very true also , if by the same , he means the same Nature , not the same One single Person : And then what he adds , 'T is the additional signification which makes all the distinction between them , is very true also ; but he ought to have told us what this additional signification , this something more than the whole Idea of God , is , which is included in these Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , and then we might have known what this distinction is . All the additional signification that I know of , is this ; That Father signifies God , includes the whole Idea of God ; but besides this , Father , when it signifies God , signifies a Self-originated , Unbegotten God , who is God of himself , and begets a Son of his own Nature , and Coeternal with himself . Son signifies God , but begotten God , God of God , the living and perfect Image of his Father . Holy Ghost signifies God , but God proceeding eternally from Father and Son , in the Unity and Perfection of the same Divine Nature . And this is all the difference between them , not a difference of Nature , but a distinction of True , Real , Proper Persons . The Considerer seems to allow this . That Person is a proper Name for this distinction ; For Father , Son , and Holy Ghost — have plainly a Personal significati●n ; each of them , without any figure of speech , being determined to signify some Intelligent Being acting in such a manner as is there related . These Words would betray an Unwary Reader , to believe the Considerer as Orthodox as the Nicene Fathers , and that he did acknowledge Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , to be Three Persons , without a Figure , as a Person signifies an Intelligent Being ; but he has secured himself against this Imputation by an artificial addition , some Intelligent Being acting in such , or such , a manner : He will not allow Person to signify absolutely an Intelligent Being ▪ but an Intelligent Being with respect to some peculiar manner of acting ; and thus One single Person , in the proper Notion of Person , for an Intelligent Being ▪ may sustain Three Persons , or Personal Characters , with re●pect to extrinsecal Relations , and the different manner of acting . The whole Mystery and Sophistry of this , is , That God , who is One single Person , is upon different accounts sometimes called the Father , sometimes the S●n , and sometimes the Holy Ghost ; and therefore Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , have a Personal signification , each of these Names signify Person in a proper sense , that is , the Person of God ; but all of them separately and together , signify but One and the same single Person ; for they are all of them attributed to God , and God is but One , or One Person , though this One proper Person may sustain Three figurative Persons , or Personal Characters . This is plain dealing : and this is his Answer to his first Hard Saying , That God is One and Three ; the same God , but Three different Hypostases or Persons : That God is One and the same single Person , under Three Personal Characters , which may be called Three Persons , because each of them signifies the True and Proper Person of God. And here we see in what sense these Gentlemen allow , That each Person is Substance , is Mind , and Spirit , and yet that God is but One Substance , One Mind , and Spirit ; viz. in the very same sense that this Author affirms that God is but One single Person , and yet that the Father is a Person , the Son a Person , and the Holy Ghost a Person ; and for the same reason , that they decry and abhor Three Substances , Three distinct Minds and Spirits in the Godhead , though affirmed to be indivisibly and inseparably One Infinite Substance , Mind , and Spirit ; for the same reason they reject Three Intelligent Substantial Persons ; though our Modern Sabellians have been more cautious generally than this Considerer , not to own it in express words . Now as for these Terms of Three Substances , and Three Minds , there may be good reason to let them alone , tho when rightly explained no reason to condemn them of Heresy ; but we must insist on Three Distinct , Infinite , Intelligent , Substantial Persons , Each of which is Mind and Substance , and One is not the Other : If they disown this ( as the Considerer does ) they are downright Sabellians ; if they own it , we have no farther Dispute about this matter . Let us now consider his other Hard Saying , That One of these Three Hyp●stases or Pers●ns should be both God and Man. Now the Hardness of this Saying is not , That it is hard to prove from Scripture , that so it is ; or that it is hard to conceive how God and Man can be united ; which is all that he touches on : But it is and always will be a Hard Saying to the Considerer upon another account ; that is , To reconcile it with a Trinity of One proper single Person , and Three Personal Characters . The Doctrine of the Incarnation is this ; That the Eternal Son of God became True and Perfect Man , by taking the Human Nature into a Personal Union to himself . That the Son only became Man , not the Father , nor the Holy Ghost : That two perfect distinct Natures , the Divine and Human Nature , were without Confusion united in the One Person of Christ ; and that this One Person is the Eternal Word and Son of God. Now if there be but One single Person in the Godhead , and Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are but Three Names , or Personal Characters of this One single Person , How can the Son be Incarnate , and not the Father , nor the Holy Ghost ? It is only a Person that can be Incarnate , for a Personal Character can't be Incarnate without the Person ; and if there be but One single Person , and this same One Person is Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , it is impossible that that Person who is the Son , should be Incarnate , but the Person who is the Father and the Holy Ghost , must be Incarnate also ; because the same Person who is the Son , is the Father and the Holy Ghost . The short Question is this ; Whether a True , Proper , Divine Person was Incarnate , in the Incarnation of Christ ? If not , then Christ was not a Divine Person , how Divine soever he might be upon other accounts ; the Divine Nature did not pers●nally subsist in him , he was not personally True and Perfect God ; and then the Person of Christ was no more than a Man , whatever Divine Influences he might receive from God : But if the Divine Nature were truly and properly Incarnate in the Person of Christ , then if there be but One single Divine Person in the Godhead , but One Divine Nature ▪ in the sense of One single Person , then the whole Godhead , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , which are but One True and Proper Person , was Incarnate in Christ. This is the true difficulty , and he is so wise as to take no notice of it . It does not appear to me , that he believes one word concerning the Incarnation of God , or of a True Divine Person ; he says , He that is in Scripture called the Son of God , did appear in the likeness of men : He certainly was a True Man , but that is not our present dispute ; Was he in his own Person True and Perfect God ? Was he a Human Person ; or the Person of the Son of God appearing in Human Nature ? He was , he says , in the Form of God , before he took the Nature of Man upon him . This sounds well ; but why does he not speak out , and tell us what this Form of God is ? Whether the True Divine Nature subsisting in him , a True Divine Person ? Well : But God did suffer himself to be worshipped and adored in and by the Man Christ Iesus ; the least that can be inferred from which is , That God was more immediately and peculiarly present in Christ , than ever he was said to have been any where else ? as in the Heavens , the Jewish Temple , between the Cherubims , in Prophets and Holy Men , who spake as they were moved by the Spirit . Now all this might have been spared , would he but have said , That the Person Iesus Christ was worshipped with Divine Honours , as being in his own Person True and Perfect God , as well as Man ; and without saying this , he says nothing to prove that Christ is the Son of God Incarnate . To say , That God did suffer himself to be worshipped in and by the Man Christ Iesus , as he was worshipped in the Heavens , in the Jewish Temple , between the Cherubims ( for that must be the force of the Comparison ) does no more prove Christ to be God , than it proves the Heavens , the Iewish Temple , and the Cherubims , to be God : It may prove a more perfect symbolical Presence of God in Christ , which he calls the Fulness of the Godhead , but not the Incarnation of the Son of God. But this is not the Doctrine of Scripture , merely to say , That God suffers himself to be worshipped in the Man Christ Iesus ; as if God , and the Man Christ Iesus , were not One Person ; but that he commands us to worship that Person who is called Christ Jesus , not as a Man , in whom the Power of God dwells , and is present , as in the Heavens , or in the Jewish Temple , or in the Prophets and Holy Men ( who were never for this reason thought the Objects of Worship ) but as his own Eternal Son Incarnate . That all men should honour the Son , as they honour the Father ; which does not only signify to honour the Father in the Son , but to pay Divine Honours to the Person of the Son , which makes them distinct Objects of Worship , and therefore True and Proper Persons , not Personal Characters , which may be distinct Reasons of Worship , but are not distinct Objects . But we shall better understand this , by the account he gives of the Union of God and Man , In what manner Soul and Body , or God and Man , are united , is not the question ; for we know nothing how this Physical Union is made ; but the question is concerning the Nature and Kind of this Union : Whether , as the Soul and Body are united in One Person , so as to be One Man , so God and Man are united in One Person : That as the reasonable Soul and Flesh is One Man , so God and Man is One Christ. Whether the Divine and Human Natures are united in One Person ; or God be united to Man only as an assisting Principle , by a perpetual and constant Influx of Divine Powers and Virtues . These two are vastly different : The first indeed always includes the second in the most perfect manner , but the second does not always infer the first . A Personal Union is always a Union of Life , Influence , and Power ; as he describes the Vnion of Soul and Body ; That there is some Intelligent Power that makes use of the Organs of my Body , and acts in conjunction with the motions there produced : This is all true , and necessarily consequent upon a Personal Union , but a very lame account of the Vital Union of Soul and Body ; for thus Angels may use the Bodies they assume , without a Personal Union : But a conscious Life , Sensation , and Government , which makes One self , is a great deal more than to act in conjunction with the Motions of the Body . The Union of Influence and Power may be without Personal Union , and therefore does not always make One Person . It is the first we enquire after , it is the first the Scripture teaches , That the Word was made Flesh ; That God sent forth his Son , made of a woman : This is the Catholick Faith of the Incarnation ; but this the Considerer takes no notice of ; but all he says , relates only to the Union of Influence and Power . And I may , says he , as well consider God united to Man , when he so acts by the Ministry and Operation of Man , that the Actions of God seem conveyed to us the same way as the actions of one man are to another . But does this make God True and Perfect Man ? This falls short of the conjunct Operations of Soul and Body , which are much more close and intimate than the actions of one man are to another ; however , to be sure the actions of one man upon another , do not make Two such Men One Person ; nor therefore can the like Influence of God on Man , make God and Man One Person . But he proceeds : Had those who upon some occasions spake by the Extraordinary Assistance of a Divine Power , been constantly so directed and assisted , how could they have distinguished the Motions of their Souls from the Impressions of God ? Just as they did when they were sometimes thus assisted ; for External Impressions are always distinguishable from Internal Motions . But suppose they could not distinguish them , does this prove that God is Incarnate in such men ; or would it be a reason to worship such men as God ? He adds , And why then should we not think such an extraordinary Power as this , as much united to such men , as that common ordinary Power we call the Soul , is to those Bodies in which it acts and exerts it self . The Answer is plain , because it would be an External , not an Internal Principle of Life , and Motion , and Sensation , how constant soever its Influences were . He calls it an Extraordinary Power , which shews that it is not a Natural Principle of Action ; it is an Extraordinary Power united to a Man , and therefore the Man is the Person , this Extraordinary Power only an external assisting Principle , of the same kind with that in Prophets , though more constant and regular in its actings : But here is nothing of Incarnation in all this . Is this Extraordinary Power a Divine Subsisting Person , in the true and proper Notion of a Person ? Is it the Son of God , that Eternal Word , which was in the beginning , was with God , and was God ? Is this Extraordinary Power so united to Human Nature , as to become Man ? Is it the Person of Christ Jesus , who was conceived in the Womb of the Virgin , lived in the World as a Man , suffered , and died , and rose again from the dead , and now sits at the Right Hand of God in the highest Heavens ? Not one word of all this , which is the true Mystery , and the only Use of this Doctrine of the Incarnation , whereon all our Hopes of Salvation by Christ depend . This Extraordinary Power is not a Person , but such a constant regular Inspiration , as he says , some are of opinion the Soul of man is : But whether that be so or not , as he thinks m●st probably it is not ( which yet argues some kind of Inclination to it ) , yet it seems to him plain from Scripture , that such a Power as we ascribe to God ( he will not say such a Power as is God , or a True Divine Person ) did as constantly and regularly act in and through Christ , as the Human Soul is perceived to do in any other man. That such a Power did constantly appear and act in Christ , is true ; but whether by Nature , or by a constant and regular Inspiration , is the Question . Our Saviour proves his Divine Nature from his Works ; our Considerer thinks it proves no more than a constant and regular Inspiration : The first is necessary to the Catholick Faith of the Incarnation , That the Word was made Flesh ; the second proves him only to be an extraordinary and perpetual Prophet : The first makes him True God-Man ; the second makes him only a Divine Man. And this is all he can mean by this Power regularly and constantly acting in and through Christ : For if Christ be God-Man , he is this Divine Power in his own Person ; it is his Divine Nature , not an external adventitious Principle , how regularly and constantly soever it acts ; it is not merely an uninterrupted Presence and Concurrence of the Deity with the Man Christ Jesus , as he represents it , but the Personal Union of the Divine Nature of Christ to Human Nature . He was not only as conscious of all the Divine Perfections in himself , as a man is conscious of his own thoughts , ( which yet , by the way , is absolutely impossible , without being True and Perfect God in his own Person ) , but he knew himself to be God , the Eternal Son of God , not the same Person with his Father , but One with him . Were a man thus regularly and constantly Inspired , he would know that he was thus Inspired , and he would also know , that these Divine Perfections are not in himself , not seated in his own Human Person , nor under the Conduct of his own Will , as his own Natural Powers are , and therefore must know himself to be a mere Man still , not God-Man . So that this constant and regular Inspiration , this uninterrupted Presence and Concurrence of the Deity , which is all he allows in this matter , cannot make any Person God-Man . This Inspiration is not a subsisting Person , is not the Person of the Son of God , is not Incarnate by its Union to Man , no more than it is Incarnate in other Prophets : The Man is the Person , and therefore a mere Creature still , tho never so Divinely Inspired . This is such an Incarnation as Socinians themselves own , in as high expressions as the Considerer can invent . Cerinthus owned something more , That Christ who descended on Iesus at his Baptism , was a Divine Person , not a mere Inspiration , and rested on him , and was most intimately united to him , till his Crucifixion . That Sect of the Noetians and Sabellians who were called Patripassians ( for they do not seem by the accounts we have of them , to have been all of that mind ) did acknowledge the Incarnation of God in a true and proper sense , as the Catholick Church did the Incarnation of Christ : But then their Trinity being but One proper single Divine Person , distinguished by Three Names or Personal Characters ( which is the express Doctrine of the Considerer ) their whole Trinity was Incarnate , suffered , and died , in the Incarnation and Sufferings of Christ , the Father as well as the Son ; as it must of necessity be , if there be but One Divine Person , who is Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , and if this One Person is in a true and proper sense Incarnate : But this the Catholick Church abhorred and condemned , under the name of the Patripassian Heresy . Others of them were Sabellians in the Doctrine of the Trinity , but Photinians , or Samosatenians , that is , Socinians , as to the Doctrine of the Incarnation , as Athanasius often intimates : And if I understand him , this is the Considerer's way , who believes a Trinity in One single Person , and an Inspired Man for a God Incarnate . And thus we have lost the Trinity and Incarnation , and must part with every thing which is peculiar and essential to Christianity , with them . And now one would wonder after all this , what he has to say more about the Faith of the Trinity and Incarnation ; and yet this is his next Enquiry , What the Scriptures necessarily oblige us to believe in this Point , that is , concerning the Trinity and Incarnation ? Though he has been careful all along never to use this term Incarnation , as being sensible that all he said about God-Man , would not reach the Catholick Notion of Incarnation . When I met with this Enquiry , I was in hope that there was something behind to unsay all that he had hitherto said ; for if what he has already said be true , it is certain the Scripture requires us to believe nothing about them . But upon Examination I found , that the Question was fallaciously stated ; and the true meaning of it was , What the Scriptures oblige us to believe , instead of what has hitherto passed for the true Catholick Faith of the Trinity and Incarnation ? I shall not dispute this Point with him now ; to shew what he means , will be Confutation enough . We must not , he says , look upon the Doctrine of the Trinity as a nice abstracted Speculation , designed for the exercise of our Vnderstandings ; but as a plainer Revelation of God's Love and Good Will towards men , and a greater Motive and Incitement to Piety than ever we had before this Doctrine was delivered . This we grant , That the Christian Faith is not designed merely for Speculation , but for Practice ; but yet all the Doctrines of Faith are matters of Speculation , and the Doctrine it self must be believed in order to Practice , or else the Revelation of it is of no use at all . The Question then is , Whether we must not believe the Doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation ? Or how much we must believe of them ? Must we not believe , That God has in a true and proper sense an Eternal and Only-begotten Son , begotten from Eternity of his own Substance ; his True , Perfect , Living , Subsisting Image ? Must we not believe , That this Eternal Son of God did in a true proper Notion become Man , by uniting Human Nature to his own Person ; and that in Human Nature he suffered and died for the Redemption of Mankind ? Truly , No ; if I understand him : All this is a nice abstracted Speculation , and a very perplexing exercise of our Vnderstandings ; and we are bound to understand no more by God's giving his own Son to dye for us , but his Love and G●od Will to Mankind , as it is a great Motive and Excitement to Piety . But how can we learn God's Love and Good Will to Mankind , from this Doctrine , if it be not true ? if God have no Eternal Son , and therefore did not give his Eternal Son to become Man , and to suffer and dye for us ? The Gospel proves the great Love of God to Sinners , by the Incarnation , Death , and Sufferings of his Son ; that if we do not believe this Doctrine strictly and literally true , we lose the Gospel Proof of God's Love to Sinners , and of the Virtue and Efficacy of Christ's Death and Sacrifice to expiate our sins , and of the Power of his Intercession as the Eternal , Only-begotten , and Well-beloved Son of God. But our Considerer will not allow this : These Titles and Relations must be chiefly c●nsidered with reference to the great Work of Man's Salvation : But must they not be considered as Three distinct proper Persons in the Unity of the Godhead , who have their distinct Parts and Offices in the Redemption of Mankind ? No ; but distinct Relations and Offices of One and the same single Divine Person , who is the One Supreme God , and is All in One , Father , Son , and Holy Gh●st , Saviour , Mediator , Comforter . But how then can these Titles and Relations signify an Eternal Distinction in the Godhead , an Eternal F●t●●r , an Eternal Son , and an E●ernal Spirit , when th●se Offices relating only to Man's Salvation were not Eternal ? This he resolves into the Eternal Purpose and Decree of God , to redeem Mankind by the Death and constant Mediation of a Man chosen and enabled for this work by the Fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him : And in consideration of his Passion and Intercession , to impart such Gifts , Graces , and Spiritual Assistances , as would be sufficient to render this Redemption effectual to the saving of much people . So that God decreed from Eternity , upon his Foreknowledge of Man's Fall , that in order to redeem Man he would take upon himself the Distinctions and Offices of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; Saviour , Mediator , and Comforter , in time ; and this is all the Eternal Distinction in the Godhead . Well : But it seems God did not decree from Eternity to redeem Man by his own Son , but by a Man chosen and enabled for this Work by the Fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him ; that is , as we have already heard , by an Inspired and Deified Man , not by a God Incarnate : It is the Man who is the Saviour and Redeemer , though he be enabled to this work by the Fulness of the Godhead , or a constant regular Inspiration : This is downright Socinianism ; the Catholick Faith is , That it is the Son of God who redeems us , though he redeems us in Human Nature . But if God redeems us by a Man , however he be enabled by a Divine Power , Why is he said to give his Son for us ? For this Divine Power is not a Person , and therefore no Son , nor is the Man his own and only begotten Son. Now this would be a difficulty indeed , were we to understand God's giving his own Son for us , in a proper literal sense ; but this is nothing but Figure and Representation , if we believe the Considerer . His words are these ; Thus when God is pleased to represent his Love to Mankind in the highest Image of Nature , that of a Father sacrificing an only-begotten Son , the exact Transcript and Resemblance of himself , perfectly innocent , and obedient to his Will in all things , we are to believe ( that God did thus sacrifice his Son , as he assures us he did ? No ; but ) that by the Sufferings and Death of Christ , God has given greater Proof of his Love towards us , than any man is capable of doing to another ; and that such an action of an Earthly Parent suggests the nearest and likest Conception we can possibly frame of what our Heavenly Father hath done for us ; though at the same time we must acknowledge it comes infinitely short of expressing the Riches and Fulness of his Mercy and Loving kindness . It does so indeed . To believe that God has actually given his own Eternal and Only-begotten Son for us , as the Scripture assures us he has , is a much nearer and truer Conception of what God has done for us , and infinitely exceeds all earthly comparisons . Abraham's offering his Son Isaac at God's Command , was an Image and Figure , but a Typical Figure of it ; but it was a Type without an Antitype , if Christ was not as truly and properly the Son of God , as Isaac was the Son of Abraham . But if we will believe the Considerer , the Scripture does not oblige us to believe this ; if we do but believe , That God is as good to us as if he had sacrificed his only Son for us , we need not believe , That he did sacrifice his Son. I have no Patience to proceed any further ; if this be true , there is an end of the Faith and Hope of Christians . CHAP. III. A Brief Account of the Sabellian Heresy , and by what Arguments the Catholick Fathers opposed it . THE Considerer has given us the most Compleat and Artificial Scheme of Sabellianism that I have yet met with , a●d has very fairly and openly confessed his Design , to prove , That One God must signify that there is but One who is God , but One single Divine Person , in the proper Notion of a Person , as it signifies an Intelligent Being . I have endeavoured to shew him his Mistake , and what it is that has mis-led him ; and how hopeless an Attempt it is to reconcile his Hypothesis with the Catholick Faith of the Trinity and Incarnation . This is so bold an Attempt , openly to assert and defend a Heresy which has been constantly condemned by the Catholick Church , since its first appearance , that I am apt to hope he does not believe his Hypothesis to be Sabellianism , or that Heresy which now is best known by that name , though Sabellius was not the first Author of it . And therefore I will shew him what Sabellianism is , and how the Fathers opposed it . There were Two Points in dispute between them and the Catholick Christians . First , Concerning the Personality of the Son , and of the Holy Spirit . Secondly , Concerning the Unity of God , Whether it were the Unity of One Person , as they pretended . That we may rightly understand this matter , we must distinguish between the several kinds of Sabellianism , because the Arguments and Answers of the Fathers are sometimes adapted to one , and sometimes to another Notion of it . That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , were but One Person , was asserted by them all , but explained very differently , and that altered the state of the Question , and required different Answers . 1. As first , They made Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , to be only Three Names , Appearances , or Offices of the same Person , as I observed before : And then the state of the Question was not , Whether the Son was a Person , and the Holy Ghost a Person , in as true and proper a sense as the Father was a Person ? For this they owned by making Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , Three Names of the same Person ; whereas it is impossible they should be the same Person , if the Son were not a Person , nor the Holy Ghost a Person . If the Son be the same Person with the Father , the Son must be a Person , for no Person can't be the same Person : Which is the same Argument to prove that these Hereticks owned Christ to be a True and Real Person , that Novatianus used ( as I observed before ) to prove that they owned Christ to be true and perfect God , because they made him the same with the Father , who is true and perfect God , and a true , and real , and substantial Person . And if he be the very same with the Father , he must be the same we acknowledge the Father to be ; viz. a true and real Person , and perfect God. The Dispute then which the Catholick Fathers had with these Hereticks , with respect to this Notion , That Father , Son ▪ and Holy Ghost , were the very same Person , was not , Whether the Son was a Person , and the Holy Ghost a Person ? but , Whether the Son and Holy Ghost were truly and really distinct Persons from the Father , as the Catholick Church always believed ? or , Whether they were the same Person , distinguished only by Three Names . Now when the Fathers asserted not only the Personality of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost ( which this Notion did not oppose ) , but the real distinction of Persons , That the Son was a Person , but not the same Person with the Father , they must ascribe the same kind of Personality to the Son , which they do to the Father ; That the Son is as truly and really a Person as the Father is , though not the same Person ; as truly a Person as God would be , were there but One Person in the Godhead , as these Hereticks affirmed . For according to all the Rules of Disputation , we must take Words in the sense of those whom we oppose ; for otherwise it is a mere wrangle about Words , without opposing one another . And therefore since the Sabellians by Person understood such a Person as every single Person is , ( for they made Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , but Three different Names of the same single individual Person ) nothing could oppose or confute them , but to prove , That Father , and Son , and Holy Ghost , are Three distinct Persons , in the same Notion of a Person which belongs to every single individual Person , as far as mere Personality is concerned . For to prove them Three in any other sense , whether Three Modes , or Three Powers , or Three Parts of the same One single Person , is what they would have ; and allow them to be but One Person , and they will dispute no further ; nay , will give you leave to call Three Modes , or Three Names , or Three Parts of the same One Person , Three Persons , if you please . But for the clearer understanding of this matter , we must consider by what Arguments the Ancient Writers opposed this Heresy . Tertullian , in opposition to Praxeas , reduces this to a short Question , Whether God have any Son , and who he is , and how he is his Son. For if God have a Son , the Son must be as true and real a Person as the Father , and Father and Son must be Two distinct Persons ; for the same Person can't be both Father and Son to himself ; the very Names of Father and Son signify , that one is of the other , and we must understand things to be what they are called , whether Father or Son , which can no more be the same than Night and Day , with respect to these different Relations . The Father makes the Son , and the Son makes the Father ; and those who receive these Relations from each other , can never be these Relations to themselves , that the Father should make himself a Son to himself , or the Son make himself a Father to himself . This Order God has instituted in all other Beings , and he observes it himself . A Father must of necessity have a Son , to be a Father ; and a Son must have a Father , that he may be a Son , but to have , and to be , are two things ; as for instance , for a man to be a Husband , signifies that he has a Wife , not that he is a Wife to himself ; and thus to be a Father , signifies to have a Son , not to be a Son to himself ; in such Relations we must be one , and have another ; that to be both is to be neither , because we can have neither . If I be Father and Son to my self , I am no Father , because I have no Son , who makes a Father , but am Son my self ; and I am no Son , because I have no Father , who makes the Son , but am Son my self ; and thus while they make Father and Son one and the same Person , they destroy the Notion both of Father and Son. Now would any man have argued at this rate , who did not believe Father and Son to be real and Substantial Persons , and as distinct from each other as a human Father and Son are ; for if they be not , all this reasoning from the distinct Relations of Father and Son , which require a real distinction of Persons , is quite lost : And whether this Argument be good , or no , ( which is not the present Enquiry ) it is certain that whoever uses it , if he understands himself , must believe , That Father and Son signify as true and real Relations , and as real and distinct Persons in the Godhead , as they do in human Nature . The like may be said of that other Argument against the Father and the Son being One and the same Person , That then the same Person must , in order of Nature , be both before and after himself ; for he who begets must always in order of Nature ( though not of Time , in an Eternal Generation ) be before him who is begotten by him : That as Father , he is before himself as Son ; as Son , he is after himself as Father ; which had been Iudicrous trifling , if they had not believed a real substantial Generation of the Person , and consequently that the Son is a real substantial Person : For this Argument will not hold in the Generation of Modes and Postures , or in one part of the Deity generating another . Thus to prove the distinction of Persons between Father and Son , they urge all those Texts in which the Father speaks to or of the Son , and the Son speaks to or of the Father ; which are so many , and so well known , that I need not transcribe them . And Tertullian lays it down as a certain Rule , That he who speaks , and he to whom he speaks , and he who is spoken of , cannot be one and the same Person ; for this is such perverseness and deceit as does not become God ; that when he himself is the Person to whom he speaks , he should speak in such a manner as if he directed his speech to another , and did not speak to himself . And therefore when the Father says , Thou art my Son , this day have I begotten thee . This is my beloved Son , in whom I am well pleased . When Christ tells us , That God is his Father ; That he came forth from the Father , and came into the world , and again leaves the world , and goes to the Father : When he says , I and my Father ; and I will pray the Father , and he shall send you Another Comforter : I , and He , and Another , must signify Three as Real and Distinct Persons , as these words signify in common speech . Thus they prove the distinction of Persons between Father and Son , from those Texts which tell us , That the Father sends the Son , and the Son is sent ; That the Father anoints , and the Son is anointed ; That the Father gives Commands , and the Son receives them , and doth the Will of his Father ; That the Father knows the Son , and the Son the Father ; That he sees all that the Father doth , and can do all that he sees the Father do : For there must be distinct Subjects for such different Acts ; the same Person , with respect to himself , can't with any propriety of speech be said to send , and to be sent ; to anoint , and to be anointed ; to command , and to obey ; to come forth from himself , and to come into the world , and to leave the world , and go to himself : And therefore he who sends , and he who is sent , &c. must be Two. Nay , it is well observed by these Fathers , That Christ himself expresly teaches us , that He and his Father , with respect to the distinction of Persons , are Two ; so Two , as to make a Legal Testimony of Two Witnesses ; 8. Iohn 13 , — 18. When the Pharisees objected against him , That he bore Record of himself , and therefore his Record was not true : He answers , And yet if I judge , my judgment is true , for I am not alone , but I and my Father which sent me . It is also written in your law , That the testimony of two men is true ; I am one that bear witness of my self and my Father that sent me beareth witness of me . This is as express as words can make it . If Father and Son were but O●e single Person , Christ could not have said , I am not alone , but I and my Father which sent me ; for one single Person is in this sense alone , how many Names soever he has ; and if he and his Father are not Two distinct Persons , they are not Two Legal Witnesses , as Two distinct men are . These and such like Arguments we may find in all the Ancient Writers who have engaged in this Controversy ; and from hence we learn not only what they thought of the distinction of Persons between Father and Son , but what kind of Person they believed the Son to be ; such a Person as has a Personal Knowledge , and Will , and Power , who is capable of being sent , of receiving and executing Commands , and has all this as distinctly in himself , as he is a distinct Person . The Father knows the Son , and the Son knows the Father , but each of them know by their own Personal Knowledge ; the Father wills , and the Son wills , and wills all the same with the Father , but each of them wills by his own Personal Will ; the Father works , and the Son works , and they inseparably do the same things , but each of them work by their own Personal Power . Knowledge , and Will , and Power of acting , is essential to the Notion of a Person , and therefore every distinct Person must have a distinct Personal Knowledge , and Will , and Power ; and those must acknowledge this , who prove the distinction of Persons from distinct Personal Acts , as all these Fathers did . This is all we ask , when we assert a distinction of Persons in the Trinity ; and this we must insist on , or deny a Trinity ; for if there are not Three who have all the same distinct Personal Acts , there cannot be Three distinct compleat Persons ; for Personal Acts shew a Person , and distinct Personal Acts prove distinct Persons ; and in this sense ( as all these Arguments prove ) the Ancient Fathers owned a distinction of Three Persons in the Unity of the Godhead . Their distinction between Deus invisibilis , and Deus visibilis , the invisible and visible God , whereby they proved the real distinction between God the Father and God the Son , is an undeniable Proof of their Opinion in this matter ; for I urge it no farther . It was the received Opinion ( as far as I can find ) of all the Ancient Fathers , till St. Austin , That God the Father never appeared in any visible Representation of himself ; for he tells Moses , No man can see my face , and live : And St. Iohn assures us , No man hath seen God at any time , but the only-begotten Son , who is in the bosom of the Father , he hath declared him : And yet in the Old Testament we frequently read of God's appearing to men , which they therefore expound of God the Son , and that his Appearance in a visible Form was a Preludium to his Incarnation . This we may see largely proved by Tertullian and St. Hilary , and observed by St. Athanasius ; and the plain consequence they draw from it , is , That this invisible and visible God cannot be one and the same Person ; and the consequence is so sel●-evident , that it needs no Proof ; but it evidently proves what a real , substantial , as well as distinct Person they thought the Son , who could visibly appear , while the Father remained invisible ; for as a visible and invisible God can't be the same Person , so a visible God must be a real substantial Person . And though St. Austin was of opinion , That those Three Men which appeared to Abraham , were the Three Persons of the Sacred Trinity , and thereby rejected the distinction of the invisible and visible God , by attributing a visible Appearance to God the Father , which none of the Ancients had done before him ; yet by these Three distinct Appearances he confirmed the real distinction of the Divine Persons , who were as distinct Persons as they appeared to be , and therefore as distinct as Three Human Persons , for they appeared as Three distinct men . And therefore he observes , That whereas Two of these Three went to Lot in Sodom , Lot speaks to them as to One , 19. Gen. 18. And Lot said unto them , Oh , not so , my Lord : And justifies Lot in this , That though they were two , yet they were equal , and he would not divide the Father and Son ; and urges this against the Sabellians , who made Father and Son One Person . I do not justify St. Austin in this , because I doubt whether the Argument be good ; but by this we may understand St. Austin's Judgment of the real distinction of Persons . And to the same purpose the Voice from Heaven at our Saviour's Baptism , This is my beloved Son , in whom I am well pleased ; and the Descent of the Holy Spirit like a Dove , and lighting upon him , is urged by the Ancient Fathers to prove a real Trinity of Divine Persons : The Voice from the Father in Heaven , the Son on earth , and the Holy Ghost descending like a Dove ; which being Three distinct Manifestations , and all at a time , must represent the Father who spoke from Heaven , the Son who was on Earth , and the Holy Ghost who descended like a Dove , to be Three distinct Persons , not One single Person , which cannot speak of himself in the Third Person , nor descend on himself in a distinct visible Appearance . The Sabellians being unable to maintain this Point , which is so manifestly absurd , and so irreconcilable with all the forms of speech used in Scripture concerning Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , found it necessary to allow some distinction between them , but yet were so afraid of Tritheism , that they kept religiously to their main Point , that One God was but One Person , and therefore would admit of no other distinction but what was reconcilable with the Unity of a Person . 2. Hence , secondly , some of them taught , That the Son is distinguished from the Father , not as one Person is distinguished from another , but as a man's Word or Wisdom which is in his Heart and Soul , may be distinguished from himself ; that is , That the Son is not a living , substantial , subsisting Word , no more than the Word of a Man , which is only the motion of a living subsisting heart , but does not live and subsist it self , but being spoke it vanishes , and being often repeated , never continues ; and therefore is not another Man , nor Man of Man , nor with Man ; as the Divine Word is true and perfect God , God of God , and God with God ; and therefore they make God and his Word but One Person , as Man and his Word is One Man. In answer to this , St. Athanasius urges all those Texts which prove Christ and God the Father to be Two distinct Persons ; for if they be Two Persons , then the Son is as True and Real a Person as the Father is . This I have already taken notice of , and need not now repeat it ; only I cannot but observe what Athanasius tells us of these Hereticks , That when they were convinced by the plain Evidence of Scripture , that God the Father , and Christ who called himself the Son of God , were Two Persons , they then took Courage , and owned Christ to be a Person , but not a Divine Person , as the Eternal Word of God , but only a Human Person , as he was Man. But Athanasius tells them , That this was neither better nor worse than the Heresy of Paulus Samosatenus , or what we now call Socinianism , to make Christ a mere Man ; for he can be no more , if the Divine Word , which St. Iohn tells us was Incarnate , be not the Person : If the Word Incarnate be the Person , then Christ is God-Man ; if the Man be the Person , he can be no more than a Man. This Athanasius confutes at large , and proves , That what Christ says of himself , cannot belong to a mere Man. But that which I would observe , is this , That both these Hereticks , who denied the Divine Word to be a Person , and Athanasius and the other Catholick Fathers who affirmed him to be a Person , agreed very well in the Notion of a Person , viz. That a Person is a distinct , intelligent Being , who does really and actually subsist , and subsists distinctly from all other intelligent Beings . That the Divine Word in the Godhead is such a Person as a Man is in Human Nature : Such a Person these Hereticks would allow Christ to be , considered as a Man ; and such a Person Athanasius affirms Christ to be , considered as God , or the Divine Word ; for otherwise they wrangle about words , and do not oppose each other . The Fathers proved , That Christ was a Person , and a distinct Person from the Father , by those Texts which represent him as speaking to and of his Father , and which attribute many Personal Acts to him : The Sabellians could not deny but that these were Personal Acts , and did prove Christ to be a real subsisting Person ; but then would not allow the Word to be the Person , but only the Man Christ Jesus to be the Person : The Fathers , on the other hand , allow their Notion of a Person , which is the only true intelligible Notion , but prove , That the Divine Word which was Incarnate , not merely the Man Christ Jesus , was this Person ; and therefore that this Divine Word is a real , substantial , subsisting Word , not like the Word of a man , which is a transient Act , but has no subsistence of its own . The Sabellians would have allowed a Trinity of Persons in any other Notion of a Person , than as a Person signifies a real , subsisting , intelligent Being ; but the Catholick Fathers would own no other Notion of Person but this ; and taught that there were Three Persons in the Trinity , in the same sense in which the Sabellians denied there were Three Persons ; Three such Persons as they affirmed there was but One ; that the Son and Holy Ghost were Divine Persons , in the same sense that the Sabellians owned the Father to be a Person ; that is , Three such Persons as they called Three Gods. The reason of this I 'm sure is not to be answered , That if the Catholick Fathers understood what they did , when they opposed the Sabellians , who made the Divine Word only to be the Word of a Divine Person , but not a Divine Person himself , they must assert the Divine Word in a strict and proper sense to be a Divine Person , and not merely the transient Word of a Person , which has no subsistence ; which is a more sensible Argument than all the Criticisms about Persona and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . And yet they express themselves so fully and clearly in this matter , that there is no need of gu●ssing at their meaning . Tertullian reduces this Dispute to this one single Question , which is the true state of it ; whether the Son and Word of God , considered as distinct from God the Father , be a Substance , and has a Subsistence of his own : Which he expresly affirms , and offers his reasons for the Proof of it . This he tells us is necessary to make the Word a real Being and Person , Res & Persona , that he have a real Substance , and a Substance of his own , proper to himself , per Substantioe proprietatem , without which he cannot be Second to God ; nor the Father and the Son , God and his Word , be Two. Now for the Son and the Word to be a substantial Being per proprietatem Substantioe , by a Substance proper to himself , as distinguished from God the Father , must signify , That the Personal Substance of the Son is not the same , but a distinct Substance from the Personal Substance of God the Father ; so distinct , that the Father and Son are Two Persons , in the same sense and notion that the Father is One Person . In answer to their Objection , That the Word of God was but like the Word of a Man , which was nothing else but a Voice and Sound , a Vibration of the Air , which conveyed some Notions to the Mind , but was it self Emptiness and Nothing , without any Substance of its own ; he answers , That God himself is the most real and perfect Substance , and therefore whatever proceeds from ( or is begotten of ) his Substance , must be a real substantial Being ; much less can the Son and Word , who gave Being to all other Substances , be an insubstantial Nothing himself : For tho there may be equivocal Causes , which may produce things of a different nature from themselves , yet nothing can produce nothing . He argues farther , That this Word is called the Son of God , and God ; The Word was with God , and the Word was God : And that Word which is the Son of God , and himself God , can't be an insubstantial Nothing , unless God himself be Nothing . If God begets a Son , he must be a substantial Person , as all Creature-Sons are , much more the Son of God : And such a Son who is himself God , must have all the Reality and Perfections which belong to the Notion of God. But he argues farther , from what St. Paul tells us , That he was in the form of God , and thought it not robbery to be equal with God. In Effigie , in the Image of God. Now , says he , in what Image of God , was he ? Certainly in another , but not in none : The meaning of which is , That every Person , as a Person , has his own Personal Image ; but thus he was not the Personal Image of the Father , because he was not the same Person with the Father ; but yet if he was the Image of God , he must be his True , Substantial , though not his Personal Image ; the true living Image of his Father's Person , but not his Person . He seems indeed in what follows , to have entertained too gross and corporeal imaginations of the Substance and Image of God ; but this was his own Mistake , and a Mistake only in Philosophy , not in the Traditionary Faith of the Church ; for which only we alledge his Authority . And the Conclusion of this Argument most fully acquaints us what he understood by a Person : Whatever , says he , the Substance of the Word is , that I call a Person ; and to that I give the Name of Son ; and by acknowledging him the Son , I own him to be second to the Father . Whoever reads this , must confess , That Tertullian did believe Father and Son to be Two distinct substantial Persons ; that though the Son be of the same Substance with the Father , as begotten of his Father's Substance , yet the Personal Substance of the Father was no more the Personal Substance of the Son , than Father and Son were One Person . Novatianus , who was Cotemporary with St. Cyprian , though a Schismatick , was charged with no Heresy in this Article ; and he opposes the Sabellians with the same Arguments , and almost in the same words that Tertullian and done before him : And tells us particularly , That this Divine Word , which is the Son of God , begotten and born of him , is not a mere Sound or Voice , like the Word of a Man , but that substantial Virtue and Power which proceeds from God : A Divine Substance , whose Name is the Word : Such a Word as is both the Son of God , and God : God proceeding from God , and making a Second Person in the Godhead . Epiphanius , in opposition to the Heresies of Noetus and Sabellius , who made Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , but One Substantial Person , affirms over and over , That the Father is Substance , the Son Substance , and the Holy Ghost Substance , that is , each of them Substance by himself , and as distinct in Substance as they are in Person : Three Substantial Persons , which are not one another , nor all the same . These Hereticks allowed the Father to be Substance , the Son Substance , the Holy Ghost Substance , but denied them to be Three in Substance , but taught that they were but One Substance , as they were but One and the same Person , Three Names , or Three distinct Virtues and Powers of the same One Substance or Person . And therefore when in opposition to these men Epiphanius asserts , That the Father is Substance , the Son Substance , and the Holy Ghost Substance , he can mean no less but that each of them is as distinctly Substance as he is a Person ; for to oppose One Substance , and One substantial Person , you must assert , not Three diverse or different Substances , but Three as distinct in Substance as they are in Person , or Three distinct substantial Persons . Epiphanius asserts against these Hereticks , That the Son is not the Father , but truly and properly a Son , begotten of God the Father , as to Substance . Now a Son which is substantially begotten of the Father , and is not the Father , must in Substance be distinct from God the Father , that is , a distinct , tho not separate Substance from God the Father . Athanasius also is very positive in this , That this Divine Word is a Perfect Son of a Perfect Father , Being of Being , the Image or Character of his Father's Substance , not an insubstantial Word , but a living Power , and the Author of Life to all things ; not like the Power of a Man , which denominates a Man powerful ; for the Power of Man is not his Offspring or Son , whereas this Power of God is his Son ; that the Father is Perfect Power , as the Father of Power , and the Son Perfect Power , as born of him . It were endless to transcribe such Sayings as these out of the Fathers ; but I cannot miss Athanasius his Argument from those words of our Saviour , I am in the Father , and the Father in me . Now , says he , the Father is not the Word in the Heart of the Son , and therefore neither is the Son the Word in the Heart of the Father , but the Living Word , begotten eternally of the Living God the Father , and being without beginning with the Father ; insomuch that we cannot conceive the Father ever to have been alone : Which attributes as compleat and distinct Personal Subsistence to the Son as to the Father : That if the Father , who has the Son in himself , be a real , subsisting Infinite Person ; the Son , who has the whole Father in himself , must be as real , subsisting , Infinite a Person ; for there is the same reason of both . The Answer Athanasius gives to a Sabellian Objection against the substantial Generation and Subsistence of the Word and Son of God , is an unanswerable Proof what he thought of this matter . The Objection is this , That if the Word and Son be truly and substantially begotten , this substantial Word must go out of the Father , and subsist separately from him : Whereas the Word which is in God must be inseparable from him , and not appear out of him ; for how should he appear out of God , when God fills all places , even Heaven and Earth , and therefore there is no place for the Word to subsist in , where God is not ? In answer to this , Athanasius first observes what this Objection is levelled against , viz. To disprove the true and proper Generation of the Son , his Eternal Procession from the Father , and Subsistence with the Father ; that the Father does not compleatly and perfectly subsist by himself , nor the Son compleatly and perfectly subsist by himself . This is the Faith the Sabellians opposed , and which Athanasius defended , as the Argument it self will assure us ; which contradicts no other Notion of Generation or Subsistence , but a substantial Generation , and a compleat Personal Subsistence of the Word ; but they could not imagine how the Word should be substantially begotten , and compleatly and perfectly subsist by himself in his own Person and Substance , distinct from his Father's Subsistence and Person , without going out of the Father , and subsisting in a separate place from the Father , as all Created Births do , which opposes nothing but a real substantial Birth , and a compleat distinct subsistence of the Word ; and therefore this is what the Sabellians took for the Catholick Faith , and this is what Athanasius defends : Who tells them that this is a very ignorant mistake , to think that God is circumscribed by place , and to conceive the Son in another place , and to imagine that the Father and Son must be divided and separated , one in this place , and another in that , if we acknowledge that the Son is begotten of the Father , and does appear and subsist by himself , distinct from the Father : This he proves from Scripture ; That there is no place that can contain God , and therefore we must have no imagination of Place , when we think of God , the Son , and the Holy Spirit ; That these are false and Atheistical Reasonings ; That the Omnipresence of God is not a co-extension with all Creatures , which is a bodily or kind of Corporeal Omnipresence ; but his Power holds and contains all things , for Power is unbodied and invisible , which neither encompasses other things , nor is encompassed by them ; and therefore it is impious to ask for , or to conceive what is the Place of God , of the Word , or of the Holy Spirit . And if a man will deny that the Son is or was begotten , because he cannot conceive nor find out the place of his Essence or Substance , for the same reason he may deny that there is a Father , or that there is a God. So that Athanasius acknowledges the Son to be as true and substantial a Son , as the Father is a substantial Father ; and that he does as perfectly and compleatly subsist by himself , as the Father does ; but denies that it hence follows , as the Sabellians objected , That the Son , if he be a distinct substantial Person himself , must be divided and parted from the Substance of his Father , and that if he subsist distinctly by himself , he must subsist in a separate place from his Father ; that this distinction of Persons and Subsistence cannot be conceived without a Local Separation . For he tells them , All these Mistakes are owing to Corporeal Imaginations ; that they conceive of God after the manner of Bodies ; that because Body cannot generate another , without parting and dividing of Substance , nor subsist without being in some place , nor subsist distinctly without being in distinct and separate places , therefore if God beget a Son , and this Son subsist distinctly by himself , this Son must go out of the Divine Substance , and be locally separated from God the Father , as a human Son is from his Father ; whereas the Divine Nature and Substance cannot be divided , nor does God subsist in a place ; and therefore the Son may be substantially begotten of the Father , and subsist distinctly by himself , without any division of the Divine Substance , or separation of place . Let us now proceed to a Third sort of these Hereticks , who did allow a real and substantial difference between Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , but made God a compound Being , but one Person , as well as one God , and that Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , were the Three Parts of this One God. This St. Austin calls Triformis Deus ; and tells us , That these Hereticks did not allow the Father to be Perfect in himself , nor the Son Perfect in himself , nor the Holy Ghost Perfect in himself ; that neither of these considered by themselves were Perfect God , but that all Three together made one Compleat and Perfect God. This all the Catholick Fathers unanimously reject , and for the same reasons ; because there can be no composition in the pure and simple Nature of God ; and it was the received Doctrine of the Catholick Church , That each Person is by himself True and Perfect God , not an incompleat Part of the Deity . Thus Athanasius warns us against this Heresy , which conceives the Trinity like Three Bodily Parts , inseparably united to each other ; which , he says , is an ungodly reasoning , contrary to the Nature of Perfect Unbodied Beings ; and therefore attributes the Perfection of the Godhead to each Person , who are a real Trinity , inseparably united in the same Form and Nature . That the Father is Perfect Essence and Being , without any defect , the Root and Fountain of the Son and Spirit : That the Son in the Fulness of the Deity is the Living Word , and Perfect Offspring of the Father : That the Spirit is the Fulness of the Son , not Part of another Being , but Whole and Entire in himself : That we must conceive them inseparably united to each other , but yet Three real subsisting Persons in the same Form and Species , which is originally in the Father , shines in the Son , and is manifested by the Holy Spirit . And therefore he adds , That he did not compound the Trinity , nor force it into a Monad or Unit ( that is , One single Person ) to preserve the Unity of the Godhead ; nor conceive of God as of a Man , who is compounded of Three Parts , Spirit , Soul , and Body ; for such a composition cannot belong to a simple Nature . This is the constant language of the ancient Writers , That the Divine Nature is not compounded of Parts , nor is God a compound Being ; that each Person in the Trinity is a complete and perfect Person , and Three complete and perfect Persons cannot be One by Composition , as Three incomplete Parts are : that each Person by himself is perfect God and perfect Essence , though when we unite them and number Three , we acknowledge but One perfect God : for the Deity is not compounded but in Three , each of which is complete and perfect , there is One perfect Being , without Composition , and without Parts ; that is , the same One Divine Nature subsisting distinctly , not by Parts or Composition , but Whole and Entire in Three . Let us now then consider the true state of the Question between these Sabellians , and the Catholick Fathers : These Hereticks owned at last , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , to be Three distinct Substances , but not Three substantial Wholes , but Three substantial Parts , which by their Union and Composition made up One whole intire God. The Catholick Fathers join with them so far , as to own these Divine Persons to be Three substantial subsisting Persons , but reject their Notion of a compounded God , or Three Parts of the Deity , with the utmost abhorrence , and affirm , that each Person is by himself entire and perfect God , perfect and complete Divine Essence or Substance , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as Damascen speaks ; and that they are not One God by Composition , or as One Person is One God , but as Three complete and perfect Persons , each of which is perfect God , can be One God. Now I think after this we need not dispute , what the Metaphysical Notions of Person and Personality are : for a Person in this Sacred Mystery , signifies One who is true and perfect God , and therefore is whatever God is ; for the true and perfect definition of God , must belong to every Person who is true and perfect God. If then we acknowledge God to be Infinite Substance , Mind , Life , Knowledge , Power , every Person who is God must be all this ; and if each Person be true and perfect God , and yet no One Person is the other , nor the Motion , Affection , or personal Power , nor part of the other , then each Person is distinctly and by himself complete and perfect God , and therefore has distinctly in himself all those Attributes and Perfections which belong to the perfect Notion and Idea of God ; and to make any Person less than what God is , is to make him no God. But Athanasius has another Argument against the Sabellian compounded Deity , which must put all Compositions of the Deity for ever out of countenance . The Scripture assures us , that God sends his Son , and that the Son sends the Holy Ghost ; whereas were the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , Three inseparable Parts of one compounded Deity , how could this One God , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , send part of himself , and one part of the same One God send another ? To send , and to be sent , necessarily supposes Persons really and substantially distinct , such as can give and receive , and execute Commands , who have distinct Understandings , Wills , and Powers of Action , for no other Beings are capable of sending or being sent ; and Three such distinct Persons , each of which is complete and perfect God , is the Trinity asserted by the Catholick Fathers , in contradiction to the Heresy of Sabellius . But there is one very good Rule of Athanasius , which is worth observing in this Controversy , That we must not imagine to find the Unity of the Godhead by denying Three , but we must find this Unity , or Monade , in Three . The Sabellians took the first way to secure the Catholick Faith of One God , they denied Three real , distinct , substantial Persons in the Godhead ; but the Catholick Faith owns Three real , distinct , substantial , divine Persons , and teaches that these Three are One God ; not with such an Unity as belongs to One Person , but as Three Persons are One God : which should be a warning to some late Writers , who think they cannot sufficiently defend the Unity of God , without opposing a real and substantial Trinity , which is to oppose the ancient Catholick Faith. To conclude this Chapter , the result of the whole in short is this , That in opposition to the Noetians , who made Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , to be only Three Names of the same One Divine Person , whom we call God , the Catholick Fathers asserted that they were Three distinct Persons , not the same Person under Three Names , or Three Appearances ; in opposition to those Sabellians , who denied the Substantiality of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost , but made the Son like the Word in the mind or heart of man , which had no substantial , permanent Subsistence of its own , and the Holy Ghost in like manner to be a transient efflux of Power from God ; so that God the Father was the only subsisting Person , and the One God , but the Son , and the Holy Ghost , the insubstantial , transient Word and Power of God. These ancient Fathers in like manner asserted the Substantiality of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost , that they were real , distinct , subsisting Persons , as true and perfect Persons as the Father himself is : in opposition to those Sabellians who asserted a compound Deity , and made a Trinity of Parts , instead of a Trinity of Persons in the Unity of the Godhead ; they unanimously rejected all composition in the Deity , and asserted each Person distinctly by himself , not to be a part of God , but true and perfect God. Now had these Fathers asserted nothing positively concerning the Three Divine Persons , but only rejected these Noetian and Sabellian Heresies , it had been evidence enough what their Faith was concerning the Ever-blessed Trinity ; for remove these Heresies , and all such as are manifestly the same , however they may differ in words , and there is nothing left for any man to believe concerning a Divine Trinity , but the true Catholick Faith of Three real , distinct , substantial , Divine Persons , each of which is distinctly , and by himself complete , entire , perfect God ▪ For if Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are not one and the same Person , distinguisht only by Three Names , according to their different Appearances and Operations ; nor one single Person with two personal Vertues and Powers , called the Son , and the Spirit , like the word and emotion in a man's heart , which is no person , and has no subsistence of its own ; nor three parts of one compounded Deity , as a man is compounded of Body , Soul , and Spirit , then of necessity Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , must be Three complete , substantial , subsisting Persons , Thr●● such Persons as the Sabellians would allow but One : f●●●f they ●e not the same , nor affections and motions of the ●ame , nor parts of the same , there is nothing left but to own them Three completely and perfectly subsisting Person . If God be One , not in the Sabellian ●otion of Singularity , as One God signifies One single Person ; but O●e in Three , without parts or composition , as the Father asserted against Sabellius , then each Person must be by himself complete and perfect God ; for God cannot be One in Three Persons , unless each Person be perfect God ; for unless this One God be perfect God in each Person , he cannot be perfectly One in Three . If the Unity of God be not the Unity of a Person , it must be the Unity and Sameness of Nature , and the inseparable Union of Persons ; and this is the Unity in Trinity , and Trinity in Unity , which the Catholick Fathers taught , and which is the only thing they could reasonably teach , when they had rejected the Sabellian Unity . There is no medium that I know of in this Controversy concerning the Unity of God , between the Unity of One single Person , and that Oneness which results from the Unity , and the Consubstantiality of Nature , and inseparable Union of Persons ; and therefore if the first be Heresy , the second must be the Catholick Faith ; and whatever Notions men advance against this , is Sabellianism in its Principle , and last result : for if the Unity of God be not the Union of Three complete Divine Persons , each of which is distinctly by himself perfect God , it must be the Unity of One Divine Person , which is the Sabellian Unity . CHAP. IV. Concerning the Homoousion , or One Substance of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost . IN the last Chapter I have plainly shewn what Sabellianism is , and by what Arguments the Catholick Fathers opposed and confuted it , which is proof enough what they meant by Person , when in opposition to Sabellius , they taught that there were Three Persons in the Unity of the Godhead ; not Three personal Characters and Relations , which Sabellius owned , but Three true and proper Persons , each of whom is by himself true and perfect God. But yet the Nicene Faith of the Homocusion , or One Substance of Father and Son , is so expounded by some , as to countenance the Sabellian Heresy , which all the Nicene Fathers condemned , though one would think that should be an unanswerable Objection against it ; this has made it so absolutely necessary to the Vindication of the Catholick Faith , and to compose some warm Disputes , rightly to understand this matter , that I shall carefully inquire what the Nicene Fathers meant by these terms of the Homoousion , and One Substance , which they have put into their Creed , as the most express opposition to the Arian Heresy . And we cannot long doubt of this , if we consider the true state of the Arian Controversy : There was no Dispute between the Arians and Catholicks concerning the Personality of the Son ; they both condemned Sabellius , and therefore One Substance , when opposed to the Arians , can't signify a Sabellian Unity . The Arians and Sabellians both agreed in this , That One God is but One Divine Person , who is truly and properly God ; and that to assert Three Persons , each of which is true and perfect God , is to make Three Gods. The Sabellians , to avoid this Tritheism , make Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , but One Divine Person , and in that sense but One God. The Arians on the other hand , allow Father and Son to be two real distinct Persons , but attribute true and perfect Divinity only to the Father , and make the Son a Creature , though the most excellent Creature , made before the World , and as like to God as any Creature can be , and the Minister of God in making the World. This Heresy was condemned by the first general Council assembled at Nice ; and if we would understand the Nicene Creed , we must expound it in opposition to the Arian Heresy , without running into the other Extreme of Sabellianism . And therefore when we are taught to believe in One Lord Iesus Christ , the Only begotten Son of God , begotten of his Father before all Worlds , God of God , Light of Light , Very God of very God , begotten , not made , being of One Substance with the Father , by whom all things were made ; Wemust understand a Son , who is a distinct Person from his Father , as the Arians allowed him to be , but not a made or created Son , as they taught , but a Son by Nature , begotten of his Father's substance , and that not in Time , but from all Eternity ; and therefore not a Creature , but God by Nature , true and perfect God , as God of God , begotten of God , and therefore of One Substance with the Father ; not in the Sabellian sense , as One Substance is One Person , but as One Substance signifies the same Nature , in opposition to the Arians , who made him not only a distinct Person , but of a different Nature , like his Father , but not the same ; not of the substance of his Father , but a new created Substance , made out of nothing , as all other Creatures are . The opposition of this Creed to the Arian Heresy is certainly the best way of expounding it , and then we find nothing in it , but the true ancient Catholick Faith , of the real distinction of Persons in the Unity of the Divine Essence . But the present Inquiry is , What is the true Notion of the Homousion , or One Substance of Father and Son ; and besides that positive account the Fathers give us of it , we may learn this from those false Glosses and Interpretations which they reject , and those Rules they give for the expounding these words . SECT . I. The true Sense of the Homoousion , from those Misrepresentations which were made of it , and the Answers which were given by the Nicene Fathers to such Objections . 1. FIrst then , Let us consider what Misrepresentations were made of this disputed word Consubstantial , by the Enemies of the Catholick Faith , and what Answers the Fathers gave to such Objections . St. Hilary mentions three in the beginning of his 4 th Book of the Trinity ; and I shall consider them in the Order in which he sets them down . 1. The first is , that this word Homoousion , or Consubstantial , is no better than Sabellianism ; that it makes the Father and the Son to be but One , by One singular Substance , which being Infinite , extended it self into the Virgin 's Womb , and taking a Body of her , in that Body took the Name of Son ; and thus they say some former Bishops understood it , and is therefore to be rejected as Heretical ; which , as he adds , is the first misrepresentation of the Homoousion . Thus he observes in his Book de Synodis , that the Fathers in the Council of Antioch , which condemned Paulus Samosatenus , did also reject the Homoousion , because Paulus thereby understood the singularity of the Divine Nature and Substance , which destroys the real personal distinction between Father and Son ; and adds , that the Church , though it retained the word Homoousion , still rejects that sense of it as profane . The Learned Dr. Bull , notwithstanding St. Hilary's Authority , can't believe that either Paulus or Sabellius did upon choice own the Homoousion , but only put a forced and unnatural sense of it , to favour their Heresies ; and seems to have very good reason on his side ; but that is not the present question , How perversly soever Hereticks understood this word , the Nicene Fathers rejected this sense as profane and heretical . Now if One Substance does not signify One singular Substance in the Sabellian Notion of it , which leaves only a Trinity of Names or Modes , instead of a Trinity of Persons , then Three consubstantial Persons must signisy Three substantial Persons , who have the same Nature and Essence , but not the same singular Substance . And St. Basil tells us , that this is the proper acceptation of the word Homoousion , which is directly opposed to the Sabellian as well as to the Arian Heresy , as it destroys the Identity of Hypostasis , and gives us a complete and perfect Notion of distinct Persons ; for the same thing is not consubstantial to it self , but to another ; that there must be another , and another , to make two that are consubstantial . Another Objection against the Homoousion was this , That to be consubstantial , or of One Substance , signifies the communion of Two in some other thing , which is in order of Nature before them both ; as if there were some prior Substance or Matter , of which they both did partake so as to have the whole Substance between them ; which makes them consubstantial , or of one Substance both partaking of the same Being , Nature , or Substance , which was before them both ; and therefore they rejected the Homoousion , because it did not preserve the relation between the Son and the Father , and made the Father later than that Substance or Matter , which is common to him with the Son. This also St. Hilary tells us the Church rejects and abominates ; for nothing can so much as in thought be before the Substance of the Father ; and the relation between Father and Son signifies to beget , and to be begotten , not to be both made of the same Substance . A third Reason they assigned against this word Homoousion was this , That to be Consubstantial , or of One Substance , in the strict and proper acceptation of these words , signifies , that the generation of the Son , is by the division of the Father's Substance , as if he were cut out of him , and One Substance divided into Two Persons , and so Father and Son are of One Substance , as a part cut out of the whole , is of the same nature with that from whence it is taken . This was objected against the Homoousion in the time of the Nicene Council , while this word was under debate , which Socrates gives a more particular account of . The reason those Bishops , who refused to subscribe to the Nicene Faith , gave against the Homoousion , was this , That that only can be said to be Consubstantial , which is of another , either by division , or by efflux and emanation , or by prolation or eruption : by eruption , as the branches sprout out of the root ; by efflux , according to the manner of human generations ; by division , as the same mass of Gold may be divided into two or three golden Cups ; but the Son is of the Father neither of these ways , and therefore they rejected this Faith , and ridiculed the Homoousion . For this very reason Eusebius of Caesarea was for some time in suspense about the Homoousion , which he afterwards readily received , when the Council had declared in what sense they understood it , and rejected all corporeal passions , all division and partition , change and diminution of the Divine Essence ; which pure , simple , unbodied , eternal , unchangeable Mind is not capable of . Now all that I shall observe at present is , That this very Objection , which was thought so formidable , necessarily supposes that both they who made it , and they who were so much concerned to answer it , did acknowledge a substantial generation of the Son ; for this whole Dispute is downright Nonsense without it : If God the Father in begetting his Son , does not so communicate his own Nature and Substance to him , as to make him a true substantial Son , of the same Substance indeed , but yet as distinct in Substance from the Father , as he is in Person , How ridiculous is all this Dispute , how the Father communicates his own Nature to his Son ? for according to these men , he does not communicate or propagate his own Nature and Substance at all , there being but one singular solitary Divine Nature and Substance , with a Trinity of Names , Modes , or Offices , and therefore no danger of any division or partition of the Divine Substance . The Dispute between the Catholicks and the Arians about the generation of the Son was this : They both owned against the Sabellians , that the Son is a real , substantial , subsisting Person ; but the Question was , whence he had his Nature ? whether he was created out of Nothing , and consequently had a beginning of Being , as the Arians affirmed ; or was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , of the Substance of his Father , and so coeternal with his Father , as the Nicene Council affirmed , That the Substance of the Son was of the Substance of the Father , God of God , Light of Light. Against this the Arians objected , That the Son could not be of the Substance of the Father , without the division of the Father's Substance , which is impossible in an infinite uncreated Spirit , as God is ; which Argument is only against a substantial generation . The Nicene Fathers allow this Objection to be good as to corporeal generations , but deny that it is thus as to the Eternal Generation of the Son of God ; for an Eternal , Uncreated , Immutable Mind , if it can communicate its own Nature at all , ( and we learn from Scripture , that God has a Son ) must do it without division of parts ; for the Divine Nature and Substance has no parts , and is capable of no division : And it is very absurd to reason from corporeal Passions , to the Affections and Operations of Spirits , much more of an infinite eternal Spirit . Had not the Arians understood the Catholick Fathers , of the substantial Generation of the Son , they had more wit than to urge an Argument to no purpose ; for where there is no communication of Substance , it is certain there can be no division of it : And had not the Catholick Fathers owned this substantial Generation , they would have rejected the Argument with scorn , as nothing to the purpose , and not have distinguished between corporeal generations , and the Generation of Eternal and Infinite Mind . That though Bodies cannot communicate their own Nature and Substance without division , yet an Eternal Mind can ; so that from these perverse Interpretations of the Homoousion , which the Catholick Fathers rejected , we may learn what they meant by it : for if Father and Son are not Consubstantial in the sense of the Sabellians and Modalists ; that is , that Father and Son are not One Person with Two Names , nor One singular solitary Substance common to them both , then the Father must be a substantial Father , and the Son a substantial Son , and these Two substantial Persons are Consubstantial , as having the same One Divine Nature and Substance intirely , perfectly and distinctly in themselves , without any division , diminution , or separation of Substance , by a complete and perfect Generation , whereby the Father communicates his whole intire Nature to the Son without any change or alteration in himself . SECT . II. Some Rules for expounding the Homoousion ; and in what Sense the Fathers understood it . SEcondly , Let us now examine what account the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers give of the Homoousion , and in what sense they understood it . But before I tell you what they expresly say of this matter , I shall observe by the way two or three Rules they give us for expounding the Homoousion , which are of great use in this Enquiry . 1. The first is , To give the Homoousion the right place in our Creed , as the Nicene Fathers have done . They do not tell us abruptly , in the first place , That the Son is consubstantial , or of one Substance with the Father . They first tell us , That Jesus Christ our Lord is the only-begotten Son of God , begotten of his Father , that is , of the Substance of his Father , before all Worlds , God of God , Light of Light , Very God of Very God , Begotten , not made ; and then they add , Of One Substance with the Father . This St. Hilary lays great stress on , and his Reason is very considerable ; because if in the first place we say , Father and Son are consubstantial , or of One Substance , this is capable of an Heretical as well as Orthodox Sense , as we have already heard ; for they may be One Substance in the Sabellian Notion , as that signifies One Person ; or One by the Division or Partition of the same Substance , of which each has a part ; for all these perverse Senses may be affix'd to it , when this word Consubstantial , or One Substance , stands singly by it self , or is put in the first place , without any thing to limit or determine its signification . And therefore a true Catholick Christian must not begin his Creed with saying , That Father and Son are of One Substance ; but then he may safely say One Substance , when he has first said , The Father is unbegotten , the Son is born , and subsists of his Father , like to his Father in all Perfections , Honour , and Nature ; not of nothing , but born ; not unborn , but coaeval ; not the Father , but the Son of the Father ; not a Part of the Father , but All that the Father is ; not the Author , but the Image , the Image of God , begotten of God , and born God ; not a Creature , but God ; not Another God , of a different Kind and Substance , but One God , as having the same Essence and Nature , which differs in nothing from the Substance of the Father ; that God is One , not in Person , but Nature , Father and Son having nothing unlike , or of a different kind in them : And after this we may safely add , That Father and Son are One Substance , and cannot deny it without Sin. This is as plain as words can make it , and needs no Comment , but fixes and determines the Catholick Sense of the Homoousion . For if we must acknowledge the Son to be consubstantial , or of one Substance with the Father , in no other sense than as a True and Real Son is consubstantial , a Son , not created out of Nothing , but begotten of his Fathers Substance ; the Son of God , who in his own proper Person is true and perfect God ; not a part of God , but all that God is ; not One God , as One Person with the Father , but as having the true Divine Nature distinctly in his own Person . This is a Demonstration that the Nicene Consubstantiality , is the Consubstantiality of Two real substantial Persons , who have the same Nature distinctly subsisting in each of them . 2 Another Rule for expounding the Homoousion is , that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , are equipollent terms ; that to be of one Substance , and to be in all things alike to each other , signify the same thing . I know the Fathers condemned the Arian Homoiousion ; for they asserted , That the Son was like the Father , in opposition to his being of the same Nature with the Father , and therefore this was an imperfect likeness and resemblance , or indeed no likeness at all ; for a created and uncreated Nature are at such an infinite distance , as to have no true and real likeness to each other ; to be sure not such a likeness as there must be between a Son and a Father : Nay sometimes they would not allow , that likeness can be properly applied to two individual Natures of the same species , as to two individual human Natures , which are not like to each other , but are the same . But yet whether it was proper or improper , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to be upon all accounts , and every way perfectly alike , was allowed to be very Orthodox ; and therefore St. Hilary in his Book de Synodis , approves several Oriental Creeds as very Orthodox , though they left out the Homoousion , because they in the most express terms confessed the perfect likeness and similitude of Nature between Father and Son ; which they guarded with the utmost Caution , against the perverse Interpretations both of the Sabellian and Arian Hereticks . And he disputes at large , That perfect similitude is a sameness and equality of Nature ; and calls God to witness , that before he ever heard of those words Homoousion , and Homoiousion , he always thought that what is signified by both these words , is the same : that perfect likeness of Nature is the sameness of Nature ; for nothing can be perfectly alike , which has not the same Nature . And this he says he learnt from the Evangelists and Apostles , before ever he heard of the Nicene Faith , which he had not heard of till a little before he was banished for that Faith. This observation is of great use , as St. Hilary notes , to confute Sabellianism , and to fix the true sense of the Homoousion : for if to be Consubstantial , or of one Nature , signifies a perfect likeness , similitude , and equality of Nature , Consubstantiality must at least signify Two , who are thus consubstantial , as likeness , similitude and equality does ; and these Two must have One and the same Nature , not in the sense of Singularity , and Sabellian Unity , but of likeness and similitude : that Father and Son are One Substance , not as One Person is One with himself , but as Two Persons are One by a perfect likeness and similitude of Nature , which must be the true meaning of Consubstantial , if Consubstantiality and likeness of Nature be the same . 3. I observe farther , That the Catholick Fathers did not make the Homoousion the Rule of Faith , that whatever sense some critical Wits can put on it , must therefore be owned for the Catholick Faith ; but they chose it as the most comprehensive word , to comprize the true Catholick Faith , and to detect the Frauds of Hereticks . They taught no new Faith by this word , but what the Catholick Church had always taught , but secured the Faith by it against the shifts and evasions of H●reticks . This is the defence they made to the Arian Objection , That it was an unscriptural word ; they confessed the word Homoousios was not to be found in Scripture , but the Faith expressed by that word was : Thus St. Austin answers Pascentius , and tells us , That Christ himself has taught us the Homoousion , where he says , I am in the Father , and the Father in me ; and I and my Father are One ; and expounds this of the Unity , Dignity , and Equality of Nature : And adds , That it is not the word , but the thing signified by that word , which is so terrible to Hereticks ; and if they would dispute to purpose , they must not reject the word , but the doctrine it contains . And thus Laurentius , who presided in that Dispute , gives judgment in this Controversy , That the Homoousion was not the Name of the Christian Faith , but signified the Equality of the Trinity ; and that though this word be not in Scripture , yet the thing signified by it is true ; and we must believe honourably of the Unity , lest we injure the Trinity . We may find enough to this purpose in Athanasius , De Decret . Syn. Nic. and elsewhere , of which more presently . And therefore St. Hilary , in his Book de Synodis , which he wrote to some Catholick Bishops , who were very Orthodox in the Faith , and yet doubted of this word Homoousion , tells them , That they are to consider what the Synod intended by that word , and not reject the word , unless they rejected the Faith taught by it , and would profess those Arian Doctrines , which the Council condemned in it . This is the constant language of the Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers , when the Dispute is concerning the use of this word , which gives us this certain Rule for expounding the Homoousion , that we must understand it in no other sense than what the Nicene Fathers intended by it ; for if we do , we may acknowledge the Homoousion , and yet deny the Nicene Faith. What they taught by this word , that we must own ; and what they rejected by it , we must reject . And though we may fancy that this word signifies more than what the Nicene Fathers understood by it , ( as we have heard what perverse Senses the Hereticks fixt on it ) yet it being not a Scriptural , but an Ecclesiastical word , it must be expounded to that Sense , and no other , which placed it in the Creed . SECT . III What the Nicene Fathers meant by the Homoousion . AND this brings me to a more particular Account of the Homoousion , and what the Nicene Fathers understood by it . Eusebius Pamphili , who at first doubted about the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that Christ was of the substance of the Father , and consubstantial , or of One Substance with him ; gives an account to his Coesareans of the Reasons which moved him afterwards to subscribe to that Form of Faith ; as appears by his Letter to them , recorded in Socrates his Ecclesiastical History . He tells them , That he did not admit these words without due examination ; but when he found there was nothing meant by them , but what was truly Catholick and Orthodox , he complied for Peace sake . For by the Son 's being of his Father's Substance , they meant no more than that he was of the Father , not as a part of the Father , or of his Substance ; and when the Son is said to be consubstantial with the Father , they did not understand this after the manner of Bodies by division , abscission , or any change of the Father's Substance ; but the only meaning is , That the Son has nothing like a created Nature , but is in every respect perfectly like his Father , as not being of any other Substance or Nature , but of the Father . Athanasius gives us a very particular account what it was that forced the Nicene Fathers to add those two words to their Creed , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that the Son is of the Substance of the Father , and Consubstantial , or of One Substance with the Father ; which was to cut off all Evasions and Subterfuges from the Arian Hereticks , and to force them to confess the Truth , or to confess their Heresy , which they endeavoured to palliate and conceal under ambiguous words . When the Nicene Fathers taught , That the Son is of the Father , the Arians were contented to allow this , but meant no more by it , but that the Son is of the Father , as all other Creatures are of God ; and therefore they added , That the Son is of the Substance of God , to distinguish him from all Creatures ; and this is the true interpretation of that Phrase , That the Son is of the Substance of the Father , that he is no Creature . Thus when the Fathers taught , That the Word was the true Power and Image of the Father in all things , and invariably like the Father , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Arians owned this also in a qualified sense , because Creatures are said to be the Power , the Image , the Likeness of God , and therefore they were forced to express the sense of Scripture , and what sense they understood the Scripture in , concerning the Son's being the Likeness and Image of God , by adding , that the Son is Consubstantial , or of One Substance with the Father , to declare that the Son is not so of the Father as meerly to be like him , but to be the very same in likeness and similitude to the Father ; and to be inseparably united to his Father's Substance , and that he and the Father are One , as he himself hath said . The Word is always in the Father , and the Father in the Word , like the light and its splendor ; and this the word Homocusios signifies , and was used by the Council to this very end , to distinguish and separate the Word from all created Nature , as appears from the Anathema they immediately denounce against those who said , That the Son of God was produced out of nothing , was a Creature , of a mutable Nature , the Workmanship of God , or of any other Substance but the Substance of the Father : And therefore he adds , That those that dislike these words , ought to consider the sense in which the Synod uses them , and to anathematize what the Synod anathematizes ; and then if they can , let them quarrel with the words ; though he is very confident that no man who owns the sense of the Council , and understands the words in their sense , can dislike the words . From whence it appears , that Athanasius would have allowed those for Orthodox Christians ( as I observed before St. Hilary did ) who should confess the Eternal Generation of the Son , that there was no time before he was , and that he had no beginning of Being ; that he is no Creature , nor of any other Substance , but only of the Father , and that he always was inseparably united to him , and one with him , though they should have boggled at those words , That the Son is of the Substance of the Father , and consubstantial with him . But the true reason why the Nicene Fathers did so earnestly contend for these words , of the Substance of the Father , and Consubstantial , was because they found by experience , that no other words would hold the Arian Hereticks , who concealed their Poyson under any other form of words , though in appearance very Orthodox ; as the Catholick Bishops found to their cost in the Council of Ariminum , and upon several other occasions ; which is the account the Synod of Paris gives the Eastern Bishops of this matter : But though they desired that all would agree in the use of this word , as most expressive of the true Catholick Faith , yet they never rejected the Communion of any Bishops merely upon this account , while they prosessed the true Catholick Faith , which the Nicene Council intended to signify by this word , and condemned those Arian Blasphemies which they intended to condemn by it . Before this Council had taken the Homoousion into their Creed , and made it the Test of the Catholick Faith , Dionysius Bishop of Alexandria , in his Book against the Sabellians , had let drop some Expressions , for which he was charged with denying the Homoousion , and accused for it to his Name-sake Dionysius , then B●shop of Rome , which occasioned his Apology to the Roman Bishop , which Athanasius gives us an account of . He owns , That he did say that the word Homoousion was not to be found in Scripture , yet what he taught of Christ did plainly signify what is meant by the Homoousion , that he is no Creature , but homogeneous , or of the same Nature with his Father , which he explained by Human Births , which are manifestly of the same kind ; there being no difference of Nature between Parents and Children , who differ only in this , That Parents are not their own Children ; whereby he signified that God the Father and God the Son had but one and the same Nature , though the Father is not the Son , nor the Son the Father . The same , he says , he represented by other similitudes of Homogeneous Productions ; as a Root and its Branches , the Fountain and Rivers , which are not the same with each other , but have the same Nature . These are true Catholick Representations of the Homoousion , and this Dionysius thought a sufficient Justification of his Faith , and Athanasius thought so too , without using that term ; especially if we add what he discourses more at large , de Sent. Dionysii contra Arianos . I shall only observe farther , That the Learned Dr. Bull takes this very way to prove that the Ante Nicene Fathers did own the Faith of the Homoousion , or that the Son is consubstantial to the Father , though we seldom meet with the word it self in their Writings ; because they teach the same things which the Nicene Fathers intended by that word : As 1. When they affirm the Son of God is not only of the Father , but that he proceeds from , and is begotten of the Father . 2. That the Son is the True , Genuine , Proper , Natural Son of God. 3. When they explain the Generation of the Son , by the Root and its Branches , the Sun and its Rays , the Fountain and River , which are of the same Nature , and therefore represent the Father and Son to be of the same Substance . 4. When they except the Son of God out of the number of Creatures , and deny him to be a Creature . 5. When they ascribe such things to the Son , as are proper and peculiar only to the True God. 6. When they affirm the Son of God not only to be God , but expresly own him to be true God , God by Nature , and One God with the Father . This is the true Notion of the Homoousion ; and now let any man judge , Whether a Consubstantial Trinity be a Trinity of Personal Characters , Relations , or Names , or of Real , Substantial , Subsisting Persons . If we will allow either the Nicene Fathers , or the Arian Bishops to be well in their wits , can we think that there would have been any such Disputes between them , as whether the Son be Coeternal with the Father , or had a Beginning ? whether there were any time , the least conceivable moment before the Son was ? whether he was made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , created out of nothing , as all other Creatures are , or begotten of the Substance of the Father , and is the true , genuine , natural Son of God , or a Son only by Adoption ? whether he be true perfect God , in opposition to the most perfect created Nature , or be only a made and Creature-God ? whether he be Consubstantial with the Father , or have only a Nature like the Fathers , but not the same ? and whether he be like his Father in all things , in Substance and Essence , or only in Will and Affection . I say , Could any men in their wits dispute such matters as these , unless both sides were agreed , that the Son is a Real , Substantial Son , as human Sons are , who are begotten of the Substance of their Parents ; that he has a Subsistence of his own , distinct from his Father's Subsistence ; that he has a Substance of his own , eternally begotten of his Father's Substance , and therefore the same , but proper and peculiar to his own Person , which makes him the Son , and not the Father . For till these things are agreed , there is no foundation for the other Disputes ; for if the Son have no real Subsistence of his own , who would dispute whether he began to subsist in time , or did subsist from all Eternity ? If he have no Substance of his own , is it not ludicrous to dispute whether he be of the Father , that is , have his Substance of his Father's Substance , or be a new created Substance , as like his Father's Substance as a created Substance can be , but not the same ? For if he have no distinct Substance of his own , neither of these can be true . To what purpose is it to dispute , whether he be a begotten or created God , if he be not as true and perfect a Person , and as true and perfect God ( upon the Catholick Hypothesis ) in his own Person , as the Father himself is ? In short , to conclude this Argument , If the Homoousion signifies , that the Son of God , who is Consubstantial to his Father , is no Creature , was not made out of Nothing , had no Beginning of Being , is of his Father's Substance , begotten of his Substance from all Eternity , a true and perfect Son of a true and perfect Father , and upon all accounts the very same that the Father is , excepting that he is the Son and not the Father , it is impossible the Nicene Fathers should have been either Sabellians or Modalists . SECT . IV. A more particular Inquiry into the full Signification of the Homoousion , with respect to the Specifick Unity of the Divine Nature . THAT the Nicene Fathers did by the Homoousion , or One Substance of the Godhead , understand something like what we call a Specifick Sameness and Vnity of Nature , might be proved by numerous Quotations , had it not been sufficiently done already by Petavius , Curcelloeus , Dr. Cudworth , and others ; whoever will be pleased to read the Testimonies they produce in this Cause , will never be able to make any other tolerable Sense of them . They apply this word Homoousion to things , which are specifically One , or which have the same Specifick Nature , as a Tree and its Branches , a Fountain and River , as they call God the Father the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Root and Fountain of the Son , and Holy Spirit ; the Sun and its Rays and Splendor ; as Christ is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the brightness and refulgency of his Father's Glory . They prove that Christ has the same Nature with his Father , because all true , natural , genuine Sons have so ; and therefore if he be as truly and properly the Son of God , as Isaac was the son of Abraham , he must be Consubstantial to God the Father , as Isaac was to Abraham , which we know is a Specifick Vnity of Nature . And the Council of Chalcedon expresly affirms , That Christ is Consubstantial to his Father , as to his Godhead , or Divine Nature ; and Consubstantial to us as to his Manhood , or Human Nature ; and if the Homoousion signifies the same , or something analogous in both , we know what this sameness of Nature means ; for it is impossible to reconcile this to one singular Nature and Unity . Christ is not Consubstantial to us upon account of the same singular human Nature in him , and in all Mankind ; for every Man has a particular human Nature of his own , and so had Christ ; but the Nature is specifically the same in Christ , and in us that is , it is a true human Nature , and this makes Christ and us Consubstantial . And if there be any thing like this , though in a more perfect degree , in the Consubstantiality of Father and Son , it must signify not one singular Nature ; which cannot be said to be Consubstantial to it self , but the Consubstantiality of Two Persons really and substantially distinct , but united in the same common Nature , or the same Divinity : And therefore nothing is more common , than to render the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , unius generis , and by such like words , as every one knows signify a Specifick Vnity . That the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the One Divinity , and One Divine Essence , is a common Nature , the same in all Three Persons communicated by the Father to the Son , and by Father and Son to the Holy Spirit , is so universally acknowledged , that it needs no proof ; the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , frequently occur in the writings of the Nicene Fathers , which signify the One Divinity to be a common Nature to the Three Divine Persons . This is the very account St. Basil gives of the difference between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Essence and Person ; that Essence signifies a common Nature , which is in more than One , and may be spoken of more than One , as a species is predicated of its Individuals . Man is a common Name for all Men , because Humanity is a common Nature , which is alike in Peter , and Iohn , and Iames , and all the Men in the World : But Hypostasis or Person , though it signifies the Nature also , yet not in that general Notion , as common to all of the same kind , but as actually subsisting in Particulars , which are distinguished from each other by their distinct Subsistence , or by such other Properties and characteristical Marks as are peculiar to each of them , and not common to the whole kind , as the persons of Peter , and Iames , and Iohn , though they have the same common Nature , are yet distinguished from each other . Now if the One Divine Nature be in this sense a common Nature , that it is really and actually communicated by the Father to the Son , and Holy Spirit , and does distinctly subsist whole and entire , and perfect , in all Three Divine Persons , it cannot be One singular solitary Nature , which cannot subsist distinctly in Three ; for in perfect singularity there can be no distinction : nor can One singular Nature be Three Subsistences , when there is but One which subsists . Athanasius , or whoever was the Author of that Treatise of the common Essence of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , proves that all Three Persons have the same common Nature from the same Names , and Attributes , and Works , Dominion , and Power , ascribed distinctly to them all ; and gives this account , why , though the Father be God , and the Son God , and the Holy Ghost God , yet we must not say that there are Three Gods , but One God in Three Persons ▪ because a common Nature has a common Name , as he shews , that all Mankind in Scripture are called one Man , upon account of their common Nature ; and if this be allowable among men , to unite all Mankind in one Name , and to speak of them as one Man , notwithstanding all that diversity which is between them in external form , strength , will , affections , opinions , &c. how much more reasonable is it to call the Three Divine Persons One God , who are distinguished and separated from the whole Creation by One undivided Dignity , One Kingdom , One Power , One Will and Energy . And that we may not suspect that by One common Nature they meant One singular Substance and Nature , common to Father and Son ( which it is impossible to form any Notion of ) St. Basil tells us what he meant by a common Nature , such a Nature as has the same Notion and Definition , that is , which is common , as a Genus or Species is common : As for example ; If the Father , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as to his Suppositum , or Substance , be Light , we must acknowledge 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Essence and Substance of the Son to be Light also ; and whatever other Notion we form of the Being and Essence of the Father , the same we must apply to the Son. And herein he places the Unity of the Godhead , or the One Divinity ; that though the Divine Persons differ in Number , and in their peculiar Characters , yet that Divine Nature which subsists distinctly in each of them , has but one and the same Notion and Definition , and therefore is but one and the same in all . If this be not a specifick Sameness and Unity , all our Logicks deceive us : I 'm sure the Unity of an Individuum or singular Nature was never thought to consist in a common Notion or Definition of its Nature ; and yet this is the account which the Fathers unanimously give of the One common Divinity of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost . No man who understands any thing of this Controversy , can be ignorant of that famous Dispute de Ingenito & Genito , concerning the Vnbegotten and the begotten Nature . By this Sophism the Arians endeavoured to prove , That the Son could not be Homoousios , consubstantial , or of the same Nature with the Father , because an Unbegotten Nature cannot be the same with a Begotten Nature . Now had the Catholick Fathers believed the singularity of the Divine Nature in the modern Notion of it , this Objection had been unanswerable ; for it is absolutely impossible that the same singular Nature should be both begotten and unbegotten , as much as it is that the same single Person should be both begotten and unbegotten . I desire to know , how any Sabellianist , who acknowledges but One singular solitary Substance of the Deity , would answer this Objection ; I know no possible way they have , but to deny that the Divine Nature of the Son is begotten ; that though the Son be begotten , his Divine Nature is not begotten , but only his Personality , or Mode of Subsistence , without a begotten subsisting Nature : And this , indeed , would effectually answer the Objection ; for if there be not a begotten and unbegotten Nature , the foundation of the Objection is lost . And this is so obvious an Answer upon the Hypothesis of Singularity , that it is sufficient to satisfy any thinking man , that the C●tholick Fathers did not believe this Singularity of the Divine Essence , since none of them ever gave this Answer to the Objection . But we need not guess at their meaning ; for they themselves expresly reject this Answer , which is the only proper and pertinent Answer upon this Hypothesis ; and give such other Answers as contradict the Notion of the Singularity of the Divine Essence . As strange as some think it , the Catholick Fathers , from the very beginning of Christianity , owned the Divine Nature and Substance of the Son to be begotten ; nothing is more familiar in all their Writings , than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Natura genita , Deus genitus , unigenitus Deus . St. Gregory Nyssen agrees this matter with Eunomius , that the Divine Nature of the Son is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a Begotten Substance ; so does St. Basil , so do the other Fathers . When Eunomius objected , That God being unbegotten , cannot admit of Generation , St. Basil allows this to be true in one sense , viz. That he who is unbegotten cannot in his own proper Nature be begotten , because it is impossible that an unbegotten Nature should it self be begotten : But the other sense of the words , That he who is unbegotten himself can't beget , so as to communicate by a substantial Generation his own Nature to the Son , he rejects as Blasphemy both against Father and Son ; which is a plain demonstration what St. Basil's Judgment was about an unbegotten and begotten Nature . Eunomius urged , That unbegotten , and begotten , are both Names of Nature , and therefore must signify two Natures as different from each other , as unbegotten and begotten are . Now to prove that begotten is not the Name of Nature and Substance , St. Basil uses this Argument , That if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be the same , if begotten and substance signify the same thing , then as he who is begotten is the begotten of him who begets , so we may in like manner say , that he who is begotten is the Substance of him who begets , and then the Name begotten will not signify the Substance of the only begotten Son , but the Substance of the God of all : that as the Son is the begotten of God , so he is the Substance of God ; and thus the begotten is the Substance of the unbegotten , which , he says , is ridiculous . And yet as ridiculous as St. Basil thought this , those must of necessity own it , who assert but One singular Substance of the Deity ; for if there be but One Substance in the sense of Singularity , the Son ( if he have any Substance ) must be the Substance of the Father ; he who is begotten , must be the Substance of him who is unbegotten . Thus much I think is certain , That if St. Basil was in his wits , he would never have used this Argument , had he believed that Father and Son are but One singular Substance ; and yet elsewhere he expresly tells us , That the Nicene Fathers distinguished the Hypostates of Father and Son , when they called the Son Light of Light ; for the Light which begets , is not the Light which is begotten , though their Nature is the same , they being Light and Light. Once more , to prevent if it be possible all manner of Evasions , since some Moderns distinguish between the generation of the Son , and of his Substance , and will allow that the Son is begotten , but not his Substance . I observe that St. Basil rejects this distinction between the Son and his Substance . Eunomius durst not say that the Son was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , made or created out of nothing , this being so expresly condemned by the Nicene Council , which the generality of Christians received as the Rule of their Faith , and therefore he endeavoured to cheat them into it before they were aware , by a new form of speech : He says , That the Substance of the Son was begotten , having no Being before its own proper subsistence , and was begotten before all things by the Will of God. This was very craftily expressed , to insinuate that there was a time when the Substance of the Son did not exist ; for it could not be before it was begotten , and had a proper subsistence of its own . St. Basil exposes this Sophistry at large , and shews , that by the same Argument they might prove , that there was a time when the Father's Substance was not ; for that could not be older than its own subsistence : But if the Father be Eternal , though his Substance could not be before its subsistence , so may the Son be also , by an Eternal generation and subsistence . But that which I would take notice of is , that St. Basil observes the vain Sophistry of this way of speaking , that when he durst not say that the Son was of nothing , or that there was a time when he was not , he insinuates the same thing concerning the Substance of the Son , as if the Son and the Substance of the Son were two things . Now if the Son and the Substance of the Son be the same , then if the Son is begotten , the Substance of the Son is begotten ; if the Son be not the Father , the Substance of the Son is not the Substance of the Father . And yet all the Philosophy of the ancient Fathers , not excepting St. Austin himself , would not allow of any difference between the Person of the Father , and his Being , Essence , Substance , Subsistence , Nature , nor between the Person of the Son , and his Being , Subsistence , Nature , &c. and therefore the Son is as distinct from the Father in Nature , Being , Life , Substance , as in Person and Subsistence . But to proceed : There was no dispute between the Catholicks and the Arians about the singularity of the Divine Substance , they both rejected that as Sabellianism , and asserted Father and Son to be as distinct in Nature and Substance , as they are in Person ; and therefore this Objection de ingenito & genito , concerning the unbegotten and the begotten Nature , was intended not to prove a numerical distinction , ( which it effectually does ) but a specifick difference and diversity of Nature between Father and Son ; that the Son is no more consubstantial to the Father , than to be unbegotten and to be begotten are the same . The whole Controversy turned upon this one Point , Whether unbegotten and begotten , were Names of Nature ; and consequently , whether to be unbegotten , and to be begotten , made a specifick difference of Natures . This the Catholick Fathers unanimously denied ; and not to take notice of all they say on this Argument , there is one Answer which they all give , very observable to my present purpose , and that is this : That to be unbegotten or begotten , makes no specifick difference in created Natures , and therefore there is no reason to say that it makes any such diversity in the Divine Nature ; and they all give the Example of Adam , Seth , and Eve , who all had the same human Nature ; and yet Adam was unbegotten , as being immediately formed by God. Seth was begotten , as being Adam's Son ; Eve was not begotten , but made of one of Adam's Ribs : But this makes no diversity of Nature , but only distinguishes them by their manner of Existence , or coming into Being , and there is no imaginable reason why the same specifick Nature considered in its Individuals , may not have very different Beginnings , without any alteration of Nature . Nay , as Damascen observes , thus it is in all the several species of Creatures ; for the first in every kind is unbegotten : And though the Divine Nature in all Three Divine Persons is Eternal , without any Beginning ; yet if to be unbegotten , or to be begotten , make no diversity of Nature in Creatures , there is no reason to say that it makes any such difference in the Divine Nature . This is so plain and express , that I need add nothing to shew how this overthrows the Opinion of Singularity , and owns a Specifick Unity and Sameness of the Divine Nature : That though the Father be unbegotten , and the Son begotten , yet they are Consubstantial , or of the same Nature ; not with the Sameness of Singularity , which is impossible , but with such a Sameness of Nature as is between two of the same kind and species , as the Example of Adam and Seth proves . And I need not prove , that a Specifick Sameness of Nature , supposes a real distinction of Persons , who agree in this One same Nature . SECT . V. That by the Homoousion , or One Substance , the Nicene Fathers did not meerly understand a Specifick , but a Natural Unity and Sameness of Substance between Father and Son. BUT yet after all this , the Catholick Fathers did not allow the Divine Nature in a strict and proper Notion to be a species , which is only a notional and logical Unity and Sameness of Nature ; for the Divine Nature , which is perfect Essence , is not logically , but essentially One , though it subsists distinctly in Three Persons , and this was the Faith of the Catholick Fathers . On this one Point the whole Controversy turns , concerning the Singularity of the Divine Nature , or the Plurality of Divine Natures multiplied with the Persons , and consequently that great Controversy of all , whether a Trinity of true , real , substantial Persons , be essentially One , or Three Gods. To represent this as plainly as possibly I can , we must consider the difference between a Specifick and a Natural Unity , between being One in Notion , and One in Nature . The first is , when from that agreement which we observe in the Natures of several Individuals , we form a Notion of one common Nature which belongs to them all ; as the Notion of Humanity , or Human Nature , which belongs to all men , and affords a common Name , and a common definition to them : But this is only the work of the mind , for there is no such one common Human Nature actually existing in all Mankind ; but every man is a man by himself , and has a particular Human Nature , as he has a Soul and Body of his own , which is not the Soul and Body of any other man in the world . And thus Damascen owns , it is with all Creatures of the same kind , who in truth and reality are distinct separate Beings , who subsist apart by themselves , as Peter and Paul , and all other men do , and are united only in a common Notion , not in a common subsisting Nature , which is one and the same in all . But then he tells us , that it is quite otherwise in the Divine Nature , which is a common Nature , and yet but One ; not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; not meerly in our notion and conception , but in truth and reality ; the same One Divine Nature , without the least diversity or separation , actually and distinctly subsisting in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , which being perfectly the same is but One , and really and substantially subsisting in Three is a common Nature , which is equally and perfectly in them all . Thus Damascen has declared his Opinion fully against the notional and specifick Unity of the Divine Nature , that the Divine Nature is One , only as Human Nature is One , because it has one common Name and Definition , which belongs to all of the same kind ; whereas there is no one common Human Nature in Subsistence , but only in Notion : But the same One Divine Nature actually subsists in Three , and is the same One Divinity in Three . And that this was the true Sense of all the Catholick Fathers will appear , from considering some Notions which were common to them all . 1. They all agree , That there is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , but One Divinity , and One God ; and One God , because but One Divinity ; and for this very reason nothing is more familiar with them , than to call the Holy Trinity One God. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One Divinity in Three perfect Hypostates . Now will any man say , That the One Divinity , or One Divine Nature , and One God , is a meer Notion ? Is not the Unity of God the fundamental Article of Natural Religion ? And if this One Divinity does really , immutably , inseparably subsist in Three Divine Persons , as it must do , if these Three Divine Persons with respect to this One Divinity , are naturally and inseparably One God , Can this One common subsisting Divinity be a meer Notion , which has no Hypostatical Subsistence , but only subsists in Thought ? Can the Specifick Notional Unity of Human Nature , make three men one man , as the One common Divine Nature makes Three Persons One God ? If the Unity of the Divine Nature be but a Notion , the Unity of God , the Unity of the Trinity , which is this One God , must be a meer Notion also ? And so , in truth and reality , there is no more One God , than there is but one man. I readily grant , That the Father may be , and often is , in a peculiar manner called God , and the One God , as distinguished from the Person of the Son , and of the Holy Spirit ; but I deny , that he is called the One God , as considered without them , or so much as in thought separated from them : If we do not include the Son and the Holy Ghost in the Unity of the Godhead , we must deny their Godhead also ; unless we will say , that there is One God , and besides him two Divine Persons , each of which is God , but not the One God : Which must introduce a Plurality of separate Gods : For if they be not One , they are more than One ; and if One Person be the One God without the other , they cannot be One God. This shews , what necessity there is of owning the Holy and Ever-Blessed Trinity to be the One God , and One Divinity , naturally and essentially One ; and then the necessary Consequence is , That this One Divine Nature , which actually and substantially subsists in Three distinct Divine Persons , who for that reason are naturally and essentially One God , cannot be a mere Common Specifick Nature , but One Common Subsisting Nature . But what possible Sense can we make of this ? One Common Subsisting Nature , which is really , actually , indivisibly , One , and yet is Common , that is , does really and distinctly subsist in more than one . To be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to be Common , and to be One , not in Notion , as a Species is common to all the Individuals , but in the truth and reality of Nature sounds very like a Contradiction . When we say the Divine Nature is common to Three Persons , and subsists distinctly in three , we deny it to be One singular solitary Nature , which can subsist but in one , and constitute but One Person , which was the Sabellian Notion of the Divine Unity , which the Catholick Church condemned , as destroying a Real Trinity , as I have shewn at large : But how then can this Common Nature , which is not singular , but subsists perfectly and distinctly in Three , be actually and essentially One ; for a Natural Unity is a Numerical Unity , is one in number , which , one would think , should signify a singular Nature , for so it does in all Creatures : And when we speak of the Unity of the Divine Nature , it cannot be one by composition , which the absolute simplicity of the Divine Nature cannot admit . This is the great difficulty , which we must not expect perfectly to understand , because a Finite Mind can never comprehend , that is , can never have an adequate notion of what is infinite : But I shall give some account , what the Catholick Fathers have said of this matter , which will satisfy us , that it is a natural , not a mere Specifick Unity , which they intended ; and will give us such a notion of this Venerable Mystery , as will deliver it from all inconsistency , and contradiction . 2. I observe therefore , That the Catholick Fathers lay the foundation of this Sameness and Homoousiotes of Nature in the Eternal Generation of the Son , of the Substance of the Father . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Nicene Creed is opposed to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That the Son is not of nothing , as all Creatures are , but receives his whole Substance of the Substance of his Father : St. Basil in express words makes Generation essential to the notion of the Homoousion : For such Beings as upon account of likeness of Nature may be call'd Brothers to each other , are not therefore Homoousious ; but when the Cause , and that which actually subsists from , or out of that Cause , have the same Nature , then they are Homoousious to each other : And in opposition to that Perverse and Heretical Sense , which some affixed to the word Homoousion , that it signified two made of the same Substance by the division and partition of it , as two Shillings cut out of the same piece of Silver ; besides all other Blasphemies , the same Father tells us , That this destroys the Faith both of Father and Son ; for in this Sense , to be of one Substance , can make them no more than Brothers : And I need not observe , that all the Fathers prove the Son to be Consubstantial to the Father , because he was not made , nor created , but begotten of his Father's Substance ; which does not refer merely to a specifick Sameness of Nature , but to the substantial Communication of the same Nature from Father to Son ; which is therefore not in meer Notion and Idea , but substantially the same in both : for they would not allow that a mere specifick Sameness of Nature made Two Persons Consubstantial unless one of them received his Nature and Substance from the other . And this seems no improbable account why the Nicene Fathers in their Anathema's , added 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : when they teach that the Son is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Substance of his Father , in opposition to his being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , of nothing , they must , by the Substance of the Father , mean that Divine Nature and Substance which is the Person of the Father ; for there is no other Notion of begetting a Son of his Father's Substance : nor is any other sense of the words directly and immediately opposed to his being made of nothing . But then since Ousia does often signify a specifick Nature , which the Philosophers call a second Substance , to prevent this mistake , they added Hypostasis , which signifies a first Substance , or a subsisting Nature ; and condemn those who say the Son is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , of another Nature , specifically different from the Nature of the Father , as the Arians taught ; or that he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , of any other Substance than that which is the Substance of the Father , and consequently not begotten of the Father : for both these are essential to the Notion of the Homoousion , to have the same Nature for kind , or the true perfect Divine Nature , and to receive this Nature from the Father by a substantial Generation ; and the Council condemns those who deny both or either of these . I must add one thing more to make this Notion complete ; that as the Son is begotten of the Substance of the Father , so he receives his whole Substance from the whole Substance of the Father . This is the constant Doctrine of the Fathers , That the Son is Totus ex Toto , Whole of Whole ; That the Divine Generation is not like Human Generations , by corporeal Passions , by a division of the Father's Substance , by a partial efflux or emanation ; but the Father , without any division , diminution , or alteration of his own Substance , communicates his whole Divine Nature to the Son ; That the Son is perfectly and entirely all and the same that the Father is . Thus they expound those sayings of our Saviour , All that the Father hath , is mine . All things are delivered unto me of my Father . As the Father hath life in himself , so hath he given to the Son also to have life in himself . Not to signify an external arbitrary Gift and Donation , but the Eternal Communication of his whole Divine Nature to the Son ; that he is Life of L●fe , Light of Light , God of God , Very God of Very God. For this Reason the Arians rejected the Homoousion , because they thought it absolutely impossible that the Father should beget a Son of his own Substance , without a division of his Substance ; that he should communicate the whole D●vine Nature to his Son , and have the same whole Divine Nature himself . And the Fathers allow , that this is above Human Comprehension , as the Divine Nature it self is ; but think those men little consider the true measure of Human Understanding , who will not believe that God has a Son , because they cannot comprehend the inessable Mystery of the Eternal Generation . The Scripture assures us that God has a Son , that Eternal Word , which was in the Beginning , was with God , and was God. The very Notion of a Son , signifies that he has the same Nature with his Father , and receives his Being and Nature from his Father , is Substance of his Father's Substance ; for thus all other Sons receive their nature and substance from their Parents . The absolute simplicity of the Divine Nature , whi●h has no Corporeity , no Composition , no Parts , and therefore can be divided into none , proves that the Divine Generation can have nothing like to Human Generations , no more than God is like a man ; and therefore must be as much above Human Comprehension , as the Divine Nature is . We certainly know what it is not , That it is not by any separation or division of Substance ; for the Divine Nature is a pure , simple , indivisible Monade ; but how this Monade can communicate it self , we cannot tell : But this we know , That if a Monade does generate , it must generate a perfect whole ; for when the whole is a simple , indivisible , uncompounded Monade , it must generate its whole , or nothing . Thus much is evident , That to communicate a whole , perfect , undivided Nature and Substance , is the most perfect Generation . He is the most perfect Father , who communicates his whole Substance to his Son , without division or separation ; who without ceasing to be what he was himself , begets a Son wholly and perfectly the same with himself : For the more perfectly One Father and Son are , the more perfect is the Generation ; and they cannot be more One , than to be One and the same Substance , communicated whole and entire from Father to Son. There is nothing like this in human Births ; for the imperfection of created Nature will not admit it ; the Father communicates the first Seeds and Principles of Life with part of his Substance , but the Child is nourished , grows and encreases to its just proportion by adventitious matter , which never was the Substance of the Father , and therefore Father and Son are not One Substance , though the Father communicates the same specifick Nature with part of his Substance to his Son. Now though we cannot conceive how a whole begets a whole , yet we must grant that this is the most perfect Generation ; for to generate , is to communicate Nature and Substance , to beget 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , another self , as the Ancients speak of the Divine Generation ; and then the more perfectly the Son is the Father's self , the more perfect the Generation is ; and therefore thus God must beget a Son , if he begets at all ; for he must beget in the most perfect manner . And thus the Son must be begotten , if he be begotten at all ; for if he be a Son , he must be of his Father's Substance , and that not a part , but the whole ; for the Divine Substance must be a perfect indivisible Inseparable Monade . This Eternal Generation of the Son is a great and unconceivable Mystery , and has always been owned to be so by the Catholick Church ; we have no Notion or Idea of it , but no more have we of the Eternal Existence of the Divine Nature it self , without any Cause or Beginning , or of the Creation of all things out of nothing , or of the Natural Production and Propagation of Created Beings ; our present Inquiry is not concerning the Mystery of the Eternal Generation , but concerning the Unity of the Divine Nature in Father and Son , in what sense they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the same Substance , and that the Eternal Generation gives an account of : For if the Father communicate his whole Nature and Substance to the Son , without division and separation ( which is the Catholick Faith ) the Son must of necessity have the same one Substance with the Father ; for a whole same of a whole same , cannot be another , and therefore must be the same One Substance , whole of whole . St. Athanasius reasons very subtilly against the Arians upon this Point : They taught that the Son was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , made of nothing , as other Creatures are . Then , says he , he must be the Son of God by participation ; what is it then he partakes of ? Other Creatures are the Sons of God by the participation of the Holy Spirit ; but the Holy Spirit is given by the Son , not the Son , as the Eternal Son of God , sanctified by the Spirit ; for the Spirit receives all from Father and Son , not the Son from the Spirit . He must then partake of the Father : But what is that , and whence is it ? If that he partakes of be something Extra-essential to the Father , which is not the Father's Nature and Essence , then he does not partake of the Father , but of that Extra-essential Being , whatever it is ; and then he is not second to the Father , that whereof he partakes being before him ; nor is he the Son of the Father , but of that Extra-essential Being or Nature , by the participation of which he obtains the Title and Character of Son , and God. But this is very absurd , since the Father calls him his Beloved Son , and the Son calls God his own Father ; and therefore is not a Son by Extra-essential Participations , but Son is the name of him who participates in the Nature and Substance of the Father . But then again , If that which is participated of the Father , be not the Nature and Essence of the Son , the same Absurdity returns , there being some middle Term between these two , To be of the Father , and the Nature of the Son , whatever that Nature be ; which proves that the Nature of the Son is not of the Father , and therefore he is not the Son of the Father , for Nature makes a Son. All this being so absurd , it is necessary to own , That the true genuine Son of God is all that He is , of the Essence and Substance of the Father : For when God is thus wholly and perfectly participated , it is the same thing as to say , that God begets ; and to beget , signifies , that he begets a Son. And therefore , though all things by the Grace of God partake of the Son , he will not allow us to say , That the Son partakes of any thing , which implies , that the Son is one thing , and that which he partakes of , is another ; But that which is the participation of the Father , that is the Son. This is the most Natural and Essential Unity that is possible to be conceived , That the whole Son is nothing else , but the whole , entire , immediate participation of the Father's Substance , and therefore must be as perfectly One with the Father , as the Father is One ; for there is but one and the same Substance , which is the Substance of the Father , and by an Eternal and Ineffable Generation , the Substance also of the Son. Though Father , Son , and Holy Ghost are Three Real distinct Persons , and each of them have the whole entire Divine Nature in himself , yet there is but One Divine Nature , One Divinity in them all , and therefore they are but One God. This is the Account St. Hilary gives , why we may say God is One , and One , and One , but not Three Gods : Because the Divine Nature is not multiplied with the Persons . Thus speaking of the Father and Son , he tells us , That the Son is One of One , and therefore they are both One : For between One and One , that is One of One ; there is no S●cond Nature of the Eternal Divinity . For as he adds elsewhere , The Nature of the Father is born in the Nativity of the Son , and for this Reason , the Father and Son are One God , because the Son is God of the Nature of God : But their being thus One , does not destroy the subsisting Nature of the Son , but in God , and God preserves the Nature of One God. And therefore the true , absolute , and perfect Profession of our Faith is , To confess God of God , and God in God , not after the manner of Bodies , but by Divine Powers ; not by transfusion of Nature into Nature , but by the Mystery and Power of the Divine Nature : For God is of God , not by dissection , protension , or derivation , but by the Power of the Divine Nature subsists by his Birth in the same Nature . — Not so the same Nature , that he who is born , is he himself who begets ; ( for how is that possible , since he is begotten ) but he who is begotten subsists in the same whole entire Nature , which is his whole entire Nature who begets . And this Perfect Unity Sameness , Identity of Nature , he resolves into the Mystery of the Divine Generation , Virtute Naturoe , & Mysterio & potestate Naturoe , for since he is not begotten of any other Substance or Nature , but of his Father's Substance , and that not after the manner of Bodies , by dissection , protension , or derivation , but by the Mysterious Power of the Divinity , which communicates it self whole and perfect , there must be the same One Divinity in both . And he appeals to every man's Understanding , what the natural Interpretation of these words are , That the Son is of the Father ; for can of the Father signify , that he is of any other than the Father , or that he is of nothing , or that he is the Father himself ? He is not of another , because he is of the Father ; for a Son cannot be God , if he have any other Father but God , and therefore is God of God. He cannot be of nothing , because he is of the Father ; and whoever is begotten , must be begotten of the Nature of him who begets . He is not the Father himself , because he is of the Father , and the Birth of the Son speaks a necessary relation to the Father . Now a Son , who is so of the substance of the Father , as to be nothing but what he is from the Father , and to be all that the Father is , whole of whole , must have the same One Nature , Substance and Divinity with the Father ; for whole of whole must be the same whole . And yet if he be so of the Father , as not to be the Father , but the Son , he must be distinct in substance from the Father . He is true and perfect God , but he receives his Divinity by his Birth ; he is God of God , not God who begets , but God , who is begotten , not of nothing , but of his Father's substance , who is unbegotten . And therefore though St. Hilary , and all the Catholick Fathers with him , reject all Corporeal Passions in the Divine Generation , all Corporeal Desection , Division , Efflux , or Emanation of the Divine Substance , which is incorporeal and indivisible , yet they all assert a true and proper generation of the Son , and an impassible production and prolation of him , whole of whole . And St. Hilary tells us , that for this reason the Arians , under a specious Pretence of condemning Valentinus his Emanations and Aeons , denied the prolation of the Son from the Father , only to deny his generation ; whereas some kind of prolation is essential to the very Notion of a Birth , which cannot be conceived without it ; and therefore we must not wholly reject all Prolation and Production of the Son from the Father , but only reject all Corporeal Emanations , which are very imperfect Images of Divine Mysteries , and have nothing like the eternal generation of the Son , but only that the Son is truly begotten of his Father's Substance . This is that adorable and unsearchable Mystery of the Divine Generation : The Son is truly and properly begotten , receives his whole Being and Nature from his Father , is substance of his Father's substance , whole of whole , and therefore one and the same substance with the Father ; not that substance , which is the Person of the Father , nor a new or another separate substance , as it is in human generations , but the nature and substance of the Father , born and repeated in the Nativity of the Son , as St. Hilary speaks : The Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are but One Divinity , One Infinite , Eternal nature and substance ; but they are thrice this One substance , and as perfectly and distinctly Three in this One substance , as any other Three are Three substances . St. Austin was certainly in the right , when he asserted , That the Divine Nature and Essence must not be considered either as a Genus or Species , nor the Divine Persons as Individuals , and shews particularly the impropriety of each ; though he knows not under what Notion to conceive them , but inclines most to some common matter or substance , which is the same in all , as carrying the nearest resemblance and analogy in it : though this he does not very well like neither , of which more presently . It will be of great use briefly to consider this matter ; for the difficulty consists more in want of words to express this Unity and Distinction by , than in the Notion it self . The singularity of the Divine Essence and Substance in the Sabellian Notion of One Substance , the Nicene Fathers universally rejected , as irreconcilable with a real distinction of Persons , which destroys the Faith of a Real Trinity . A mere specifick Unity of Nature and Substance , which is a meer Logical Notion , falls short of the Natural and Essential Unity of the Godhead ; and yet we have no word to serve as a middle Term between the Unity of singularity , and a Specifick Unity of Nature . For there is no such Unity as this in Created Nature , and therefore no name for it ; and yet the Unity of the Divine Nature in a Trinity of Persons , is neither of these , but bears some resemblance and Analogy to both . As to shew this briefly . The Unity of the Divine Nature is not a meer Specifick Unity . A Species is only an Idea , or Pattern of Nature , according to which particular Creatures are formed ; and such Creatures as are made according to the same Pattern , are specifically the same ; and as far as we can observe this Correspondence and Ideal Sameness of Nature , so we rank them under the same Species . So that there can be no Species but among created Beings ; for they must be all made , and made according to the same Original Pattern . But an Eternal and Necessary Nature was not made , and therefore not made according to any Pattern , nor can any other be made according to its Pattern ; for what is made cannot be Necessary and Eternal . So that the Divine Nature can be but One , and One Numerical Nature is no Species ; it can communicate its own Substance by an Eternal Generation and Procession , but it can't be a Pattern and Idea for any other Beings of the same kind , which are not its own Substance . For this reason St. Austin rejects this specifick Unity ; he distinguishes between saying , That the Divine Persons are Vna Essentia , & Vnius Essentiae , One Essence or Substance ; and that they are ex Vna Essentia , of One Essence . The first may signify a natural Unity , and must do so when applied to the Trinity . The second signifies only a common specifick Nature and Unity . When we speak of men we may use either expression , that they are One Essence , or that they are of One Essence , because in both Cases , when applied to Creatures , One Essence signifies specifically as a common pattern of Nature , according to which not only Three , but many Threes may be made : But the whole Divine Essence is in the Trinity , and cannot subsist in any other Person , and therefore is not a common specifick Nature . But then there is something in the Divine Nature , as substantially communicated to the Son , and to the Holy Spirit , which bears some analogy to a Species , and to a Specifick Unity ; and for this reason the Catholick Fathers in their Disputes both with the Sabellians and Arians , frequently express the Unity of the Nature , as subsisting in Three Distinct Persons , by a Specifick Unity . The Notion and Idea of a Common Nature , which subsists in many Individuals , is called a Species ; the same common notion and definition belonging to all the Individuals of the same kind : Now if we believe the Doctrine of a Real Trinity , we must acknowledge , That the same One Divine Nature , which is originally in the Father , is communicated to the Son and Holy Spirit , and does subsist distinctly and substantially in all Three ; and therefore has this resemblance to a Species , that it is a common Nature , which has the same Notion and Definition , and is the same in Three , but not meerly by a Notional Identity and Sameness , but by the Real Identity of Substance ; there being but One Divine Substance , unmade , uncreated , unbegotten , but communicated whole and entire to the Son by an eternal generation , and to the Holy Spirit by an eternal Procession : so that the Divine Nature is so far a Species , as by its actual communication to the Son and Holy Spirit , and its distinct subsistence in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , it is in truth and reality a common Nature and Substance , which a Species is only in Notion and Idea . The Notion and Definition of human Nature in Peter , Iames , and Iohn , is the very same , and therefore there is a specifick Sameness and Unity of Nature between them . The Divine Nature in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , is the same , not merely in Notion and Idea , but Substantially the same ; and therefore all the names of a Specifick Sameness and Unity , do in a more perfect and excellent manner belong to the Sameness and Unity of the Divine Nature , as Subsisting Perfectly , Indivisibly , and yet Distinctly , in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost : And when we speak of the Sameness of the Divine Nature , as subsisting distinctly in Three Divine Persons , we have no other words to express it by , but such as signify a Specifick Unity ; and we must use such words as we have , and qualifie their sense as well as we can . As for instance : Those words , whereby we signify a common specifick Nature , which is One and the Same in all the Individuals of the same Species , are the best we have to express the Unity of the Divine Nature , as common to Three Persons , and thus the Catholick Fathers use them without scruple , and speak of the Unity of the Divine Nature , and of its being common to all the Three Divine Persons , in the same Words and Phrases , as they use conc●rning a common specifick Nature : Which leads some into a great mistake , as if they meant no more by it but a specifick Sameness , and Unity of the Divine Nature ; that Father , Son , and Holy Ghost have one Substance no otherwise , than as Peter , Iames , and Iohn , have one and the same Humane Nature : For the Divine Nature is not One merely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not in mere Notion and Idea , but actually , indivisibly , inseparably , One ; nor is it a common Nature , merely as it has a common Name and Definition , but by an actual Inexistence in Three . For the same reason it is very difficult what Three to call Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , so as to avoid the Heresies of both Extreams ; for there is no Example of such Three in Nature : They are certainly Three , for the Father is not the Son , nor the Holy Ghost , nor the Son the Father , or the Holy Ghost , and each of the Three is perfect God , and therefore an Infinite Mind , an Infinite Spirit , and the most Perfect Essence and Substance : And that Substance which is the Person of the Son , is not that Substance which is the Person of the Father , no more than the Person of the Son is the Person of the Father , or an unbegotten is a begotten Nature and Substance ; and therefore in opposition to Sabellius , they asserted Three Substantial Persons , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Three Hypostases , or Personal Substances , as Hypostasis signifies ; tria in substantia , tres substantias , tres res , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and yet at the same time did assert , That there is but One Divine Nature and Substance , which indivisibly and inseparably , though distinctly , subsists in all Three . For the understanding of which we must observe , That as the Divine Nature , which is common to Three , is not a mere Species , but is really and actually One and the same in all ; so these Three Divine Persons , which have one and the same common Nature , are not in a strict and proper notion Individuals of the same common Nature : Though we have no Names for these Three , but such as signify Individuals , as Persons , Hypostases , Subsistences , &c. and there being no Created Person , Hypostasis , or Subsistence , but what is an Individual . To shew you the difference , with respect to the notion of an Individual , between the Three Divine Persons , and three individual Humane Persons , I observe , That every Humane Person is such an Individual as has a particular Humane Nature of his own , which is not the particular Nature of any other Person ; the notion and definition of Humane Nature is the same in all men ; but the same Numerical Humane Nature does not subsist in all , but every particular individual man has one particular individual Humane Nature appropriated to himself , that is , which is his particular Person ; and as many particular Persons as there are , so many particular Humane Natures , and particular men there are . But now the Divine Persons are not Three such Individuals as these ; because they have not three individual Divine Natures , but the same One Divine Nature common to them all , originally in the Father , and communicated whole and entire to the Son by an Eternal Generation , and from Father and Son to the Holy Spirit by an Eternal Procession . How impossible soever it is , for our finite Understandings , to comprehend these Mysteries of the eternal Generation and Procession , it is not so hard to conceive the difference between Three Persons who have One individual Nature common to them all , but subsisting so distinctly in each of them , as to make them Three distinct Persons ; and Three Persons who have Three Individual Natures of the same Kind and Species . As for Instance ; Three Human Persons , which have Three individual Human Natures , are by the confession of all Mankind Three Men : But could we conceive One individual Human Nature , which originally constitutes but One Person , to Communicate it self Whole and Entire , without Division or Separation to Two other Persons , we must acknowledge Three Human Persons , each of which Persons is distinctly and by himself , True and Perfect Man , but not Three Men ; for Man is a name of Nature , and if Persons can be multiplied without multiplying the Nature , ( as we at present suppose ) there must be Three Human Persons in One individual Human Nature , that is , Three Persons and One Man ; but not Three Men , no more than Three Human Natures . Thus it is with respect to the Divine Nature : Were there Three individual Divine Natures Self-originated and Independent on each other , though perfectly the same in their Notion and Definition ; Three such Persons would be as Perfectly Three Gods , as Three Human Persons , that have Three individual Human Natures , are Three Men. But whereas the Scripture teaches , and the Catholick Church has always believed , there is but One Infinite , Self-originated , Divine Nature , Originally in the Father , and by Communication in the Son , and Holy Spirit ; these Three Divine Persons are each of them True and Perfect God , but not Three Gods ; because they have not Three Individual Divine Natures , but One Divine Nature subsisting distinctly , but Whole and Perfect in them all . This , I think , may give us some Notion of One Numerical Common Nature , which is no Species , and of Persons , which are no Individuals . St. Austin shews particularly , how improper it is to call the One Divine Essence a Genus , and the Three Divine Persons Species ; or to call the Divine Essence a Species , and the Divine Persons Individuals ; for in both these cases we must multiply the name of Essence with the Species and Individuals , as we not only say three Horses , but three Animals ; and as Abraham , Isaac and Iacob , are three Individuals , so they are three Men ; in consequence of which , we must not only say Three Divine Persons , but Three Divine Essences , not One Essence . But besides this , One Essence can't be a Genus , because what is but One can have no Species : nor can it for the same reason be a Species , because what is One can't be subdivided into Individuals , as though Man , considered as a Species , is divided into Abraham , Isaac , and Iacob , yet One Man can't be subdivided into Three Men ; for One Man is One single Man. Why then do we say , One Essence , and Three Substances or Persons ; ( which are St. Austin's words , who always renders the Greek Hypostases by Substances , and makes Substances and Persons equivalent ) for if Essence be a Species , as Man is , there can be but One Essence in the Sense and Notion of One Man : which , by the way , he objects as a great Absurdity , for it is the Sabellian Heresy . Thus far St. Austin was certainly in the right ; but here I think , with all submission , this great Man missed the true Notion which he had so happily started . One Essence can't be a Species , because what is but One , can have no proper Individuals under it , as One Man can't be subdivided into Three Men : But then he might have applied Individual to Essence , which One Essence naturally led to ; and have found Three Persons in One Individual Essence , which would not indeed be Three Individuals of One Species , but Three Singulars of One Individual Nature . And though One Man , who is but One Individual of Human Nature , can't be subdivided into Three proper Individuals , yet to conceive One Individual Human Nature to be communicated whole and entire , without division or separation to Two others , is the truest Image of Three distinct Persons in One Individual Essence , and the only possible Explication of totus ex toto , whole of whole , which is the true Catholick Faith. Such an One Essence is no Species , but yet is a common Nature ; and such Persons are not what we call Individuals , as not having each of them a particular individual Nature to himself , but yet they have a particular singular Subsistence as other Individuals have , and are each of them by himself as true and perfect God , though all but One God , as every individual Man is true and perfect Man. It seems plain to me , that this is the very Notion St. Austin intended , in what he immediately adds , the communis eademque materia , that One common Matter which he prefers before either a generical or specifick Unity . That the same One Divine Essence is common to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; not as if Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , had their Subsistence out of the same common Essence , as three golden Statues are made of the same Gold ; this perverse Exposition of the Homoousion was rejected with abhorrence by the Catholick Fathers , as I shewed before ; and St. Austin expresly rejects it here , and therefore though these Three Persons are One Essence , una essentia & unius essentiae , he will not allow us to say , that they are ex una essentia , out of One Essence , as golden Statues are of , or cut out of the same Gold ; nay , nor as Three Men are of the same Nature , that is , which is specifically , not identically the same , as I observed a little above . Now remove these two Notions of One common Essence , and there remains only a third , which is that very Notion I now insist on , One and the same Essence common to Three , by a perfect communication of the same One whole undivided Essence . And this answers exactly to that Notion of St. Austin , which he could find no Image of in Nature ; that the Essence of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , is not more or greater all together , than the Father alone , or the Son alone : but these Three Substances or Persons , if they may be so called , all together are equal to each single Person , which a carnal Man cannot apprehend . But now if we believe a whole of a whole , we must confess that it is impossible it should be otherwise ; for if the Son have the same whole Essence with the Father , if the Father be the whole Divine Essence , if the Son be the same whole Divine Essence , and so the Holy Ghost ; the same whole , though subsisting distinctly in Three , can never be greater nor less than it self : Three Persons are more in number than One , but One and the same whole undivided Essence can be but one whole . This is the true Notion ( and there can be no other Catholick Sense made of it ) of what the Fathers so universally teach , That there is in the Trinity Vna Substantia , but not unus subsistens , One Substance , but not one only who subsists ; when yet at the same time they as universally acknowledge , That the Father is Substance , the Son Substance , the Holy Ghost Substance ; and neither of them each other : That the Person of the Father is the Essence and Substance of the Father , the Person of the Son the Substance of the Son ; that the Person is not one thing , and the Essence and Substance another , as St. Austin upon all occasions teaches : Now that there should be but One Substance , and Three substantial Subsisting Persons , can never be reconciled any other way , than by the perfect Communication of the same whole undivided Essence and Substance of the Father to the Son and Holy Spirit . For the same reason they tells us , That the Father is Wisdom , the Son Wisdom of Wisdom , and yet but One Wisdom ; the Father is Spirit , the Son Spirit , and the Holy Ghost Spirit , and yet not Three Spirits , but One Spirit ; and the Father is God , the Son God , the Holy Ghost God , yet there are not Three Gods , but One God : For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One God is the One Divine Essence ; and One Divine Essence , though distinctly subsisting in Three , is but One God , though every Divine Person having the whole Divine Essence in himself , is True and Perfect God. Three Divine Natures , though specifically the same , and perfectly alike , would unavoidably be Three Gods , as three particular Humane Natures are three men ; but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a thrice subsisting Monade , as Dyonisius the Areopagite , calls the Divine Essence , is but One in Three , and therefore but One God in Three , because but one Divine Essence . In this Sense we are so often told , That in the Trinity there is alius & alius , another and another , that is , distinct Subsisting Persons , who are not each other , but not aliud in the Neuter Gender ; not another Essence or Nature , not only not specifically another , as the Arians asserted , but not another Nature , though of the same Species , but the same One Individual Nature communicated whole and undivided to more than One. Upon the same account , the Father is acknowledged by all Catholick Writers to be the One only God , and they answer the Objection of Tritheism , by this very Principle , That they own but One Eternal , Self-originated , Unbegotten Father , and therefore but One God ; They grant , That Three Fathers would be Three Gods ; but when there is but One Eternal Father , though he have an Eternal Son , and an Eternal Spirit , there can be but One God. Now what is the meaning of this ? Is it because none is , or can be God , True and Perfect God , but he , who is God of himself , Self-originated and Unbegotten ? This would destroy the Perfect Godhead of the Son , and of the Holy Spirit , and answer the Objection of Tritheism by denying the Trinity . And it is certain this could not be their meaning , because they owned the Sameness and Equality of Nature , of Majesty and Glory , of Wisdom and Power in Father , Son and Holy Ghost , only allowed the Prerogative of the Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in the name and relation of Father : And when the Arians woul● prove the diversity of Nature between Father and Son , by this Argument , That the Father is unbegotten , and the Son begotten , they denied that this inferred the least difference or inequality of Nature . Now if the Divine Essence be God , and there be a perfect equality of Nature between Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , though the Father be unbegotten , the Son begotten , and the Holy Ghost proceeds from both ; I desire to know , Why Three Persons , each of which is True and Perfect God , though one be unbegotten , another begotten , and a third proceeds , be not as much Three Gods , as Three that are unbegotten , are Three Gods. The natural Notion of God is an Eternal , Unmade , Uncreated Essence , which gives being to all Creatures ; but neither Begotten , nor Unbegotten , belongs to the natural Notion of God , but is matter of pure Revelation ; and therefore Three that are Eternal , as to the natural Notion of God , are as much Three Gods , as Three that are Unbegotten . The true Account of it then is this , That One Father , who is unbegotten himself , but begets a Son , is but One eternal Divine Essence , which he eternally communicates whole and undivided to the Son , and therefore is but One Divine Essence still , and therefore but One God : whereas Three Unbegottens , who do not communicate in each other , and neither give to , nor receive from any other , must be Three absolute independent Divine Essences , and therefore Three Gods. And therefore they do not call the Father the One God , merely because he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , unbegotten , but as he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Fountain of the Deity , who communicates his own whole Divine Nature and Essence to the Son and Holy Spirit : For this reason Athanasius condemns Sabellius , for saying that there is but One only God in the Iewish Notion of One God ; not meaning thereby , that there is but One only who is unbegotten , and who only is the Fountain of the Deity ; but that there is but One God , as having no Son , nor living Word or true Wisdom . It were easy to enlarge here , and to improve this Observation for the Explication of several difficult Passages in the Fathers ; but this may satisfy us , that the Catholick Fathers by One Substance did not mean a meer specifick , but a natural and essential Unity . SECT . VI. A more particular Inquiry what the Catholick Fathers meant by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Sameness and Identity of Substance in the Holy Trinity . WHat I have discoursed in the last Section concerning the Homoousion , and One Substance of the Godhead , will receive a new Light , if we consider what the Catholick Fathers meant by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Sameness , Identity , and Inseparability of Essence and Substance , whereby they explain the Unity of the Divine Substance , and the Unity of the Godhead . The Learned Jesuit Petavius has two large Chapters , to prove that both the Greek and Latin Fathers did assert the Singularity and Numerical Unity of the Divine Nature and Substance . And I freely grant , That as Singularity is opposed to a mere specifick Unity , he has unanswerably proved it ; but why he or the Schools should chuse a word to represent the Sense of the Catholick Fathers by , concerning the Unity of the Divine Substance , which they themselves rejected as Sabellianism , I can't account for ; for singularis & solitarius , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that is , the Singularity of Nature and Substance , were rejected as suspected terms at least , though they allowed the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Sameness and Identity of Nature ; the Vnitas , but not Vnio ; the Unity , but not Union ; which St. Hilary so often calls impia Vnio , a wicked Union , as destroying the real distinction of Persons , and consequently the true Faith of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost . And to do Petavius right , he rejects such a notion of singularity , as denies the Divinity to be a Common Nature ; as if it could subsist only in One Person or Hypostasis , which he owns to be Sabellianism ; and that for this reason some of the Fathers ( he might have said , most , if not all the Ancient Fathers ) did reject the use of such words , and taught , That the Divine Nature is One , as any other Nature is , which is common to more than one : And acknowledges , that St. Hilary , St. Ambrose , St. Austin , and others , do expresly deny that God is a singular Being , and reject the Notion of singularity from the Divine Essence . Now such a singularity as this , as admits of a real and substantial Communication of the Divine Nature , whole of whole , to the Son and Holy Spirit , is certainly the Doctrine of the Catholick Fathers , and what they meant by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sameness or Identity of Nature in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , in which they placed the Unity of the Godhead . That there must be this Sameness and Identy of Nature in all Three Divine Persons , is evident from the last Section ; for a whole of a whole , must be identically the same Whole ; not so the same , as one singular Whole is the same with it self , but as the same Whole , which thrice subsists , without the least conceivable difference , is the same with it self in Three . And that this is what the Fathers meant by that Sameness of Nature , wherein they placed the Unity of the Godhead , it were easy to prove by numerous Authorities ; but some few may serve in so plain a Case . One St. Hilary will furnish us with Testimonies enow of this nature : He places the Sameness of Nature between Father and Son in this , That the Son has by his Eternal Nativity the Nature of the Father , without the least dissimilitude or diversity ; indifferens , indissimilis , indiscreta Natura ; and this makes the Father and Son One God : But then at the same time he carefully and expresly rejects the Notion of Singularity , Solitude , and Union . Petavius quotes several Passages out of St. Hilary , to prove this Singularity of the Divine Essence ; but all that they amount to , and all that he pretends to prove by them , is , That the Unity between Father and Son is greater than a Specifick Unity , or a Communion in the same Specifick Nature ; and this I readily grant ; and he might , if he had pleased , have transcribed half St. Hilary de Trinitate & de Synodis , to the same purpose : And this is so universally the Doctrine of all the Greek and Latin Fathers , that there was no difficulty in multiplying Authorities to this purpose . And I dare appeal to any man who is competently skill'd in these Matters , and will impartially examine the Testimonies Petavius has produced for the Singularity of the Divine Essence , Whether the most pertinent of them all prove any more than this , That the Nature of the Father , without the least alteration or diversity , is communicated whole and perfect , without any division or separation of Substance , to the Son , ( of which more presently ) ; not that the same singular Nature and Substance which is the Person of the Father , is also the Person of the Son ; which makes the Father and Son to be but One Person , as well as One Nature and Substance ; but so One , that the One Nature , Substance , and Divinity , which is the Father , is wholly and perfectly the same in the Son , excepting this , That one is the Father , and the other the Son : Which is not the Unity of Singularity , which is properly the Unity of a Person ; but the Unity of Identity and Sameness , which is the Unity of One Individual Nature , which is common to more than one . I don't intend to transcribe all the Quotations of Petavius , which he has alledged to this purpose ; but yet I will give such a general View of them , as may satisfy any impartial Reader as to this Point ; not to confute Petavius , who , as I have already observed , rejects the Sabellian Singularity ; but to undeceive those who mistake Petavius and the Schools too , as will appear more hereafter . I shall only premise , That it had become the Learning and Acuteness of Petavius to have reconciled the Fathers with themselves ; for they were Wise Men , and true Reasoners , and knew very well what a Contradiction meant ; and therefore we ought not easily to believe that they perpetually contradicted themselves . He acknowledges and proves , That the Catholick Fathers did teach a Specifick Unity of the Divine Nature ; That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost have One Divinity , as Peter , Iames , and Iohn have one Human Nature ; and he alledges the Authorities of the same Fathers , to prove the Singularity of the Divine Nature , That it is an exact , perfect , indivisible Monad : And this also they do plainly teach : But then he should have considered how to have reconciled these two ; for it is certain , that if the Divine Nature be an indivisible Monad , it can't be a Species in the common Notion of a Species ; and if it have any thing anolagous to a Species , it can't be a singular Monad , because it must be a common Nature , which subsists in more than one ; and Singularity is properly the Unity of a Person , not of a common Nature . Petavius was very sensible how inconsistent these two kinds of Unity are ; and yet that the Fathers did most commonly explain the Unity of the Divine Nature by a Specifick Unity , and did more cautiously mention the Unity of Singularity ; he might have said , did absolutely reject it , as St. Hilary does in a hundred places . And was not this a much better reason , so to qualify the Notions of a Specifick Unity and Singularity of Nature , as to reconcile them to each other , than to make the Fathers contradict themselves ; which destroys three parts of their Reasoning about the Unity of the Godhead , and very much weakens the Authoity of all the rest ? The Apology which Petavius makes for the Fathers will by no means salve this matter . He tells us , That if we speak of God according to the exact Rules of Philosophy ; the Three Divine Persons are not so of One Substance or Homoousion , as Peter , Paul , and Iohn ; and so far he is in the Right , as I have already shewn : But then what he adds is a very heavy Charge upon the Catholick Fathers ; That they taught this almost in every Dispute they had with the Arians . Now if this be true , what Apology can be made for them ? for , it seems , they confuted the Arians upon false and dangerous Principles , and were either ignorant themselves of the true Catholick Faith , or did prevaricate in it . But let us hear what Excuse he makes for them : He says , They are not to be blamed for this , nor accused of Ignorance , as if they understood nothing of the Numerical Unity of the Divine Essence , and owned no other Unity but what is like the Unity of Human Nature ; for they did know the first , but very prudently used the Specifick Unity , as an Example whereby to represent the Divine Unity : But if there be nothing in the Divine Nature , which is analogous to this Specifick Unity , and may be truly and properly represented by it , as the best Image we have in Nature , I cannot understand either the Prudence or Honesty of this . Yes , he says , they were to take Care so to oppose Arianism as to avoid Sabellianism , which otherwise they might easily slip into : And therefore so tempered their Style as to speak more sparingly of that highest Unity and Conjunction , which Gregory Nyssen calls a Perfect Monad , lest they should seem to favour a Sabellian Solitude and Singularity , but did more freely use the Examples of a Specifick Unity , which was sufficient to confute the Arians ; who asserted the Diversity and Dissimilitude of Nature between Father and Son , which cannot be between those of the same Kind and Species ; and yet at the same time shewed how far they were from Sabellianism . That this is a very false account of the matter appears from the former Sections of this Chapter , and will appear more fully from what is to follow ; but if it were true , it would be a very scandalous account ; for the sum of it is this , That to oppose Sabellianism and Arianism , the ancient Fathers advanced a false Notion of the Divine Unity , and dissembled the true one : Which is no great commendation of the Catholick Faith , that it needs such Arts , nor of the Catholick Fathers to use them ; when both these sorts of Hereticks , as I have often observed , charged the Catholick Faith with Tritheism , and made that the very Reason of their Heresies . Can any man think it prudent in these Fathers to conceal or very cautiously mention the true Notion of the Divine Unity , and to insist on a Specifick Unity , which , if we believe Petavius , is no better than Tritheism ; which would rather have confirmed them in their Heresies than have confuted them ? These two Heresies being in two extreams , the Catholick Faith must be in the middle , and the only true Medium between them , is a real distinction of Persons , without the least diversity of Nature ; and this is what they meant both by their Monad , and Specifick Unity , the perfect Sameness and Identity of Essence , actually , indivisibly , inseparably subsisting in Three , a thrice subsisting Monad , or Individual Essence or Substance , but not one Singular and Solitary Substance . And if this be all that Petavius means , as he seems to own , we are agreed in this Point : But because some think that he means more , and sometimes he says what seems to imply more , I shall shew that he has proved no more . He begins with Athanasius ; who tells us , That the Father gives all to the Son ; and yet that the Father hath the same All himself ; for the Godhead of the Son is the Godhead of the Father . Which only proves , That the Father communicates his own Whole Nature to the Son ; that he gives the Whole to the Son , and has the whole himself ; which is the Same , but not One Singular Solitary Godhead , for it is the Whole in Two : But yet it is the Godhead of the Son , and the Godhead of the Father . And the Father and Son are Two , but yet the Godhead an inseparable , indivisible Monad . And therefore this Wonderful Divine Monad must not be divided into Three Godheads . And having quoted some other Passages of that Father to the same purpose , he concludes with a very remarkable one out of his Exposition of Faith. That we must not conceive Three Divided and Separate Hypostates in the Godhead , after the manner of Bodies , as it is among men ; which , like the Pagans , would introduce a plurality of Gods : But as the River , which proceeds from the Fountain , is not divided from it , though they have Two Forms and Two Names ; for the Father is not the Son , nor the Son the Father ; but the Father is the Father of the Son , and the Son the Son of the Father . For as the Fountain is not the River , nor the River the Fountain , but both are One ; and the self-same Water ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) flows out of the Fountain into the River ( and so is the very same in both ) so is that Divinity , which is communicated from the Father to the Son , without any Efflux , Emanation or Division . This Petavius lays great Stress on , and it is a most express Testimony against such a meer Specifick Unity in the Godhead , as there is between Three Individuals of the same Species , as between Three Men. But then it is as express and positive a Testimony against a Singular and Solitary Divinity , and confirms the Notion of the perfect Communication of the same Individual Nature and Godhead from the Father to the Son , which is as perfectly One and the Same in both as the Water is , which flows out of the Fountain into the River : But with this difference , That the manner of Communication is not the same , not by Efflux and Emanation after the manner of Bodies ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which I wonder Petavius should transl●te perenniter ) not as Waters flow out of the Fountain , which the Catholick Fathers always disowned ; but by the Ineffable Mystery of the Eternal Generation , as I have shewn above . The next Father he appeals to is Gregory Nazianzen , whom at other times he has much ado to excuse from Tritheism . And he tells us , That there is but One God , because there is but One Divinity , and those who are of him ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of this One God , that is , the Son and Holy Spirit ) are reduced to One , tho' we believe them to be Three : viz. by that One D●vinity , which perfectly subsists in each of them : And adds , If we may express this in short , it is One Vndivided Divinity in Three Distinct Persons ( for so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must here signifie , not Divided or Separate , but Distinct ) like the Vnion of Three S●ns , which would give but One Vndistinguished Light. One would wonder how this should prove One Singular Divinity , which it expresly rejects , unless Three Suns are One Single Solitary Sun , and give but One Single Solitary Light. Such Expressions as these prove no more than One Undivided Divinity in Three , not One Singular Divinity . But the same Father starts an Objection ; That since the wisest Philosophers owned but One Divinity in all their Gods , as we acknowledge but One Humanity in all Mankind , and yet they believed Many Gods , as we acknowledge , there are Many Men , though but One Common Humanity : Why must not we confess , That Father , Son and Holy Ghost are Three Gods also , though they have but One Common Divinity ? This Petavius says , Causoe jugulum petit ; and it is indeed an unanswerable Objection against a meer Specifick Unity of Nature , which is Multiplied in Individuals , and therefore must Multiply Gods as well as Men ; but the Perfect Communication of the Same Whole Individual Nature does not Multiply Natures or Divinities , though it Multiplies Persons . And this is the very Answer Greg. Naz. gives , which I had observed before from Damascen , the distinction between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . That there is not One Common Subsisting Human Nature in all Men , and therefore Human Nature is One , only in Notion , not in Reality , every Particular Man's having a Particular Human Nature of his own ; and therefore there are as many Men , as there are Subsisting Human Natures ; but the Divine Nature is One and Common , not in meer Notion and Idea , but by an Actual Communication without Division or Separation : This proves it to be One Individual , but not a Singular Nature ; for it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; and One Undivided Divinity , though in a Wonderful and Ineffable manner it Actually Subsists in Three , can be but One God. His other Quotations out of the Greek Fathers are all to the same purpose , and are resolved into the force of such words as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and their rejecting not only Three Gods , but Three Natures , Three Essences , Three Divinities ; and that not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which specifically differ from each other , but even 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , those which are specifically the same , as Sophronius speaks ; which are unanswerable Testimonies against a mere Specifick Unity of the Divine Nature ; but confirms what I have all along asserted , That the same One Undivided Divinity subsists actually and inseparably , but distinctly in Three , and therefore is One common Individual , but not a Singular Nature : And the Latin Fathers , to whom he appeals in Chap. 14 ▪ speak all to the same purpose , and one Answer serves them all . To give an Account of the Meaning and Reason of these Expressions , which Petavius insists on to prove the Singularity of the Divine Essence , will be much more instructing and satisfactory , than to comment upon every particular Quotation : And therefore I shall , 1. Enquire what the Fathers meant by this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Sameness and Identity of Nature . 2. How they proved the Unity of the Godhead from this Sameness of Nature . 3. How they distinguish'd the Divine Persons in this Sameness of Nature . 1. As for the first , That the Fathers by this Sameness and Identity of Nature did not mean One singular , solitary , Personal Nature , is abundantly evident from what I have already discours'd : The Fathers , in opposition to Sabellius , universally rejected One singular , solitary Nature and Substance , as destroying a Trinity of Real Persons ; for in their Philosophy , One singular Substance is but One Person ; and therefore Three Persons , each of which is by himself True and Perfect Substance , can't be One singular Substance ; which is Proof enough , that when they explain the Unity of the Divine Substance by its Sameness and Identity , they could not by this Sameness and Identity mean Singularity ; but such a Sameness as is between Real , Distinct , Subsisting , Substantial Persons , who are every way alike , without the least Change or Variation : Which the Greek Fathers commonly call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; the Latin Fathers , as St. Hilary especially , Indifferens & Indissimilis Natura . That this is the True Notion of this Sameness and Identity of Nature appears from those Representations which the Catholick Fathers make of it , viz. That it is such a Sameness and Identity , as there is between a Perfect , Living , Subsisting Word , and that Perfect Mind , whose Word it is ; such a Sameness as is between Father and Son , between the Prototype and the Image , between the Seal and the Impression ; between Life of Life , Wisdom of Wisdom , Power of Power , &c. neither of which is the other , and yet both are the same . That God hath an Eternal Word , which was in the Beginning , was with God , and was God ; that this Eternal Word was the Son of God , and this Son the Perfect Likeness and Image of his Father , the Brightness of his Glory , and the Express Character of his Substance , is the known Doctrine of the Scripture and Fathers . That this Word is not like the Word of a Man , but the Substantial , Essential , Living , Subsisting , Omnipotent Word ; and this Son a True , Natural , Genuine Son , and this Image a Substantial , Living Image , and a Living , Substantial Character of the Father ; that this Word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a Distinct Person from him , whose Word he is ; that the Son is not the Father , nor the Father the Son , but that they are alius & alius ; that the Image is not the Prototype , nor the Prototype the Image , nor the Chararacter and Impression , that whose Character it is ; I have already proved to be the Received Doctrine of the Catholick Fathers against the Sabellians , and were there any occasion for it , I could confirm it with innumerable Testimonies : The only Question then is , What this Sameness and Identity of Nature is . And if we will allow for that difference there is between God and Creatures , we may learn , as the Fathers teach us , what this Sameness of Nature between the Divine Persons is , from the Sameness and Identity between a Mind and its Word , between Father and Son , between the Prototype and the Image , the Seal and its Character and Impression . Now what this Sameness and Identity is , is so visible , that a few words will explain it . It is not the Sameness of Singularity ; for the Mind and its Word , a Father and Son , the Prototype and its Image , the Seal and its Impression , are visibly Two : Nor is it the Sameness of meer Likeness and Similitude , how Exact and Perfect soever we conceive that Likeness to be ; for every one must confess , that there is a vast difference between the Perfect Likeness of Two Minds , Two Men , Two Originals , and Two Seals , and that Sameness , which is between a Mind and its own Word , a Father and his own Son , a Prototype and its own Natural Image , and the Seal and the Impression which is made by it ; just as much difference as there is between Similitude and Nature , or between a perfect Likeness of Nature and Identity . And therefore the complete and adequate Notion of S●meness and Identity between Two , who are really distinct in Subsistence and Personality , and are not each other , must be this , That an Eternal Unproduced Person produces another in his own Nature , Whole , Perfect , Entire , without the least Conceivable or Possible Difference or Diversity ; excepting this , That One Produces , and the Other is Produced : For Two such , who distinctly subsist , are really Two Persons in One and the Same Individual Nature . Thus it is with a Perfect Mind and its Perfect Living , Subsisting Word , which is perfectly it self , as its own Perfect , Natural Image ; Two in Number , but One in Re , in Nature . Thus it is with a Father and such a Son , as is Whole of Whole , they are Two and the Same , the Son the Natural Living Image of the Father , in whom the Father sees Himself , and is seen in Him , as Christ tells us , He that hath seen me hath seen the Father : Which is agreeable to the common Forms of Speech , to call the King's Picture or Image , the King , as the Catholick Writers frequently observe ; which would be exactly and philosophically true , were it a Perfect , Natural , Living , Inseparable Image : And this is what the Catholick Fathers call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Sameness or Identity of Nature ; as might easily be proved by numerous Citations : But I will content my self with a few . The Nicene Fathers taught , That the Father and the Son were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , of the same Nature and Substance : This , as I observed before , they explain by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a Perfect Invariable Likeness and Similitude , without the least Difference and Diversity ; and this is what they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Sameness and Identity of Nature , which cannot be the Sameness of Singularity , but the Sameness of Indifference and Indiversity ; such a Sameness as is between Two , which are perfectly alike , and differ in nothing from each other . Athanasius gives this account , why the Nicene Fathers taught , That the Son was Homoousios , of the same Substance with the Father , that they might signifie that the Son was not only like the Father , but so of the Father , as to be the same in Likeness : Now the Sameness and Identity of Likeness cannot be the Sameness of Singularity ; and yet this he calls the Sameness and Identity with his Father ; That the Son is the Natural Genuine Son of the Father , and the Word God's own proper Word ; and the invariable Likeness between the Light and it's Splendor ; the Unity of Nature and the Identity of Light : With several Expressions , noted in the Margin , which signifie the most perfect Sameness in Nature . Thus the Son is the Image of God , the Character of his Substance , Nature and Essence ; which is the Language of Scripture , and the constant Doctrine of the Fathers : And from hence they conclude the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the perfect Sameness and Identity of Nature between Father and Son , or a perfect Likeness and Similitude . By which Argument they prove , That he is no Creature , but that he is Eternal and Omnipotent , and all that his Father is ; because this is the Nature of a Perfect Living Image , to be perfectly all and the same that the Prototype is . Thus St. Basil tells us , That the Seal is seen in the Impression , and the Prototype is known by its Image , from that Sameness and Identity which is in both : Which he calls also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . This sufficiently proves what the Catholick Fathers meant by this Sameness and Identity of Nature ; not the Sameness of singularity , which they always rejected as Sabellianism , but such a Sameness as is between Two , who have the same Individual Nature , subsisting so distinctly in each of them , as to make them Two , but without the least conceivable or possible Change or Alteration ; such a Sameness as is a perfect likeness and similitude , which cannot be in singularity . But because Petavius lays great stress upon these Expressions , it will not be amiss to give two or three direct and positive Proofs of this matter . Athanasius expresly cautions us against this , That when we hear that the Son hath all that the Father has , this invariable likeness and sameness of what the Son has , may not mislead us into Sabellianism , to say , That the Son is the Father himself : And tells us , That the Father gave all to the Son , and that the Father hath all again in the Son ; and the Son having all , the Father again has the same all ; for the Godhead of the Son is the Godhead of the Father . Gregory Nyssen , or St. Basil , for the same Treatise is ascribed to them both , proves both the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , from the nature of an Image ; That the Son is both the same with the Father , and another ; for so an Image is both the same with its Prototype , and yet another ; not the Prototype it self . And adds , that we may see the Father in the Son , not considered as unbegotten , for then he would be upon all accounts the same , and not another , which destroys the Nature and Character of an Image . The same account St. Hilary gives of an Image , That it signifies a perfect likeness and similitude of Nature between Two ; for no Man is his own Image , but the Image represents the Prototype : And therefore there is a Father , and there is a Son , if the Son be the Image of the Father ; and being an Image , the Son must necessarily have in himself the Nature and Essence of his Father . Which he urges as a direct Confutation of the Sabellian Singularity . But there is no need of multiplying Authorities in this Case , since it is so very obvious to every one , who ever look'd into the Fathers , That the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Sameness and Identity , and the Community of Nature , though they differ in their formal Notions , yet both equally belong to the same Divine Nature ; and the same Identical Nature , which is also a common Nature , can't be One in the Notion of Singularity . 2 dly . Having thus shewn what the Catholick Fathers meant by the Sameness and Identity of Nature in Father and Son , I proceed to shew , That herein they placed the Unity of the Godhead , the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the One Divinity , and what account they give of this matter . The Defence they generally make for the Unity of God in a Trinity of Divine Persons , is reducible to two Heads ; this Sameness and Identity of Nature , and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or inseparable Unity ; which Two make up the compleat Notion of the Divine Unity ; but I must now consider them apart . That the Catholick Fathers did resolve the Unity of God into this Sameness and Identity of Nature , That the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , though they are Three Real , Proper , Distinct Persons , yet have the same One Divine Nature , which subsists whole , and perfect , and distinct , without any Change or Variation in all Three ; and that therefore they are not Three Gods , but One God , is so very plain , that there is no need of multiplying words about it . The One God in the Catholick Language is One Divine Nature in Three Persons ; and this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , this One Essence , and One Divinity , is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which are often used as equivalent terms , the Unity , Identity , Propriety , and Sameness of Nature ; as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , one and the same . All those Passages quoted by Petavius , though they do not prove the Singularity of the Divine Nature , yet prove the Unity of the Godhead , by the perfect and invariable Sameness of Nature , in the sense now explained . But the Testimony of St. Basil against the Sabellians is so full and express to this purpose , that I shall represent this matter in his Words , wherein he agrees with all the other Catholick Fathers . Though ( Father and Son ) are Two in Number , yet are they not divided in Nature ; nor does he who says Two Persons , alienate them from each other . There is One God , because a Father ; but the Son also is One God , not Two Gods , because of the Sameness and Identity of the Son with the Father ; for there is not One Divinity in the Father , and Another in the Son ; nor One Nature of the Father , and another of the Son. When therefore you would distinguish the Persons , number them distinctly , the Father by himself , and the Son by himself ; but if you would avoid Polytheism , confess but One Nature in them both , which rejects both the Sabellian and Anomoean Heresy . But when I say One Nature , you must not imagine that Two Persons are made of One Nature , as it were by a division of it into two Parts ; but only conceive the Son subsisting of the Father , as his Principle and Original : Nor must you conceive that Father and Son are so of One Nature , as partaking of some One Same Nature and Substance antecedent to them both ; for we do not call them Brethren , but Father and Son , which signifies the Sameness and Identity of Nature . For the Son is of the Father , not made by his Command , but begotten of his Nature ; not by Division of the Father's Substance ; but the Son shines forth whole and perfect from a perfect Father , without any diminution of him . And therefore , as he proceeds , do not charge us with Preaching Two Gods , or Polytheism ; for we Preach not Two Fathers , or Two Principles , and therefore not Two Gods , which was the Impiety of Marcion : Nor do we make the Father and Son of a different Nature , unlike to each other , as the Anomoeans do . — But where there is but One Principle , and One Begotten of it , One Prototype , and One Image , the Unity is preserved : Because the Son who is begotten of the Father , and imprints his Father's Nature and Essence on himself , as an Image , he has an invariable Likeness , as a Son he retains the same Nature and Substance . Now as a man who calls the King's Image or Picture the King , does not make Two Kings , nor deny him whose Image it is , to be the King , much less reason is there for such an Imputation in this Case . For here , when we hear of the Image of God , we must conceive nothing less than the Brightness of his Glory . But what is this Brightness , and what is this Glory ? That the Apostle adds , The perfect Impression or Character of his Substance . And therefore Substance is the same with Glory , and Character with Brightness : So that the Divine Glory remaining perfect and undiminished , emits a perfect Splendor and Brightness : And thus the very Nature of an Image expounded as it becomes God , confirms the Faith of One Divinity . For the Father is in the Son , and the Son in the Father ; because such as the Father is , such is the Son , and such as the Son is , such is the Father : And thus Two are One , because the Son in nothing differs , as receiving no other Form or Character , but that of his Father . And therefore I say again , One and One , but an undivided Nature , and never-failing Perfection . And therefore there is One God , because by both the same perfect Divine Form and Nature is seen wholly and perfectly subsisting in both . This I think is as plain as words can make it , both what St. Basil meant by the Sameness and Identity of Nature , and that herein he placed the Unity of the Godhead ; and were there any occasion for it , it were easy to confirm this by the concurrent Suffrages of Athanasius , Gregory Nyssen , and Gregory Nazianzen , St. Cyril , and other Greek Fathers , almost in the same words . St. Hilary and St. Ambrose , to name no more of the Latin Fathers , are so express in placing the Unity of the Godhead in this perfect Sameness , Indifference , Indiversity of Nature between Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , that there is no need of any other Art , but barely to represent their Words ; and therefore I shall only refer my Readers to some few Quotations in the Margin . It cannot be denied , but that all the Fathers unanimously agree in this Account of the Unity of the Divine Nature in Three Distinct Persons : Which should make modest men very cautious of charging it with a direct Contradiction to all Reason and Philosophy : But Modesty and Reverence to the Catholick Fathers , are none of the prevailing Virtues of this Age. But is it indeed such a Contradiction to say , That the same Nature , which is perfectly and in every thing the same in Three , is but One Nature in Three , and that such Three have not Three Natures , but One Nature ? Is it such a direct Contradiction to Sense and Reason , to say , That there is alius , & alius , & alius , in the Trinity , but not aliud ? That there is Another , and Another , and Another Person in the Holy Trinity ; but that there is nothing in any One of these Persons , which can be called Another thing from what is in the other Two ? This is so far from a Contradiction , that it seems plain Sense , nay , plain Demonstration to me , That Three Persons who have nothing in themselves but what each of them have , without the least conceivable Variation , are in Nature but one and the same ; and though each of them be Another Person , yet not Another Thing , or Another Nature . There are several Examples in Nature which justify this distinction between alius & aliud , and must make all thinking men confess that they cannot speak properly without it . I would not be mistaken in this matter , and therefore desire the Reader carefully to observe , That I do not alledge these Instances which follow , as Resemblances of the Trinity , but only as Examples of a perfect Sameness and Unity in Nature ; where we must confess , That the thing is but One and the same , and yet that there is Another and Another : And if there be any Images of this in Nature , there is no reason to call this a Contradiction in the Faith of the Trinity . Let me then ask this plain Question : When Five hundred Men hear the same Man speak , do they all hear one and the same Voice , or Five hundred Voices ? It will , I think , be granted , that it is but one and the same Voice which they all hear , and yet it is heard five hundred times , and is distinctly in five hundred Ears : The Voice is essentially one and the same in all , and yet no man dares deny that the Voice in Peter's Ear is another from that Voice which is in Iohn's Ear ; and therefore is Another and Another , but not Another Thing : And were a Voice Essence and Substance , there would be One Nature , Essence , and Substance , in a Plurality of Hypostases . Thus Sight furnishes us with as many Examples of this as Hearing : When five hundred Men see the same thing , the Object is one and the same , and yet is Another and Another , according to the number of the Persons who see it : Is one and the same in Nature , and subsists the same , and yet distinctly in each eye . Sight and Hearing approach nearest to an Incorporeal Nature , and therefore give us the nearest Resemblances of a Spiritual Sameness , Unity , and Distinction : But we have still more perfect Images of this , in what is more perfectly Spiritual . The same Notion and Idea , though it subsist in Ten thousand Minds , is perfectly the same in all . A perfect true Idea of any thing , is and can be but One ; and therefore how many Minds soever it subsist in , it must be one and the same in all ; but yet the Idea in the Mind of Peter is not the same in Subsistence with the Idea in the Mind of Paul : It is Another and Another , and yet the same Idea in Nature and Essence : As suppose the perfect Idea of Humanity , or Human Nature , and the perfect Idea of the Divine Nature ; if they be true and perfect , they are perfectly the same in all the Minds in the World ; and nothing but the different Notions men have of things , can multiply such Ideas . Now if we advance but one step higher , we shall plainly see what this Unity of Sameness is ; what the true Notion of it is , and how far it reaches : For though this be absolutely essential to the Divine Unity , yet as I have already noted , and will appear more hereafter , this is not the compleat and adequate Notion of it . Let us suppose then that Human Nature , for instance , did subsist as perfectly the same in Peter , Iames , and I●hn , as the true and perfect Idea of Human Nature is one and the same in all ; that a Man were nothing else but the living subsisting Idea of Human Nature , without the least change or variation in Nature to distinguish one from another : I say , in such a Case as this , would not Three such Persons be perfectly one and the same , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in the Sameness and Identity of Nature , which would be as perfectly and invariably the same , as the common Notion and Idea of Nature ? Would not Human Nature be as perfectly the same in Three Persons or Subsistences , as the Idea of Human Nature is one and the same in Three Minds ? Or could we in proper speaking , with reference to this Sameness of Nature , any more say that there are Three Men , than that there are Three Humanities , when a Man is nothing else but the subsisting Idea of Humanity ? Would not , as far as this Sameness and Identity reaches , Human Nature be a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; not merely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , both One and a Common Nature , not merely by a Logical and Notional Unity and Community , but by an actual Subsistence in all , without the least difference or diversity ? As the Idea of Human Nature is both One , and Common to the whole Kind . This indeed is but an imaginary Case , as to Finite Creatures , who never were , and never can be so perfectly One and the same , as their Idea is ; but yet it is the properest and most sensible representation we can make of the Sameness and Identity of the Divine Nature , which has really and actually all that Sameness and Identity which we only suppose in Creatures to help our Conceptions of the Divine Unity ; how different Hypostases may be One in Nature by this Sameness and Identy of Nature . The Divine Nature and Essence is more perfectly simple and uncompounded than any Notion and Idea which we can frame of it ; and therefore must subsist as simply as the simplest Idea , and consequently must be as perfectly one and the same in all Three Persons of the Trinity , as the same Idea is one and the same with it self : And though this be not the whole notion of the Sameness and Identity of Nature , which requires not only two perfect Same 's , but that one be of the other without division or Separation ; yet this is essential to this Notion , and there can be no Identity of Nature without it : This is what the Catholick Fathers intended in many Passages , which some Modern Writers have so miserably mistaken and misrepresented , as to charge those Wise men , and Learned Philosophers , with the most wild and absurd Conceits , and those great Advocates of the Catholick Faith with the worst of Heresies , even Tritheism it self . I can't do right to my Cause , without doing right to these great Lights of the Church , in giving a plain account of this matter . And to explain what they meant by this Sameness and Identity of Nature , and to shew how groundless this Imputation of Tritheism is , I shall begin with their natural Proof and Demonstration of the Unity of God against the Pagan Polytheism , which they unanimously resolve into this Sameness and Identity of Nature . They prove , that there can be but One God , and One Divinity , because the Divine Nature is not capable of the least conceivable change and diversity , which is necessary to make a Number : For what is , and always must be the same with it self , cannot be another , or a Second Nature ; and One Divinity is but One God. This they prove from all the Notions which we have of God , especially that comprehensive One of an Absolute and Perfect Being ; for Absolute Perfection is , and can be but One , without any possibility of change ; for all change and diversity must be either for the better or for the worse , and Absolute Perfection can admit of neither ; and without diversity and alterity there can be but One. An Infinite Nature , which nothing can distinguish from it self , can be but One ; and could we imagine any thing to be added to , or taken from it , to make this distinction , it would destroy , not only its Unity , but it s Infinity too ; it would indeed make a Number , but not of absolute perfect Beings . If we consider the Divine Perfections by themselves , it is impossible to conceive any difference or diversity , and consequently any number in them : Is not Eternal Truth , and Infinite Wisdom , and Omnipotent Power , always one and the same ? Can Eternal Truth , and Infinite Wisdom in any thing vary from it self , to make two Eternal Truths , and Infinite Wisdoms ? Now remove all possible diversity , and you necessarily destroy a plurality of Gods ; for a Perfect Sameness and Identity must reduce us to the belief of One God : For what is perfectly the same , is not many , but one . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Well! But can't there be more than one of these Eternal , infinitely Wise , infinitely Good , and Omnipotent Natures ? No : For if this Nature must of necessity be always the same , and is unmade and self-originated , it can be but one : For though in Created Natures several of the same kind may be made according to the same Pattern , there being nothing in the Idea of any Created Nature which hinders the multiplication of its Individuals , yet a Nature which subsists of it self ; and is absolutely uncapable of any diversity , and consequently of number , can be but One ; for a Self-subsisting Nature must subsist according to its own Essential Idea , that is , according to its own Nature , and that is but One ; for as far as we can judge of these Matters , what we cannot possibly conceive should ever be Two , we must conclude to be One. But besides this , these Fathers observed , That if there were more than one Self-originated Divinity , or more Divine Natures than one , they must be divided and separated from each other ; for if to the Sameness and Identity of Nature you add an inseparable and indivisible Union too , it is impossible they should be more than One. And yet two or more such divided and separated Natures are inconsistent with the Notion of a Divine Nature and Essence , which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Uncircumscribed , and Omnipresent ; whereas two Divided and Separated Natures , which are not where each other is , must be Circumscribed , and not Omnipresent , and this destroys the absolute Perfection of both ; for a confined and limited Presence , as it is an imperfection it self , so confines and limits all other Perfections , as it confines Wisdom , Power and Goodness within a certain limited Sphere of Action . And now it may be , some may think that these Arguments conclude as strongly against a Trinity of Divine Persons , each of which is by himself True and Perfect God , as against a plurality of Divided and Separate Divinities ; and upon second thoughts , I suspect this may be what our Considerer intended in those surprizing Arguments , of the Unity of Idea , and the Unity of Position and Place , to prove , that there can be but one single Person , in the true and proper notion of a Person , for an Intelligent Person , in the Trinity ; this to be sure is the Argument which a Socinian Writer alledges with so much triumph out of Athenagoras to disprove the Trinity , though that very Ancient and Learned Writer understood very well the difference between Polytheism and the Trinity , and at the same time confutes the one , and professes the other ; which might have made that Author suspect , that he did not understand the true force of this Argument , since not only Athenagoras , but all the other Fathers , thought it a good Argument against Polytheism , and at the same time a Confutation of the Charge of Polytheism against the Faith of the Trinity . Gregory Nyssen , and Damascen , and many others , having confuted the Pagan Polytheism , or plurality of Gods from the Sameness and Identity of the Divine Nature , which can admit of no change or diversity , and therefore not of number ; they immediately proceed to consider the distinction of Persons and Hypostases in the perfect Unity and Simplicity of the Divine Nature , in opposition to the Iewish Notion of One God , for One Single and Solitary Divine Person . And here they undertake to prove by Natural Arguments ( of which possibly more hereafter ) that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Divinity , must have an Eternal Subsisting Word , which is Life , Wisdom , Power , all the same in his own Person that God is , but yet another Person : For the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Divinity is not without its Coeternal Word , and Coessential Reason and Wisdom ; and the same they teach and prove concerning the Eternal Spirit ; so that they make Father , Son , and Spirit , to be essential to One Divinity , not as parts , but as perfectly whole , and the same in Three distinct Hypostases , which they think necessarily included in the Perfection of One Divinity , as Reason and Word is essential to a Created Mind . This is what they mean by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One Divinity in Three Perfect Hypostases ; not that Three Hypostases are united , as it were ex post facto , into One Divinity ; but that One Divinity does subsist Eternally , Essentially , and Inseparably , in Three Hypostases , which are necessary to compleat the Notion and Definition of One Divinity . Thus it is certain Melanchton understood it , and therefore rejects the Definition which Plato gives of God , That he is an Eternal Mind , the Cause of all Good in the World ; for though he owns it to be True and Learned , when rightly explained , yet he says it is defective , and must be supplied by the Gospel Revelation . That God is a Spiritual Intelligent Essence , Eternal , True , Good , Iust , Merciful , most free , of Infinite Power and Wisdom , the Eternal Father , who from Eternity begat a Son , his own Image , and the Son , the Coeternal Image of the Father , and the Holy Spirit , proceeding from Father and Son. So that the Holy and Ever Blessed Trinity is but One Eternal Coessential Divinity ; that were there more Divinities than One , there must of necessity be more Trinities also , according to the Doctrine of these Fathers ; which is evidence enough , that this Argument against a plurality of Divinities from the perfect Sameness and Identity of the Divine Nature , which can't be multiplied , can't concern a Trinity of Real Subsisting Persons in the same One Eternal Undivided Divinity : For the same One Divinity is not multiplied by a Trinity of Persons Coeternal and Coessential ; if this be the Nature and Unity of the Deity , to subsist whole and perfectly in Three , which was the constant Doctrine of the Fathers , and which this Argument don't oppose ; nay so far from it , that it as evidently proves the Unity of the Godhead in a Trinity of Persons , as it confutes a Plurality of Godheads and Divinities ; for if the Sameness and Identity of Nature will not admit of a Plurality of Divinities , then if Three are perfectly One and the same in Nature , they are but One Divinity , One God. Thus the Incircumscriptibility or Omnipresence of the Divine Nature is a good Argument against a Plurality of God's , or Divinities , which must be separated , if they be more than One , and therefore circumscribed , or of a limited and confined presence ; but it is no Argument against a Trinity of Persons in the Unity of Essence , which are all mutually in each other , and therefore equally Unconfined and Omnipresent , and perfectly One by an Essential and Inseparable Union . And are not these Fathers now like to prove very notable Tritheites , who prove the impossibility , that there should be more Divinities than One , and the perfect Unity of the Godhead in a Trinity of Divine Persons , from that perfect Sameness and Identity of Nature which is between them ? But yet for all this Tritheites they are and must be , if they acknowledge Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , to be One God , in no other sense than Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are one Man ; that is , because they agree in the same common Nature , which has the same notion and definition , and is upon that account One and the same in all . This is what they are charged with , and I should not have wondred at it , had only some Careless and Unskilful Readers charged them with it , for they do say something which at first view may look like it ; but then such Sayings as manifestly contradict their avowed Doctrine , not only in other places of their Writings , but in those very Places where these Sayings are found , ought in all Reason and Justice to be expounded only by way of Analogy and accommodation , as containing some imperfect Image and Resemblance of that , which Nature has no proper and adequate Example of . This must be allowed in all the Natural Representations which are made by the Catholick Fathers of the Unity and Distinction of the Ever-blessed Trinity ; or there is not one of them , but what literally and Philosophically applied , would furnish out some new Heresy : This I have already shewn in the Specifick Unity of the Divine Nature , which the Nicene Fathers did teach in a qualified Sense ; though it appears from all I have said in the last , and this present Section , how far they were from thinking the Divine Nature to be a meer Species , or Logical Notion , though it has this resemblance to a Species , that it is One and Common , but not merely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not in meer Notion and Idea , but by an actual Subsistence and Inexistence in all Three , being as perfectly , wholly , indivisibly the same in all , and in each of the Divine Persons , as a Specifick Nature is Notionally and Ideally one and the same in every individual of the same kind , which , as I have made appear , is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Sameness and Identity of Nature , wherein they place the Unity of the Godhead . And yet this is the only foundation of the present Charge , that they make Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , to be One God only by a Specifick Unity , as Three Individuals of the same kind and Species , suppose Peter , Iames , and Iohn are one Man. That all this is a mistake , is evident , because these Fathers do not resolve the Unity of the Godhead into a meer Specifick Unity of Nature ; and the occasion of this mistake is great Inadvertency , as will appear in a very few words . Gregory Nyssen is principally charged with this Paradox , and in vindicating him , I shall vindicate all the rest . The Question which Ablabius desired him to resolve , was this , That since Peter , Iames , and Iohn , though they have but one common Humanity , are yet called three Men ; and no man denies , but that the name of Nature may be multiplied , when there are more who are united in the same Nature , how comes it to pass that we contradict this in the Mystery of the Trinity ? that we acknowledge Three Hypostases , who have the very same Nature , without the least difference or diversity , and yet teach , that the Divinity of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , is but One , and forbid saying , that there are Three Gods ? Now the better to understand the Father's Answer , we mu●t observe that this was an Arian Objection against the Homoousion , or the perfect Sameness , Indifference , and Equality of Nature between Father and Son : For the design of it was , as St. Gregory himself observes , to reduce them to this dangerous Dilemma , either to assert Three Gods , which is unlawful ; or to deny the Divinity of the Son and Holy Ghost , which is impious and absurd . If they denied the Sameness and Equality of Nature , then the Son and Holy Ghost are not True and Perfect God , consubstantial with the Father ; or if Father , Son , and Holy Ghost have the same One Common Nature , and are perfectly consubstantial , then they are Three Gods ; as Peter , Iames , and Iohn , who have the same One Common Humanity , are Three Men ; and there is the very same reason for calling Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , Three Gods , that there is for calling Peter , Iames , and Iohn , Three Men ; that is , the same Nature common to them all . This was the Objection St. Gregory was to answer ; and therefore his business was to prove , That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost are not , and ought not to be called Three Gods , as Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are and may be called Three Men ; and therefore he must prove , That they are neither Three nor One , in the same sense that Three Men are Three and One ; for if they were , they would be as truly and properly Three Gods , as Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are Three Men ; and no more One God , than they are One Man ; which had been to give up the Cause to the Arians , instead of answering their Objection . This may satisfy any man , that those Learned Persons are very much mistaken , who charge such a sense upon this Father , as is directly contrary to his design ; for he understood the Laws of Reasoning better . Neither he , nor any other Father I ever yet met with , asserted that Peter , Iames , and Iohn , were but One Man ; or that Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are One God no otherwise than Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are One Man ; which yet is what has been charged upon them . But does not Greg. Nyssen say , That it is a catachrestical way of speaking , tho become common and familiar , to multiply the name of Nature with the Individuals of the same Nature ? As to say , That there are many Men , because there are many who have the same Human Nature . — But if we would speak accurately and properly , we should say that there is but one Man , how many soever have the same Nature : And does not he apply this to the Unity of God ? And can this have any other sense , than that the same Divine Nature makes Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , but One God , as the same Human Nature makes all the Men in the World but one Man ? The Interpretation of which seems to be , That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are as much Three Gods , as Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are Three Men ; but that it is very improper to call either the one or the other Three , for they are but One , by One Common Nature . Now this Father does indeed say , and so many others of them say , That the name of Nature ought not to be multiplied with the Individuals ; but he was far enough either from saying or thinking what he is charged with , That Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are not Three Men , but One Man ; or that Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are One God in no other sense , but as Three Men are One : And a due attendance to the Series of the Argument , would have discovered the Falseness and Absurdity of this Imputation ; which therefore I shall briefly explain . The Arian Objection which St. Gregory undertook to answer , as I observed before , was this ; That since the Catholick Church owned the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , to be consubstantial , and to have the same undiversified Nature , they must for that reason be Three Gods ; as Peter , Iames , and Iohn , upon account of the same common Humanity , are acknowledged to be Three Men : That is , that whether in God or Man , the same Nature in Three must make Three Individuals of the same Kind and Species ; and therefore as the same Human Nature in Three makes Three Men , so the same Divine Nature Three Gods. In answer to this , St. Gregory first observes , That it is not the same common Nature which distinguishes and multiplies Individuals , no , not in Men : Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are not Three Individuals in the Species of Humanity , merely by having the same Nature ( which is the force of the Arian Objection ) ; for what is perfectly the same in all , can't distinguish or multiply them . And this is plainly all that he means , when he says , That the name of Nature ought not to be used plurally ; and therefore Man being the name of Nature , and signifying the same with Humanity , we ought no more , if we speak properly and Philosophically , to say Three Men , than Three Humanities , or Three Human Natures ; for he proves , that the name Man does not distinguish one Man from another , nor can we single any particular Man out of a Crowd by that Compellation ; for there is but One Man , or One Humamanity in them all ; that name not belonging primarily and immediately to the Individuals as such , but to the common Nature . Well ; but are there not Individual Men then , as well as a Common Nature ? Yes , without doubt ; but they are distinguished and multiplied , not by the Common Nature , which is the same in all , but by such peculiar Properties as diversify and distinguish Common Nature , as it subsists separately in particular Persons , and that makes the Number , though Nature be one and the same , a perfect indivisible Monad . This is not merely to criticize upon Words , or to dispute against the common Forms of Speech , but to give a true Philosophical Reason of their different Use , when applied to God and Creatures . We commonly call Peter , Iames , and Iohn , Three Men , and right enough ; but then they are not Three Men merely upon account of the same Common Humanity in them all , ( which was the Arian Objection ) ; for Humanity is but One in all , and what is perfectly One can't be numbred . To say there are Three Humanities , all Men grant to be absurd ; and yet it is to the full as absurd , to say that Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are Three Men , merely upon account of the same Humanity , strictly and precisely taken , as to say that there are Three Humanities : So that though Peter , Iames , and Iohn , could not be , nor be called Three Men , without the same Common Nature , yet some peculiar , distinguishing , diversifying Properties make them Three Men. Could Human Nature subsist as perfectly and indivisibly the same in Three , as the perfect Idea of Humanity , their Persons might be distinguished , but their Nature would be as perfectly One , as the Idea of Humanity is one and the same in distinct Minds ; and in this Case ( as far as this perfect Sameness of Nature can make them one , which , as I have observed , is not the compleat Notion of the Divine Unity , though it be essential to it ) they might be called Three Human Persons , but not Three Men : But such peculiar Properties as diversify and thereby distinguish the same common Nature into Particulars , make the Number : Which is one reason why we must not say Three Gods , as we do Three Men , though the same Divinity be common to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; because this same One Divinity subsists whole and perfect , without the least Change , Diversity , or Alteration in Three : That though their Persons are distinct , the Divinity is perfectly One and the Same in All , and therefore they are but One God. So that these Fathers do not insist on a mere Specifick Unity , but on the Sameness and Identity of the Divine Nature in Three , as the reason why we must not say that there are Three Gods ; for the same One undiversified Divinity can be but One God. And therefore having answered that Popular Objection , That Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are allowed to be called Three Men , upon account of the same common Nature , by shewing that it is a great Popular Mistake , that merely the same One Common Nature makes them Three Men , or will justify their being called so ; this Father proceeds to shew , That there is such an Unity between Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , as is not , and cannot be between any Three Creatures , though they partake of the same Common Nature : Such an Unity as makes Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , essentially One God , though Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are Three Men. Nay , such an Unity , as even a perfect Sameness and Identity of Nature cannot make between Creatures who have an absolute and separate Subsistence . This gives a reasonable Account of this whole Argument , and vindicates it from those Absurdities which are charged on it . It was necessary to lay the Foundation of the Divine Unity in the perfect and invariable Sameness and Identity of Nature : For if the Divine Nature in Three is not perfectly the same , it cannot be One ; for Diversity and Alterity makes a Number : But if it subsist as perfectly the same in Three , as its Idea is the same , it must be as perfectly one as its Idea is one . No , say these Arians , the same Nature subsisting in Three , becomes Three Individual Natures of the same Species ; and the name of Nature must be multiplied with the Individuals , as all allow it must be as to Men , who partake of the same Common Nature : For Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are acknowledged to be Three Men , though they have but one common Humanity ; and by the same reason , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , must be Three Gods , if they have the same common Divinity . To which St. Gregory Nyssen answers , That it is not the common Humanity which makes them Three Men ; for that which is but one and the same in all , can't distinguish or multiply them ; and therefore in strict and accurate speaking , as Man signifies pure and abstracted Humanity , we cannot properly say Three Men , because there are not Three Humanities ; and accordingly , the name Man does not and cannot distinguish one Man from another , nor is ever used to that purpose ; but that which multiplies Nature , and the name of Nature , are those peculiar Properties which distinguish and diversify Nature , as well as Persons ; and thus the common Nature , with diversifying Properties , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is distinguish'd and multiplied by a kind of Composition ; for the same Nature with one peculiar diversifying Property , is distinguish'd from the same Nature with other Properties ; and thus the same Nature divided and distinguish'd with these Properties , makes a Number , and gives the name of Nature to each Individual Person , and thus it is in all Creatures : But where the same Nature subsists in Three , without any thing to distinguish or diversify Nature , as it is in the Blessed Trinity , though the Persons may be distinguish'd , the Nature and the name of Nature can be but One : Which is the reason why Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are but One God , because they have but One undistinguish'd , undiversified Nature , though their Persons are distinct . This is the true Account of this Matter ; which is so far from such a mere Specifick Unity of Nature as is between Three Men , that it is that very Sameness and Identity of Nature , which the Catholick Fathers make essential to the Unity of the Godhead . And the better to understand this , we must consider their Philosophy about Numbers ; for according to them , nothing properly but Alterity and Diversity makes a Number : What is perfectly the same , is but One , as Boetius tells us ; not by a Singularity , but by a perfect Sameness and Identity of Nature . In this sense it is , that Greg. Nazianzen , St. Basil , and others , teach , That God is One , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not in Number , but Nature ; whereby they do not mean that there are more Gods in Number than One ; but that the Unity of the Godhead does not consist in the Unity of Number , but of Nature ; and that the Unity of Nature consists in the invariable Sameness and Identity of it ; and therefore where the Divinity is perfectly the same , there is but One God. Thus Greg. Nyssen tells us , That the same Divinity may be numbred , and yet rejects all Number ; that is , the Divinity may be numbred with the Persons , as when we say the Father is God , the Son God , and the Holy Ghost God ; but the Divine Nature being perfectly the same in all , that can't be numbred ; that we must not say there are Three Gods , or Three Divinities . Boetius has given the best Account of this , according to the Philosophy of the Ancients , by distinguishing between Numbers ; for he says , Number is twofold , that by which we number , and that which is in the things numbred : As to the first , the repetition of Units makes a Number , for One , and One , and One , are Three ; and both the Catholick Fathers and Schools reject this kind of Number , which is a Species of Quantity , from the Divinity ; for God is under no Predicament , and therefore the Unity of God not reducible to the Predicament of Quantity ; for God is before and above all Unity , as he is above Substance , above Essence , above every thing which we have any Notion or Conception of ; as Dionysius the Areopagite speaks . But as to the things numbred , the Repetition of Units does not multiply , or make a Number in things , where the Nature is perfectly the same ; for it is not a Repetition of Units , but Alterity and Diversity , which multiplies Natures : To say God , and God , and God , does not make Three Gods , because there is but one and the same Divinity in Three : And this is what they mean by the Numerical Unity of the Divine Nature ; not that Unity or Unit which is the beginning of Number , but the Unity of Sameness and Identity ; which Tho. Aquinas calls unum non numero , sed re numerata ; One , not in the numbring Number , but in the thing mumbred ; or as the Fathers speak , not in Number , but Nature . The better to understand this matter , we must consider what St. Basil discourses about the Unity of God , in answer to those who charged the Doctrine of the Trinity with Tritheism ; viz. That they acknowledged One God , but not in Number ( the numbring Number ) but in Nature : For that which is One in Number , is not truly One , nor perfectly Simple in Nature ; but all men acknowledge God to be the most Simple Uncompounded Being , and therefore he is not One in the Notion of this numbring Number . This he proves by an induction of particulars ; we say , the World is one in number , but not one in nature ; for it is compounded of great variety of Creatures ; and we say , one Man , but Man is compounded of Body and Soul ; and even any Angel is not perfectly pure and simple , but is compounded of Essence and Qualities , such as Holiness , which is not pure and simple Nature , for it may be separated . He adds , that Number is a Species of quantity , and answers to the Question , How many , which properly belongs to a Corporeal Nature : — And indeed all Number denotes such things as have a material , or at least a circumscribed and limited Nature , but Monad and Vnity denote the Simple , Uncompounded , Uncircumscribed Infinite Essence : And when he says , That Number must belong to things of a Circumscribed Nature , thereby he tells us , he means , not merely such things as are circumscribed by Place , which properly belongs to Bodies ; but all such Natures as have a limited and confined Idea , as all Created Natures , whether Body or Spirit , have , whose Natures are limited , circumscribed , fixt and determined by that Infinite Mind , which gives being to them . The meaning of all which is this , That to make a Number , there must be Alterity and Diversity in Nature , or a separate Existence : But a Perfect , Simple , Uncompounded Nature , can admit of no possible alteration and diversity ; for the same Nature can never differ from it self , without some kind of composition ; and where there is no difference and diversity , there can be no number , and an Infinite Uncircumscribed Nature can never be divided and separated , or subsist a-part , and therefore can't be numbred : So that Number can belong only to Created Natures , which are compounded and finite , and therefore by some diversifying Qualities or Affections , and a separate Ex●istence may be distinguished into Individuals , which may be numbred ; but the Unity of the Divine Nature , which is a Perfect Indivisible , Uncompounded , Infinite Monad , is not the Unity of Number , but a Perfect Invariable Sameness and Identity , and an Indivisible , inseparable Union . Now some Men , who do not duly attend to the nature and design of these Reasonings , apply all this to prove the Perfect Singularity of the Divine Essence , in the most strict and proper notion of Singularity , as that signifies One in Number ; which contradicts the whole Intention of this Hypothesis , which is to prove , that the Unity of God does not consist in the Unity of Number , but of Nature ; and that the Unity of the Divine Nature is not a Unity of Number , but a Unity of Sameness , Identity , and Inseparability . This is a Matter of great consequence , and therefore let us consider it over again . This distinction between the Unity of Number , and the Unity of Nature , was alledged by the Catholick Fathers to avoid the Charge of Tritheism : The Sabellians and Arians asserted the Unity of God to be a Unity of Number ; that One Divinity is not One , unless it be One in Number , One Single Solitary Divine Nature : And this , say they , is inconsistent with the Trinity of Divine Persons , each of which is in his own Person True and Perfect God : For Three such Divine Persons must be Three Gods , Three Divinities , if each Divine Person have the True Perfect Divine Nature in himself ; and it is impossible to understand what a Divine Person is , without the Divine Nature : So that if the Father be God , the Son God , the Holy Ghost God , if Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be Three , they must be Three Gods. This was the great Difficulty , and it is the only material Difficulty to this day . To have asserted but One Singular Divine Nature , which is but One in Number , had given up the Cause to the Sabellians or Arians : For then either Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are but Three Names or Offices of the same One Divine Person , who is the One God , as the Sabellians taught : Or Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are not a Consubstantial Trinity , but the Father alone is God , and the Son and Holy Ghost but mere Creatures , how Excellent Creatures soever they are . On the other hand , should they have denied that Three Ones make Three , this had been false counting , as the Socinians tell us now ; and therefore to avoid both these Extremes , they distinguish between the Number by which we reckon , and the thing which is numbred ; and thus they find a Real Trinity in Perfect Unity : As Greg. Nyssen tells us , That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the very same thing , the same Divinity , is both numbred , and not subject to Number . It may so far be numbred with the Persons , as each Divine Person has the whole and perfect Divinity in himself , but yet the Divinity can't be numbred ; not because it is One Single Solitary Divinity , for it really subsists in Three ; but by reason of that perfect Sameness and Identity , which admits of no Number ; for that which is perfectly one and the same in Three , can't be numbred . Had they thought of such a Singularity of the Divine Nature , as is but One in Number , they must have disputed at another rate against Sabellians and Arians . Would they have taught , That the Divinity may be numbred , and yet is without Number ? Which is impossible to be true of the same singular Divinity , which is but One in Number , and therefore can never be more than One in Number ; that is , in that Father's sense , cannot be numbred , much less can the same Singular Nature be numbred , and incapable of Number , that is , be One , and More than One. Would they have taken so much pains to prove , That Sameness and Identity of Nature excludes all Number ; if by this they had meant the Sameness and Identity of Singularity , as the same thing is one and the same thing with it self , which is no great Mystery ? And is it not evident , that this whole Dispute is concerning the Unity of the Divine Nature in Three distinct Persons , and consequently , concerning that Sameness and Identity of Nature which is between Three who have the same Nature , and therefore not One in the Notion of Singularity , which is One in Number , not in the Sameness and Identity of Nature ? Would they have insisted on that distinction of Units in Number , and Units in Nature ; that the first multiplies , the second does not , had they believed that there are no Units in the Divinity ; not One , and One , and One , but only One Singular Divinity ? At least , could Boetius , who so particularly explains and urges this distinction , intend to prove by it the Singularity of the Divine Essence , when at the same time he defines a Person to be the Individual Substance of a Rational Nature ; and assigns this distinction as the Reason why though we number Three in the same Divinity , yet there are not Three Divinities , or Three Divine Natures or Essences ; because the Repetition of Units in the thing to be numbred , where there is a perfect Sameness and Identity of Nature , makes no Number ? In this sense it was , that the Schools asserted the Singularity of the Divine Substance ; because the Divine Substance , by reason of its perfect Sameness and Identity can't be numbred , and what can't be numbred , they call a Singular Substance : But they expresly reject ( as the Catholick Fathers did ) Singularity in the sense of Solitude , as it signifies one alone by himself , without any Communion or Fellowship ( consortium ) with any other in the same Divine Essence . And therefore the Master of the Sentences expresly distinguishes between Diversity , Singularity or Solitude , and Unity and Trinity , Distinction and Identity . Now let any man judge , what that Unity is , which is not Singularity or Solitude , but a Unity in Trinity ; and what that Distinction is , which is perfect Identity without any Diversity : For my part I can make nothing of it , but this perfect Sameness and Identity of Nature in Three , which numbers Persons , but not Natures . Estius takes notice of that Objection against the Trinity , That the Father is God , and the Son is God , therefore the Father is the Son ; which Consequence is resolved into that Maxim , Quaecunque eadem sunt uni tertio , eadem sunt inter se , whatever things are the same with the same Third , are the same with each other : To which he answers , That this Rule holds true only where the Third is a perfect Singular : Deus autem non prorsus singulare nomen est , but God is not upon all Accounts a name of Singularity , that is , does not signify One only who is God ; but signifies such a Singular Nature as is communicable to Three , Significat enim Naturam Singularem , sed quae communicari possit tribus suppositis : That is , It is not a Singular Nature , with the Singularity of solitude , because it is communicable , and can subsist distinctly in Three , but only with the Singularity of Identity , as he explains it from St. Hilary , Dist. 23. Sect. 4. to which he refers his Reader . So that though the Schools did use this Phrase of a Singular Nature and Substance , which the Catholick Fathers rejected as Sabellianism , yet they did not use it in that Sense , which the Father 's rejected , for One Solitary Nature , which can be but One Person ; and therefore Estius observes , that Aquinas uses this name of Singularity , when applied to the Divinity , non simpliciter , sed cum cautela , not simply and absolutely , but with caution , and qualifies it with ut sic liceat loqui , if I may have leave so to speak : And he imitates this Caution himself , Dist. 23. Sect. 1. when he tells us , That the Divine Essence may quodam sensu in a certain sense be said to be individual , as it neither is a Genus nor Species , but res una numero , & ut it a dicamus singularis , numerically One , and if we may say so , Singular ; though it be not individual , in the sense that Boetius defines a Person to be an Individual Substance , because it is not incommunicable . This shews , That though the Schools have in this Question changed the Ancient Catholick Language , by teaching , That the Divine Essence is Vna Numero , & Singularis , One in Number , and Singular ; whereas the Catholick Fathers denied that God was One in Number , but only in Nature , and denied the Singularity of the Divine Nature ( which Confusion , and appearing Contradiction of Terms occasions great Mistakes ) yet they meant the very same thing , and their Philosophy about Singularity and Number was the same : For they taught a Communicable Singularity of Nature , which is opposed to a Sabellian Solitude , and rejected the numbring Number from the Divinity . They universally deny , That God is One in that sense of Unity , which is the beginning of Number : For Number is a Species of Quantity , & nascitur ex divisione continui , is made by Division ; and to assert God to be One in this Sense , is to ascribe Quantity to him ; for nothing can be thus One , but what has Magnitude and Figure , that is , nothing but Body ; for Number , as it is a Species of Quantity , can belong to nothing , but Body , which has divisible Parts , and Extensions , and Magnitude , which may be One or more . This is certainly true , as to that kind of Number , which is a Species of Quantity ; for that can measure only such things as have Quantity : But then they were sensible , that other Beings are numbred besides Bodies , even Incorporeal Spirits , who have no Quantity , Parts , or Divisibility , and yet these we number , when we say , a Hundred , or Thousands , or Millions of Angels . This they own , and call it a Transcendental Number , that is , such a Number as is not reduced to the Predicament of Quantity : But that is little to the purpose ; if Spirits , which have no Quantity may be numbred , what is it that makes a Number in them ? And why may not Number then belong to the Divinity , though it be not quantum , have no Predicamental , that is , Corporeal Quantity ? To this they answer , That this Transcendental Vnity adds no form to the thing , but only signifies the thing it self , as undivided from it self : Well! But if this be all , then God , who is thus indivisible from himself , may as properly be called One , as One Angel is said to be One : No , say they , For to entitle any thing even to this Transcendental Numerical Unity , ratione rei subjectoe Naturam ejus designat ut limitatam , atque extra res alias positam , it must be considered to have a Finite and Limited Nature , and to subsist separately from all other Beings , and to be diversified from each other in Nature or Qualities . Res una ab alia , Natura vel qualitatibus discreta intelligitur . But now Unity in God , though it resemble this Transcendental Unity , as adding no Form to God ; that is , not supposing him to be Corporeal , as the Predicamental Unity does , yet it does not signify any thing limited and finite in God ; but only his Undivided Inseparable Being : As Number in God ( that is , the Trinity ) does signify the real distinction of Three , Non ita tamen , ut ea plura Natura vel Qualitatibus discreta intelligantur , & singula suis velut limitibus circumsepta . But not so , as if these Three were distinguished and separated by Nature and Qualities , or as if each of them had their own Separate and Circumscribed Bounds and Limits . This is the Account Estius gives us of Unity and Number in God , dist . 24. sect . 1. which perfectly agrees with that Account I have already given of this matter from St. Basil : That an Infinite , Undiversified , Indivisible Nature ( as the Eternal Divinity is ) is neither One nor Three , in the same Sense , and for the same Reasons , which give these Denominations to any Created Beings . And therefore there are no Arguments in Nature to confute the Unity of the Godhead from a Trinity of proper Subsisting Persons , nor a Trinity of Persons from the Unity of the Godhead , because Three and One in God do not signify what they do in Creatures . This appeared a great difficulty to the Master of the Sentences , That since we neither allow of Diversity nor Singularity , Multiplicity nor Solitude in the Trinity , what should be the meaning of One , and Two , and Three , of Trinity and Plurality , and Distinction , as when we say , One God , Two Persons , Three Persons , more Persons , distinct Persons ; or a distinction of Persons , Plurality of Persons , a Trinity of Persons , which seems to ascribe a Numerical Quantity , a Multitude and Multiplicity to God. To this the Master answers , That these words , when applied to God , are rather intended to remove every thing from God , which is inconsistent with the Perfect Simplicity of the Divine Nature , than positively to affirm any thing of him : This Answer does not please Estius , because it seems to imply , that God is not in a true and proper Sense One and Three ; but this is his own Mistake : For Peter Lombard meant no more but this , That though God be in the most perfect sense One and Three , yet those positive Ideas , which we have of One , or Two , or Three , of Distinction , and Trinity , when applied to Creatures , do not belong to the Divine Nature ; and therefore we must conceive of them in God , rather by way of Negation , than by any positive Ideas , by denying such things of God , as are inconsistent with the Perfect Simplicity of his Nature ; which is true of most other Divine Perfections , that we have rather a negative than positive conception of them , as attributed to God ; for Wisdom , and Power , and Goodness in God , are no more reducible under the Predicament of Quality , as they are in Creatures , than the Unity of God is reducible to the Predicament of Quantity . Thus he tells us , when we say One God , we thereby exclude more Gods , but do not attribute the quantity of Number to God ; that is , we do not mean that there is One God , in that Notion of One as it is the beginning of Number , which is a Species of Quantity , for so nothing can be One , but what has Quantity , which God has not : Thus when we say , One Father , and One Son , the meaning is , that there are not many Fathers , nor many Sons . When we say there are more Persons , we exclude Singularity and Solitude , but do not introduce Diversity or Multiplicity into the Divine Nature . Thus Three Persons does not signify the Quantity of Number , or any Diversity ( as it is in Creatures ) but only determines our Thoughts to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , that each of these Persons is in the Godhead , and none else . Distinct Persons , or Distinction of Persons , excludes Confusion and Mixture ; signifies that they are Another and Another , without any Diversity , or Sabellian Confusion . The meaning of which is , That we must not form such a Notion of One God , as we have of One Man , nor of Three Persons , as of Three Men ; but must acknowledge One God , in opposition to more Gods , or more Divinities ; and Three Persons , in opposition to Singularity and Solitude in the Divinity : All which resolves it self into the Unity of Identity , which excludes both all manner of Diversity , and Singularity and Solitude . SECT . VII . Concerning the Distinction of Persons in the Unity and Identity of the Divine Essence . THIS fairly brings me to the Third Enquiry I proposed , concerning the Real Distinction of the Divine Persons , in the perfect Sameness and Identity of Nature ; how we can distinguish Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , when their Nature is perfectly One , by the Unity of Identity and Sameness . This is the Seat of most of those nice distinctions which we meet with both in the Fathers and Schools , and therefore it deserves to be carefully examined ; for a sensible Account of this Matter would answer many great Difficulties in the Doctrine of the Trinity : And to this purpose I shall first give a general Account of it , according to those Principles which I have now laid down ; and then more particularly explain what the Fathers and Schools say of it ; which will appear to be no such Mysterious Nonsense , as the Adversaries of our Holy Faith would represent it to be . 1. The general Account of this is very short : The Catholick Fathers universally teach , That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are each of them by himself in his own proper Person , True and Perfect God : That the same One Whole Undivided Divinity subsists distinctly in each of them : That the Person of the Father , as he is True and Perfect God , is the whole Divinity ; That the Person of the Son , as True and Perfect God , is also the same One Whole Divinity ; and so of the Holy Ghost : That this Divinity is One and the Same , not by an Unity of Singularity and Solitude , which is irreconcilable with the Notion of a Real Trinity ; for One Singular Divinity can be but One Single Divine Person ; but by the Unity of Sameness and Identity , which admits of a Trinity of subsisting Persons in the same undiversified Nature : That whatever the Father is , That the Son is , and that the Holy Ghost is . That a Divine Person is nothing but the Divine Nature and Essence ; for the perfect absolute Simplicity of God admits of no imaginable Composition , not so much as of Nature and Suppositum , or that which is the subject of all Natural Powers , as it is in Created Beings . This makes it very evident that these Divine Persons are not distinguished by Nature ; for there is nothing in Nature to distinguish them , it being perfectly and invariably the same in all ; and where there is no distinction , there can be no Number ; for which reason they will not allow that the Divine Essence is multiplied with the Persons , there being but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , one and the same Divinity in them all . They agree farther , That the Divine Persons are incommunicable : That the Person of the Father is not , and can never be the Person of the Son ; nor the Person of the Son , the Person of the Father ; nor the Person of the Holy Ghost , the Person either of Father or Son. But then this seems to make the difficulty insuperable ; That if a Divine Person be nothing else but the Divine Nature , how there should be Three such distinct incommunicable Persons in the same undivided , undistinguished Divinity ? Why we may not call Three Divine Persons , who have each of them the whole Divine Nature distinctly and incommunicably , Three Divinities , as well as Three Divine Persons , when a Divine Person is nothing else but the Divinity ? And then Three distinct Persons must be Three distinct Divinities . This Unity and Distinction in the Godhead has always been acknowledged by the Catholick Fathers to be a Great and Inexplicable Mystery , a wonderful Union , and wonderful Distinction . Damascen , as I observed above , tells us , That the Divine Nature , though subsisting in Three Persons , is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , really and actually One , not merely notionally One , as Human Nature is , which subsists only in Individuals , and has a particular , distinct , separate Subsistence in every particular Man , and therefore can be One in its Individuals in no other sense , but only as the same common Notion and Definition of Humanity belongs to them all ; that is , Human Nature is One in all the Men in the World , not by a Real Subsisting , but by a Specifick Notional Unity : But the Divine Nature is One with a Real Subsisting Unity , being perfectly the same in Three , without any Division or Separation : And an indivisible , inseparable , undiversified Same , is really and actually One , according to the most simple Notions we can form of Unity . But what room then does this leave for a Real Trinity of Persons , in this One , Simple , Uncompounded , Indivisible , Inseparable Nature ? To this he answers , That this Real Distinction of Persons in the perfect Unity and Simplicity of Nature , may be known and understood by Reason , though there be nothing in Nature to distinguish them . Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are upon all accounts perfectly One , excepting this , That one is Unbegotten , the other Begotten , and the third Proceeds . We acknowledge One God , distinguished only by these Personal Properties of Paternity , Filiation , and Procession , as a Cause , and that which is caused ; and as each of them has a compleat perfect Hypostasis , distinguish'd only by these different Modes of Subsistence . This proves a Real Distinction , without any Diversity , Division , or Separation , and therefore a Real Distinction in perfect Unity . The Divine Nature is Infinite and Uncircumscribed , and therefore the Divine Persons cannot be divided and separated from each other , but are perfectly in each other , without Confusion . The Divine Nature is perfectly One in Three , by the Unity of Sameness and Identity , and therefore there can be no diversity or division of Will , or Counsel , or Operation , or Power : Now a Nature which is perfectly the same , and undivided , must be perfectly One. But then Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are certainly Three ; for He who begets , is not He who is begotten , for nothing begets it self : To beget , and to be begotten , and to proceed , are the Characters of Persons , and can belong only to True , Real , Substantial Persons : He who begets , must be a Person , and so must He who is begotten , and He who proceeds ; they have each of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , whatever makes a compleat and perfect Person ; but then these Three can never meet in the same Person , and consequently must distinguish Persons ; for the same Person can't be unbegotten , begotten , and proceed ; can 't be the Cause , and that which is caused . This is demonstratively certain , That a begotten and unbegotten Person , and consequently a begotten and unbegotten Nature ( a Divine Person being nothing else but the Divine Nature ) are and must be Two , and never can be each other ; and therefore this distinguishes Persons , though it makes no distinction or diversity in the Divine Essence ; as the Catholick Fathers proved against the Arians , that to be unbegotten , and to be begotten , does not . But to be unbegotten , to be begotten , and to proceed , whatever you will call them , whether Personal Properties , or Modes of Subsistence , though they do not make the Persons , that is , are not the formal Notion of a Person , yet they certainly distinguish them , or prove them to be as distinct and incommunicable , as Unbegotten , Begotten , and Proceeding ; for if these Terms or Characters can never signify each other , then the Persons characterized by them can never be each other : And this is all the distinction that can be in an undistinguished , undiversified , undivided Essence . Well ; but still the difficulty remains , how to distinguish between Essence and Person in God ; for if Person be Nature and Essence , and each Person distinctly in himself be the whole Divine Essence , or the whole Divinity , how can we avoid acknowledging Three Essences , and Three Divinities , as well as Three Persons in the Trinity ? Now the account of this must be taken from the nature of that Distinction and Unity which is in God ; for such a Distinction as does not destroy the Unity , can't multiply Natures , though it distinguishes Persons . Each Person is the Divine Nature , but without any diversity , division , or separation of the Divinity ; and what is Identically and Indivisibly the same , is but One. The Divine Nature , as self-originated and unbegotten , is the Person of the Father ; as communicated by Generation , is the Person of the Son ; as proceeding is the Person of the Holy Ghost , and these are Three ; but the Son is begotten of the Substance of his Father , and the Holy Ghost proceeds from Father and Son , without any diversity , division , or separation of Substance , and therefore the Divinity is but One. The Divine Nature subsists distinctly and incommunicably in Three , according to their distinct Characters of Unbegotten , Begotten , and Proceeding ; and these we call Persons , because they bear some Analogy to Individuals in created Beings , which in an Intelligent Nature are called Persons ; but they are not Three Divinities , because the Divine Nature , though it be distinct , yet is undiversified , and undivided in Three , and therefore is but One in Three . This seems to me a very intelligible Account of a Trinity in Unity , and the difference between Person and Essence , though a Divine Person is the Divine Essence . When we distinguish between Person and Essence , and say there are Three Persons and One Essence , by Essence we mean an undistinguished , undivided Divinity , which is but One ; by Three Persons we mean the Divine Essence , unbegotten , and communicated by Generation , and Procession , which are really distinct Persons , and subsist distinctly , but i● the Unity of an undistinguished and undivided Divinity ; which makes them really and actually Three and One ; the same without diversity , and distinct without division . And this seems to be the reason why the Catholick Fathers , tho they called the Divine Persons Tres Res , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and Tres Subsistentes , Three Things , and Three that subsist , yet were more cautious in calling them Three Natures , or Essences , or Substances ( though there are some Examples of this kind ) , because though the Divine Essence subsists distinctly in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , which makes them Three Distinct , Real , Subsisting Persons , yet the Divine Nature is not distinguished nor separated , but is perfectly One , Same , Undivided Essence ; and therefore Vna Substantia , though not Vnus Subsistens ; One Substance , though not One , but Three , that subsist . What I have thus briefly represented , I hope I have proved in the First Chapter , from the Authority of Scripture , and Reason founded on Scripture : And from what I have already discoursed of the Doctrine of the Fathers , it may appear to careful and intelligent Readers , who use such Application as this Argument deserves and requires , that this is their Unanimous Sense also . But yet as far as it is possible , to clear this Matter more fully , and vindicate the Fathers and Schools from those Obscurities , Inconsistences , and Contradictions which are generally charged on them in so concerning an Article , I shall reassume this Matter , and particularly shew , 1. That what they call a Divine Person , is the Divine Essence and Substance , and nothing else . 2. That this Divine Essence and Substance , as constituting these Divine Persons , is proper and peculiar to each , and incommunicable to one another ; and therefore that this Divine Essence and Substance , as subsisting distinctly in Three , is no more numerically One , than their Persons are One. 3. What difference they made between Nature and Essence , and Hypostasis and Person . 4. Whether the Catholick Faith of a Real and Substantial Trinity , can be as reasonably and intelligibly explained by the Notion of One Singular Substance in the Divinity , as by asserting Three Personal Substances or Suppositums : And whether the Singularity of the Divine Essence in this Notion , deliver the Asserters of it from any Inconveniences and Objections which the contrary Opinion is thought liable to . 1. As for the first , That a Divine Person is the Divine Essence , it is and must be in some sense acknowledged by all who profess the Faith of a Real Trinity ; for there cannot be a Real Trinity of Divine Persons , if each Person be not True and Perfect God , that is , the whole Divinity , or Divine Nature and Essence . And therefore those who assert in the strictest sense the Singularity of the Divine Essence , yet assert , That this One Singular Essence subsists distinctly in each Divine Person ; which , whether it be to be understood or not , yet is an acknowledgment that there is no conceiving a Divine Person without the Divine Essence : But we need not be beholden to any man for this Concession , for the thing is plain and evident in all Catholick Writers . Petavius has very critically observed the different use of Words in Catholick Writers , relating to this Venerable Mystery ; such as Essence , Nature , Substance , Hypostasis , Subsistence , Person , &c. which sometimes occasioned great Misunderstandings between them , and is to this day made a pretence of charging the Fathers with great Uncertainty and Obscurity , and with contradicting each other , and themselves . This of late has been much insisted on , in order to disparage the Authority of ● , as Zealous , Contentious Bigots , who neither understood one another , nor themselves , nor the Catholick Faith , but so confounded Terms , that we can never certainly know what they meant ; or used such dangerous Terms , that if we rely too much upon them , we m●y easily m●stake H●resy for the Catholick Faith. Were this true , our Case would be very bad ; but two or three Observations will set this matter in a clear light . 1. That very Ambiguity which the Fathers are charged with in the use of Words , does certainly prove , that by a Divine Person , they meant the Divine Essence , Nature , and Substance . The plain Case is this . The Catholick Fathers did universally own and profess a Trinity in Unity , Three Persons , and One God ; So that there was no difference in their Faith , how different soever their words were : The most common Terms , whereby they exprest the Unity of the Godhead , were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Vna Esse●●●● , Vna Natura , Vna Substantia ; One Ess●nce , One N●ture , One Substance ; and a Trinity they called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Three Hypostates ; and the Latins Three Persons ; but sometimes we meet in undoubted Catholick Writers wi●● the direct contrary Expressions , such a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Tres Substantiae , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Three Essences , Three Natures , Three Substances , and One Hypostasis : The usual way of reconciling this seeming Contradiction is by saying , That when these Fathers use such Expressions , as Three Essences , Three Natures , Three Substances , they do not understand this of Three divers , or specifically different , Essences , Natures , Substances , which is Arianism , but of Three Persons ; and when they affirm , that there is but One Hypostasis , they do not by One Hypostasis mean One Person , which is Sabellianism , but One Nature , Essence , or Substance : As we know this very Controversy about One or Three Hypostases , was thus composed in the Alexandrian Synod , where Athanasius presided : And no doubt but this is the true Solution , since those , who were neither Arians , nor Sabellians , could not understand such Expressions in any other sense . But then the Question still remains , How this Ambiguity should happen , or how it comes to pass , that such contradictory Terms , as One Essence , and Three Essences , One Substance , and Three Substances , One Hypostasis , and Three Hypostases , should both be Orthodox and Catholick . Now the only Account I can give of this matter , is this ; That these Terms , Essence , Nature , Substance , Hypostasis ( which originally signifies Substance , of which more presently ) may signify , as the Philosopher speaks , either the First or Second Substance ; either the common Nature , which has the same notion and definition , common to the whole Kind , as Humanity , which is the same in all Men ; or a Singular Subsisting Nature , and Substance , which in Creatures we call Individuals , and in reasonable Creatures , Persons : Now in analogy to this common Specifick Nature , which is one and the same in all its Individuals , the Catholick Fathers taught but One Essence , Nature , Substance , and in this sense but One Hypostasis in the Godhead , that is , a Consubstantial Trinity , in analogy to the several Individuals of the same Species , in whom only this common Nature did really and actually subsist ; they ordinarily asserted Three Hypostases , sometimes , as we see , Three Natures , and Essences , and Substances , in the Trinity , that is , Three Real , Substantial , subsisting Persons ; and in this sense , Three Essences , Three Natures , Three Substances , was accounted Catholick Doctrine . St. Hilary allows Tria in Substantia , or Tres Subs●antias , Three in Substance , or Three Substances , for Tres Subsistentium Personas , Three Subsisting Persons . And St. Greg. Nyssen , in answer to Eunomius , who asserted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Three Essences , or Substances , says , That if he understood this distinction of Substances only in opposition to Sabellius , who gave three Names to one Suppositum , or Substance , that not only he , but all Catholick Christians , assented to it : His only fault being in this Case , that he uses improper words , Three Essences , for Three Hypostases . Now that which I observe from hence is this , That had they not believed each Divine Person to be distinctly by himself the Divine Nature , Essence , and Substance , there could never have been any occasion for this Dispute about One Essence , Nature , Substance , Hypostasis , and Three Essences , Natures , Substances , Hypostases ; nor for that known Distinction , by which they reconciled this difference between Essence and Hypostasis , that the first signifies something analogous to a Common Specifick Nature , the second to Individuals . If the Divine Nature subsisted in Singularity , or were but One Singular Subsisting Nature , Essence and Hypostasis must signify the same thing ; for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Essence is Substance , and so is Hypostasis , and in this sense , they must both signify a first Substance , and then one singular Subsisting Nature or Substance ; and three singular Subsisting Natures and Substances , is an irreconcilable Contradiction . Had the Singularity of the Divine Nature been the Catholick Faith , we should never have heard of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , of the Common Nature and Essence of the Divinity ; for Singular and Common are express Contradictions , and a Singular Subsisting Nature can have nothing thing analogous in it to a Common Specifick Nature : If each Divine Person be not the Divine Nature ▪ Essence , Substance , there can be no Pretence , that Essence and Substance should ever signify a Person , nor can any Interpretation make Three Essences and Substances Catholick Doctrine , if there be no sense , wherein Three Persons may Orthodoxly be called Three Essences and Substances ; as there can't be , if a Person , as a Person , be not Essence and Substance : And on the other hand , if Hypostasis , which is the peculiar and appropriate Name whereby the Greek Fathers denote a Person , do not signify Essence and Substance , it could never be Orthodox to say , that there is but One Hypostasis , no more than it is to say , that there is but One Person in the Trinity . 2. But to set aside this Dispute concerning Three Essences , Three Natures , Three Substances , and One Hypostasis in the Trinity , which though allowed to be Catholick , yet were sparingly and cautiously used , because they were liable to Heretical Senses ; I observe farther , That these words , Essence , Nature , Substance , are distinctly applied to each Person of the Holy Trinity , which could not be Orthodox , were not each Person distinctly in himself , Essence , Nature , Substance . What I have already discoursed with relation to Sabellianism , and upon several other occasions , sufficiently proves this , and I shall not trouble my Readers with a needless Repetition : Petavius owns it , and has given several Instances of it , That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Essentia , Natura , Substantia , do not always signify the common Essence of the Divinity , but the Divine Persons ; that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is the Person of the Father , and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Person of the Son , which is undoubtedly true ; but still Essence signifies Essence , and Nature Nature , and Substance Substance ; and the only reason he has to say , That in this construction the Words signify a Person , is because they are used singularly , and construed with the name of a Person , as the Essence and Substance of the Father , or of the Son : But this is no reason , if the Essence be not the Person ; if the Essence of the F●ther do not signify that Essence which is the Person of the Father ; and the Essence of the Son , that Essence which is the Person of the Son : For if a Divine Person be not the Divine Essence , Essence can never signify Person : And yet if they do believe that each Divine Person is by himself in his own Person Essence and Substance , the whole undivided Divinity , I cannot imagine the reason of this Criticism , why they should be more afraid to say the Essence and Substance of the Father , than the Person of the Father , unless it be , that this does not so well agree with their Notion of the singularity of the Divine Essence , as I doubt indeed it will not , especially if we add , the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Unbegotten and begotten Substance , the one the Person of the Father , the other of the Son ; of which more hereafter ; but this is not to learn our Faith from the Fathers , but to expound them by our preconceived Opinions . 3 dly , I observe farther , That all those words , which are more peculiarly appropriated to signify the Divine Persons , were always used by Catholick Writers in the notion of Substance , and were never thought Catholick in any other sense . Hypostasis is the most received word among the Greek Fathers , to signify a Person ; and One Essence and Three Hypostases was the Catholick Language . Now it is agreed on all hands , That Hypostasis literally signifies Substance ; and as I have already observed , the only dispute about it was , that some by Hypostasis understood the Common Nature and Substance in the notion of Essence , and for that reason asserted , That there is but One Hypostasis , as there is but One Essence in the Trinity ; others understood a singular Subsisting Nature and Substance , and in this sense asserted Three Hypostases ; but none of them ever understood Hypostasis in any other notion , but that of Substance , either a Common , or Individual Substance : And to prevent this Ambiguity , as far as they could , which might conceal very different Heresies , Sabellianism on one hand , and Arianism on the other , and many times occasioned the Orthodox to suspect each other of these opposite Heresies , though Essence and Hypostasis signified much the same thing , yet they appropriated the name Essence to signify a Common Nature and Substance , and Hypostasis to signify Individuals : As we learn from St. Basil , Greg. Nyssen , Damascen , and many other Catholick Writers , who assign this difference between Essence and Hypostasis . But yet this did not wholly silence this Dispute among the Greeks , much less did it satisfy the Latin Fathers , who knew no difference between Essentia & Substantia , but translated the Homoousion by Vnius Substantiae ; and therefore it was as great Heresy to them to say Three Substances ( as they translated the Greek Hypostases ) as to say Three Essences in the Trinity : St. Austin professes , That he knew not what the Greeks meant by One Essence , and Three Substances ; and for the same reason , it is well known , St. Ierom rejected Three Substances , for both by Essence and Substance they understood a Common Nature , which made it Heresy indeed to assert Three Substances , which in this acceptation of the word must signify Three divers Substances , which specifically differ : And therefore tho they did not reject the Greek Faith , but did believe as heartily as they , that each Person by himself was perfect Hypostasis and Substance , and rejected the Sabellian One Hypostasis , and One Substance ; yet they did not like the Phrase of Three Hypostases , and Three Substances ; for they knew no difference between Three Substances and Three Essences , and by both understood Three different Kinds and Species of Beings . And for this Reason , both to secure the Catholick Faith from such a diversity and dissimilitude of Nature , as Three Essences and Substances may signify , and from a Sabellian Unity and Singularity , they chose such words , as signified a Real Perfect Subsisting Being , but did not immediatly and formally signify Essence and Substance , tho they did necessarily suppose and connote it . Such among the Greeks are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , among the Latins , subsistentia , suppositum , res , ens : Existence , Subsistence , Subject , Suppositum , Thing , Being , which every one sees , must signify something as real , as Essence , and Substance , and must necessarily include Essence and Substance in their very notion ; and that thus they were used by the Catholick Fathers , Petavius proves by numerous Quotations , which the Reader may consult at his leisure . And though some of these words are sometimes used singularly of all Three Divine Persons in the notion of a Common Essence and Substance , as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , res , in which sense St. Austin called the Trinity unam summam rem , yet both Fathers and Schoolmen did without any scruple use them in the plural number , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , tres subsistentiae , tres res , tria supposita , tria entia realia , that the Divine Persons were Three Existences , Three Subsistencies , Three Suppositums , Three Things , Three Real Beings ; and why not then Three Essences , and Three Substances , since every suppositum , every Thing , every Real Being , is Essence and Substance ; the reason of which is plainly this , That Essence and Substance , unless qualified with some limiting Adjuncts , signify the formal Reasons of things , and can't be multiplied without diversity ; whereas the other Terms signify nothing but Real and Actual Existence , which does not diversify , and therefore not multiply , the Essence ; for Three Suppositums , Three Subjects , Three Things , Three Real Beings , may have One Essence , Nature , and Substance , formally , identically , and invariably the same . But there is some dispute about the use of those words , Existence and Subsistence . Petavius observes a great difference between the Ancient and Modern use of them : That the Ancients used them in a Concrete Sense for Person and Substance , that which does really exist and subsist , as he proves by several Quotations ; but that the Schoolmen use them in an abstract Sense , for the modifications of Substance , which they call Modes , which together with the Substance constitute what we call Persons ( of which more hereafter ) and this may be true as to some later Schoolmen ; but the more Ancient , and many Modern Schoolmen , retained the Old Catholick use of the words ; and Suarez could trace the Doctrine of Modes no higher than Durandus . Peter Lombard is express in it , That Three Persons are tres subsistentioe , tres entes , Three Subsistencies , Three Beings , and tres subsistentioe vel entes , & subsistentioe vel subsistentes , Subsistencies or Beings , Subsistencies or those that subsist . Thus Tho. Aquinas tells us , That Persons are res subsistentes , subsisting things : And in answer to that Objection against a plurality of Persons in the Godhead , that a Person , according to Boetius , being rationalis naturoe individua substantia , the Individual Substance of a Rational Nature ; if there be a plurality of Persons in the Godhead , there must consequently be a plurality of Substances ; he tells us , That Substance either signifies the Essence , or the Suppositum ; that in this last sense it is used in the definition of a Person , as appears by the addition of Individual , which is what the Greeks call Hypostasis , and therefore assert Three Hypostases ( Individual Substances ) as we do Three Persons ; but we don't use to say Three Substances , by reason of the equivocal use of the word , lest we should be thought to assert Three Essences in the Godhead . From whence it is plain , that by Three Subsistencies , Tho. Aquinas understood Three that subsist ; Three Individual Substances , in the Notion of Three distinct Supp●situms , though not of Three different Essences ; for this is the true distinction he makes between Suppositum and Essence , that they both signify Substance , but the one signifies as Matter , and the other as Form ; and therefore the Plurality of Suppositums of Subsistencies does not multipl●●●e Essence or Form , for Three may be perfectly One in Nature and Essence ; but to multiply Essences , to say there are Three N●tures , or Three Essences , is to diversify them , and to make Three Gods specifically and essentially different . After this , I need not add much concerning the Notion of Person . The Ciceronian sense of this word ( too much in use of late ) , wherein the same Man may be said to sustain several Persons , according to his different Relations , Offices , and Quality , has ( as I have observed before ) been rejected by all Catholick Writers , as Sabellianism . St. Austin , generally speaking , is the Text to the Master of the Sentences , and He to the Schoolmen ; and that Father is express in it , that Person is Essence and Substance ; that the Person of the Father is the Essence and Substance of the Father : From whose Authority P. Lombard concludes , That Person is used in the Notion of Substance ; That when we say the Father is a Person , the sense is ▪ the Father is the Divine Essence . He observes from the same Father , that the Latins used Person in the same sense that the Greeks used Hypostasis , which in Latin literally signifies Substance ; but yet they were very cautious of saying Three Substances , as the Greeks did Three Hypostases ; because though the Greeks distinguished between Essence and Substance , that Essence expressed the formal Nature of things , Substance what in Creatures we call the Matter or Suppositum , yet the Latins knew no such distinction ; and therefore Three Substances to them was the same with Three Essences , which would assert a diversity in the Divine Nature : And this he shews was the only Objection St. Hierom had against Three Substances , or Three Hypostases , which he allowed in the Notion of Tres Personas subsistentes , Three subsisting Persons , but not of Three Natures or Essences ; and this Solution he acquiesces in , That Tres Personoe sunt Tres Substantioe , scilicet , Tres Entes , pro quo Groeci dicunt Tres Hypostases ; That Three Persons are Three Substances , that is , Three Real Beings , which the Greeks call Three Hypostases . And though he observes that Person may sometimes signify that Personal Property whereby one Divine Person is distinguished from another , yet he will not allow us to call Three Persons Three Properties , but Three Subsistencies , or Three Hypostases ; for the Property is not the Person , but only distinguishes Persons ; of which more hereafter . And he reduces the several acceptations of Person , as used in the Doctrine of the Trinity , to these three . 1. That it sometimes signifies the Divine Essence , as it does when we speak singularly of any One Person ; for the Person of the Father is the Divine Essence , and so of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost . 2. Subsistencies and Hypostases , as when we speak in the Plural Number , Three Persons are Three Subsistencies , Three Hypostases , but unius Essentioe , of one and the same Essence . 3. A Property , as when we distinguish the Persons by their Personal Properties . Thomas Aquinas , and generally the Schools , receive and vindicate that Definition which Boetius gives of a Person , That it is the Individual Substance of a Rational Nature , as I have already observed , whereby they expresly tell us , that they understand Aristotle's Substantia Prima , or a Subsisting Individual . St. Austin thought that the Greeks might as well have used Prosopon as Hypostasis , for what the Latins called Person ; and why they rather said Hypostasis , he could not tell , unless perhaps the Propriety of their Language required it ; and this was the truth of the Case ; for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was a very ambiguous word , taken originally from the Stage , as Persona also was , and signified that Vizor which was put over the Face , to represent the Person whom they intended to act , and so was used to signify a mere Appearance and Representation , not a Real Subsisting Person ; and therefore St. Basil tells us , That the Sabellians who owned but One Essence and Hypostasis in God , yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that the Scripture represented God under different Personal Appearances , sometimes as the Father , sometimes as the Son , or Holy Spirit ; and adds , That therefore those who affirm that Father , Son and Holy Ghost are but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One in Subject , Hypostasis , or Suppositum , but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Three perfect Persons , or Prosopa , or Appearances , justify the Charge of Sabellianism imputed by the Arians to the Catholicks . And in another place he tells us , That those who say that Essence and Hypostasis are the same , are forced to acknowledge 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , only different Prosopa , o● Appearances ; and while they are afraid to own 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Three Hypostases , they relapse into the Sabellian Heresy . And therefore Petavius truly observes , That though the Catholick Fathers did not scruple the use of this term Prosopon , yet they used it in the sense of Hypostasis ; and the Notion of Hypostasis joined with Prosopon , makes up the true Catholick Notion of a Person , as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which , as he says , proves that these Persons have not one simple 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Suppositum , nor are merely different Functions and Energies of the same Individual Being , but that the Diversity and Multiplicity is in the Subject it self , and that there are Three truly and really distinct , and that subsist distinctly . This I hope is a sufficient Proof of the first thing proposed , That a Divine Person is the Divine Essence and Substance ; but I added also , That it is nothing else ; and I must speak something briefly to this . The absolute Simplicity of the Divine Nature , which admits of no kind of Composition , neither of Parts , nor of Substance and Accident , nor of Nature and Suppositum , that which has , and that which is had , is the universal Doctrine both of the Catholick Fathers and Schools , as I need not prove ; and the necessary Consequence of this is , That a Divine Person can be nothing else but the Divine Nature , Essence , and Substance ; for were a Divine Person the Divine Nature and something else , there must be a Composition in the Divine Nature , something superadded to it , to make it a Person . The Unity of the Divine Nature in a Trinity of Persons , as I have shewn at large , is resolved into the perfect invariable S●meness and Identity of Nature ( the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) in Three ; and therefore each Divine Person must be the whole Divine Nature and Essence , and nothing else ; for otherwise the Divine Essence could not be perfectly one and the same in Three , but would be distinguished and multiplied by some new Accidents and Modifications , as Human Nature is in distinct Human Persons . A Trinity of Persons is a known Objection against the absolute Simplicity of the Divine Nature ; and the Answer to it is as well known , That those Relations which distinguish Persons , make no Composition in the Divine Nature ; and then a Person can be nothing else but the Divine Nature , if there be no Composition to make a Person : But of this more presently . 2 dly . The next thing I proposed was this , That according to the Doctrine both of Fathers and Schools , the Divine Essence and Substance , as subsisting distinctly in Three , is proper and peculiar to each , and incommunicable to one another . This is so universally acknowledged by all who own real and substantial Persons , that I need say little of it . I have produced several express Testimonies already out of the Fathers to this purpose ; and indeed to say , That the Substance of each Person is proper and incommunicable , is no more than to say that their Persons are incommunicable ; that the Father is not , and never can be the Son , nor the Son the Father , nor the Holy Spirit either Father or Son ; which is what they meant by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , properly and appropriately Father and Son ; that the Father never was nor can be a Son , nor the Son a Father . Thus their different Characters prove an incommunicable distinction between them : The Son is the Image of God , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a Living Substantial Image ; but the Image , tho by an Identity of Nature it is the same with the Prototype , yet it is not and never can be the Prototype ; not imaginale , but imaginalis imago , as Victorinus Afer speaks ; not the Person , nor Personal Substance of the Father , but the express Image of his Person and Substance . In Boetius's Definition of a Person by individua substantia , the Schools , as far as I have observed , universally understand incommunicabilis substantia , an incommunicable Substance ; and therefore , as I observed before , though they assert the Divine Essence to be singularis , yet it is singularis communicabilis , a communicable Singular ; but a Person is substantia individua , or singularis incommunicabilis , a singular incommunicable Substance . Now this started a great Difficulty ; How the Essence and Substance of the Father , which is but One , can be both communicable and incommunicable . The Person of the Father , which is his Divine Essence , is incommunicable , and yet the Father communicates his own Divine Nature and Essence to the Son and Holy Spirit , without communicating his Person . Of the same Nature is what the Schools teach concerning the Divine Generation and Procession . They allow that the Father does truly and properly , not metaphorically , beget the Son , and that the Son is truly and properly begotten ; and that the Father by Divine Generation communicates the Divine Essence to the Son ; and that the Son has all that he has from the Father , and is all that the Father is , excepting that he is not the Father , but the Son : And yet they will not allow that the Divine Essence either begets , or is begotten , or proceeds . They have a great Authority against them in this , as they all own ; for the Fathers made no scruple to say , That God begat God , Essence Essence , Wisdom Wisdom , Life Life ; and that the Son is begotten , and only begotten God , God of God , Light of Light , Wisdom of Wisdom , and begotten Wisdom . Upon these Authorities Richardus Victorinus contends earnestly , that we ought in plain terms to own , That Substance begets Substance , and that those who deny it , reject the Doctrine of all the Catholick Fathers : But Peter Lombard , and most other Schoolmen , especially since the Council of Lateran , justify themselves in this matter , by saying , That the Fathers intended no more in such expressions , than what they themselves own , though they reject that way of speaking . When the Fathers taught , That God begat God , Essence Essence , Substance Substance , Wisdom Wisdom , Life Life , they meant no more , than that the Father , who is God , Essence , Substance , Wisdom , Life , begat his Son , who is also truly and really God , Essence , Substance , Wisdom , Life ; and the reason why they rather chose to say , That the Father , who is God , and Essence , and Wisdom , begets the Son , who is God , and Essence , and Wisdom , &c. than to say , That God begets God , Essence Essence , Wisdom Wisdom , is this , Because God , and Essence , and Wisdom , &c. signify absolutely , and so may multiply Gods , Essences , Wisdoms ; as when we say Man begets a Man , the begotten Man is as absolutely a Man , as he who begets ; and he who begets , and he who is begotten , notwithstanding their relation , are two absolute Men : And therefore , to prevent all such mistakes , and to secure the Catholick Faith of the Real Distinction of Persons and Suppositums in perfect Unity , without the least diversity or multiplication of Essence , they attributed Active Generation to the Person of the Father , and Passive Generation to the Person of the Son ; which proves a Real Distinction of Persons and Suppositums ( for he who begets cannot be he who is begotten ) , and yet preserves the Unity and Identity of the Divine Nature . But how can this be , if Person and Essence , Suppositum and Nature be the same , as it is in God ? For then if the Person be begotten , the Essence , which is that Person , must be begotten also ; and if the Person begets , the Essence must beget . Now this is in some sense true ; and therefore the Catholick Fathers promiscuously used these terms ; That the Father begets a Son , or God begets God , or Essence begets Essence ; and the Schools themselves own , That the Father , who is God , begets the Son deitatem habentem , who has the Divinity , the Divine Nature and Essence , and has it by his Generation and Birth ; which in reality is the same , though they thought the expression less liable to mistake . For the truth of the Case is this ; The Schools , that asserted the perfect Singularity of the Divine Essence , fenced against all Expressions of an absolute signification , which multiplied Natures ; for Two absolute Natures cannot be singularly One ; and therefore would not say , that Nature and Essence begets , or is begotten ; for in these Propositions , the terms Nature and Essence , unless qualified and restrained , signify absolutely , and so infer Two absolute Natures and Essences , that which begets , and that which is begotten ; and therefore they rather call this a Communication than a Generation of Nature , because this last signifies relatively : That which is communicated , may be a Singular Nature , which subsists distinctly in more than one , but with a necessary relation to its Original , and such a Communication does not multiply Natures , but only Essential Relations . And this is the difference they made between Deus & Deitatem habens , God , and one who has the Divinity ; that God signifies absolutely , an Absolute Independent Divinity , which has no relation or communication with any other ; but One who has the Divinity , may signify One , who has it , not originally and absolutely , but by communication from another , and in an Essential Relation to him , as the Son and the Holy Spirit have , which is the same Divinity in Three , and but One in Three . And therefore I think the Schools were very much in the right , for rejecting Tres Dii , Three Gods , when at the same time they owned Tres Deitatem habentes , Three who have the Divinity , for these do not signify the same thing : The first , unless qualified , is Polytheism ; the second , the Christian Trinity in Unity ; though I confess , I should not chuse to call the Father , One who has the Divinity , but simply God , because he is absolutely and originally so , and not by communication ; and for that reason is both in Scripture , and in the Fathers , eminently call●d God , and the One God , whereas the other Divine Per●●●s are the Son of God , and the Spirit of God ; and as Te●●●●●ian observes , never called God , when joined with the Father , though they are , when spoken of distinctly by themselves . For the same Reason the Schools forbid the use of Abstract or Sub●tantive Terms in the Plural Number , when we speak of the D●vine Persons , but allow of Plural Adjectives , because Substantives signify absolutely , and multiply Natures , as well as Persons or Suppositums , but Adjectives may signify relatively , and multiply Persons without multiplying Natures ; as Three Eternals , Three Omnipotents , Three Infinites , in a Substantive sense , signify Three Eternal , Omnipotent , Infinite , Natures , as well as Persons ; but Three , who are Eternal , Omnipotent , Infinite , signify a Trinity of Eternal , Omnipotent , Infinite , Persons , but do not necessarily signify a Trinity of Natures , since these Three may subsist in the same Eternal , Omnipotent , Infinite Nature , and each of them have this Eternal Infinite Nature , and all the same . But still the difficulty remains , if Person or Suppositum and Nature be perfectly the same , How the Father can communicate his Nature , and not his Person ? How there can be Three Incommunicable Persons , and Suppositums , and but One Nature , and that communicable to more than One ? That thus it is , and how it may be , is better explained by an Example , than by any words without it : And I shall instance in a living substantial Image : This is the true Character of the Second Person of the Trinity , that he is so the Son , as to be the Living Perfect Image of God , as has been explained at large elsewhere , as you may find in the Margin . Now every man must confess , that the Prototype and the Image are two distinct Incommunicable Suppositums , the Prototype is not the Image , nor the Image the Prototype ; and yet we must confess , that there is , and must be , but one and the same Nature in both , not Specifically , but Identically the same , for a perfect Image is , and can be nothing but the same that the Prototype is , the same Eternity , the same Life , the same Wisdom , Power , and Goodness , but all this not Personally the same , for their Persons are not , and cannot be the same ; but identically and invariably the same , or else it can't be a true and perfect Image . And this makes it evident , that though Person and Nature be perfectly the same in God , yet when he begets a Son , he neither begets his own Person , nor Nature , which would be to beget himself , which St. Austin , and the Schools after him , reject as absurd ; for an Image of God is neither the Person , nor the Personal Nature of God , but of the same Nature with him , and perfectly the same , there being no other difference between them , but that one is the Prototype , the other the Image ; one the Father , the other the Son. So that when God of his own whole perfect Substance begets a whole , perfect , living , substantial Image , he does not beget himself , but another ; he does not beget his own Nature , nor another Nature like his own , but his own Image , of the same Nature with himself : He begets another Person , who is as truly and perfectly God , as the true , perfect , living , Image of God must be perfect God , but he does not in an absolute sense beget God , neither se Deum , nor alium Deum , as the Schools rightly determine , neither himself God , nor another God ; for he neither begets his own Essence and Divinity , nor another Divinity , but another , who is the perfect Image of his own Divine Essence : And what is here said of the Generation of the Son , as the living subsisting Image of God , must be applied to the Procession of the Holy Spirit , who is the Eternal Spirit of God , as the Son is his Image . This is what the Catholick Fathers call the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that One Divinity , in which they place the Unity of God : That there is but One Absolute Divinity , or Divine Nature , which is the Person of the Father , who is therefore eminently acknowledged to be the One God , as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Fountain of the Divinity , that is , of the Divinity of the Son , and of the Holy Spirit , which are not two other Absolute Divinities , for then they would be two more Gods , besides the Father ; but the Divinity of the Son and Holy Spirit is the same One Divinity of the Father , as an Eternal , Perfect , Begotten , Living Image , and an Eternal Proceeding Spirit , each of which is in himself true and perfect God , and all Three but One God , or One Divinity , not merely because they receive their Divinity from God by an Eternal Generation and Procession , nor as they have a Divinity , or Divine Nature specifically the same with the Father , which alone can no more render them One God , than Father and Son are One Man ; but as the singular individual Divinity of the Father is in the Son and Holy Spirit ; as it is manifest the singular individual Nature of the Prototype is , and must be in its living substantial Image , without which it is not a Natural Image , though it may have a perfect likeness of Nature , if it have an absolute Nature of its own : This is what Tertullian tells us , That there is unus Deus cum oeconomia , One God with his Economy ; and what St. Hilary and others so often tell us , That the Father does not cease to be the One God by having a Son , since the Son is God by Nativity and Birth , and Authoritate Paternoe Naturoe , by having his Father's Nature , who is the One God. And this is all that the Schools mean by the Singularity of the Divine Nature and Essence ; and it is impossible they should mean any thing else , when they teach , that this singular Nature is communicable . They allow , as I have already shewn , that Nature and Person is the same , that each Person is Suppositum and Substance , a singular incommunicable Substance , and therefore that there were Three Suppositums , and in that sense Three Substances in the Trinity ; but not Three Natures and Essences , though each Person be distinctly by himself , the Divine Nature and Essence . Now since what is strictly singular , is Numerically One ; and what is Numerically One , and never can be more , can't be multiplied , as that seems to be , which is communicated , what sense can there possibly be in a singular communicable , which seem to be contradictory Terms ? But this is very good sense , and very Catholick Doctrine , if we understand this Singular Communicable , as the Schools did , of One absolute Divinity , or Divine Nature , which is so singular , that it can be but One , as is demonstrable by Reason : But yet may beget its own essential Image , which is not another Divinity , or another Nature , but it s own singular Nature in its Image , which is another Suppositum and Person , but not another Nature . That this is the Sense of the Schools , and all that they meant by the Singularity of the Divine Essence , is evident from the whole Doctrine of Relations . A Trinity of Proper , Real Persons , each of which is Nature , Essence , and Substance , was made an Argument against the perfect Unity , as well as against the perfect Simplicity of the Divine Nature , for Plurality and Unity are opposed to each other . To this the Schools answer , That a Plurality and Unity of the same kind , are indeed opposite to each other , and cannot be reconciled ; as a Plurality of Natures cannot be reconciled with the Unity of Nature , nor a Plurality of Persons with the Unity of a Person ; but a Plurality of Persons and Unity of Nature may be reconciled , and thus it is with the Trinity in Unity ; for though each Divine Person be the Divine Nature and Essence , yet Three Divine Persons are not Three Absolute Natures and Essences , but Three Relations in One Singular Absolute Nature . SECT . VIII . Concerning the Divine Relations . BUT it will be of great use more particularly to consider this Doctrine of Relations , without which it is impossible rightly to understand what the Schools teach , about a Trinity in Unity : And to reduce it into as narrow a compass as I can , I shall 1. shew , What the Schools mean by Relations in the Divine Nature . 2. Why they insist so much upon Relations . 1. What they mean by Divine Relations . Now they tells us , That they are real Relations , not made by the Mind from some external Respects and Habitudes which it observes between things , but antecedent to all the Acts of Reason in the things themselves : That they are not inherent Accidents , but Substance , and subsisting Relations ; not relative Names and Appellations , but the Relatives themselves ; the Persons related being the Relations , and the Relation the Person ; which are therefore by some called Substantiae Relativae , and Entia Realia Relativa , Relative Substances , and Real Beings , but Relative ; that is , not Absolute Substances , and Absolute Beings , with a Relation , as it is in Creatures , where the Son is as Absolute a Man , and as Absolute a Person as the Father is , though they are related to each other as Father and Son ; but the very Substance and Person is the Relation . Before I shew , That this is the Doctrine of the Schools , the better to understand what they say , and the Reasons of it , it will be necessary to give as plain and intelligible an Idea of this as I can ; especially since I find some Learned Men boggle very much at the Notion of Relative Substances , which are not merely the Subjects of Relations , but the Relations themselves . What their Objection is against this , I can't tell , unless they think that a Relative Substance is not True and Perfect Substance ; which is very far from the Notion of the Schools , who attribute compleat and perfect Subsistence to these Divine Relations or Persons , not as Accidents in their Subjects , nor as Parts in a Whole , which is their Notion of Substance and compleat Subsistence ; but a Relative Substance only signifies such a Substance as is not the Original , but is all that it is from another , which they call the Relatio Originis , not merely such a Relation as is between the Cause and the Effect , which is seldom a substantial subsisting Relation , but the Relation between Substance and Substance , when one Substance , in the notion of Suppositum , is wholly and perfectly derived and expressed from the other . The easiest Representation of this , is the relation between the Prototype or Original , and its Image ; which is not a mere Relation of Likeness and Similitude , but of Origination , that the Image is taken from the Original , which is the foundation of the Relation . Though Two Eggs were never so perfectly alike , yet One is not the Image of the Other , because it is not of the Other , nor its natural Representation , though perfectly like it ; but the Image is that which results from the Object , like a Face in the Glass , or the Impression of a Seal ; and the whole Essence of such an Image , as an Image is relative . And it is the same case as to a living substantial Image of that Life and Substance from whence it proceeds ; it is as perfect Life and Substance it self , as its Original , or else it could not be a natural Image of Life and Substance ; but yet it is Relative Life and Substance , Life of Life , the Prototype begetting its own Image in a perfect Identity and Sameness of Nature , Whole of Whole . And this is the Notion of the Schools concerning Relative Substances , which is intelligible enough . And that this is what they mean by Relations in the Godhead or Divine Nature , is as plain . The Master of the Sentences tells us , That these Names , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , signify the Properties of Paternity , Filiation , and Procession ; for they are Relatives , which speak a mutual respect , and denote Relations , which are not Accidents in God , but immutably in the Persons themselves ; so that they are not mere relative Appellations , but are Relations or Notions in the things themselves , that is , in the Persons . And by this Argument Tho. Aquinas proves , That these are real Relations , and are really in God , because the Father is so called from the Relation of Paternity , and the Son from Filiation ; that were not Paternity and Filiation realiter in Deo , real subsisting Relations in the Divinity , it would follow , That God is not really Father or Son , but only according to different Conceptions , which is the Sabellian Heresy . And proves , That these Relations in God are real , because they are Divine Processions in the Identity of Nature ; that is the Son , who proceeds from the Father in the Identity of the same Nature ; and the Holy Spirit , who proceeds from Father and Son in the Identity of the same Nature : For they called both the Generation of the Son , and the Spiration of the Holy Ghost , Processions , as the Greeks did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; the one processio intellectus , the other amoris . Now these real Processions are Respects in the nature of things , and such Respects are real Relations ; for when any thing proceeds from a Principle of the same Nature , both that which proceeds , and that from which it proceeds , must necessarily be of the same Order , and therefore have a real respect to each other . Divine Processions in the Identity of Nature must be related to each other in the Unity of the same Nature , and must be substantial subsisting Relations ; for they are no other than the Persons themselves , who thus proceed . It is a received Conclusion in the Schools , That a Relation in God is the same with the Divine Essence : That Personal Relations are not reipsa distinguished either from the Persons or the Essence . And Gilbertus Porretanus , who taught the contrary , was forced to recant in the Council of Rhemes . The real Distinction of these Relations in the Unity of the Divine Nature , is another avowed Doctrine of the Schools ; and by a real Distinction they mean a Distinction in re , in the Subject and Suppositum : And this they prove from the real Distinction of Persons , which are distinguished only by Relations : From a real Trinity , which is One in Substance , but multiplied by Relations , ( relatio multiplicat Trinitatem ; ) and therefore unless these Relations be really distinguished from each other , there can't be a Real , but only a Notional Trinity , which is Sabellianism . That these Relations which constitute the Trinity , are opposite Relations , which require distinct Subjects , as Paternity and Filiation , for no man can be Father and Son to himself : That these Divine Relations are real Relations , and therefore must be really distinct or else they are not all real , unless they be really opposed to each other , which makes a real distinction ; and therefore there must be a real distinction in God , not as to any thing absolute ( secundum rem absolutam ) , which is the Divine Essence , which has the most perfect and simple Unity , but secundum rem relativam , with respect to a Relative Being and Subsistence : So that these Relations are Relative Beings ▪ Relative Subsistences , and , as they are sometimes called . Relative Substances , which are really distinct , though not in Nature , yet in their Suppositums ; not as T●ree Absolute Beings , which makes a distinction in Nature , but as Three Real Subsisting Relations , in the Unity of the same Nature . But not ●o multiply words in so plain a Case , I shall observe bu● one thing more to this purpose , and that concerns the Dispute conc●●ning the Number of the Divine Persons . The Catholick Faith owns a Trinity , or only Three Divine Persons in the Unity of the Godhead , Father , Son , and Holy 〈◊〉 ; and it is the known Doctrine of the Schools , That the Relation is the Person ; How comes it to pass then , that when there are Four Relations in the Godhead , Paternity , Filiation , Active Spiration , and Procession , there should be but Three Persons ? Now the Answer , which Aquinas and others give to this Difficulty , is this . That it is not every Relation , but only opposite Relations , which constitute and distinguish Persons ; for more Pers●ns are more subsisting Relations really distinct from each other ; but there can be no real distinction between the Divine Relations , but upon account of their relative opposition : And therefore two opposite Relations must belong to two Persons , but such Relations as are not opposite to each other , must belong to the same Person ; and therefore Paternity and Filiation must belong to two Persons , as being relatively opposed ; and therefore a subsisting Paternity is the Person of the Father , and a subsisting Filiation the Person of the Son : Which can never be one Person , as requiring distinct Suppositums for such opposite Relations : But now the other two Relations , Spiration and Procession are not opposed to either of these , but only to each other : And therefore Spiration does not constitute another Person , as not being opposed either to Paternity or Filiation , and therefore may and does belong both to Father and Son ; but Procession must constitute a Third Person , as opposed to Spiration , and so necessarily distinguished from Father and Son. And therefore , though there are Four Relations , yet one of them , Spiration , is not separated from the Person of the Father , and the Son , but belongs to them both ; nor is it a Property , as not being proper and peculiar to any one Person ; nor is it a Personal Relation , or that which constitutes a Person , and therefore there are but Three Relations , Paternity , Filiation , and Procession , which are Personal Properties , which constitute Persons , and therefore but Three Persons . Now this Answer evidently proves , That by Relations they did not mean meer Habitudes , Respects , and External Denominations ; for then every Relation must of necessity be a Person , and there must be as many Persons , as there are Relations ; but they mean relative Beings , and Subsistencies , and therefore allow no Relations to constitute distinct Persons , but such as necessarily require distinct Subjects ; that is , such opposite Relations , as can never meet in the same Subject ; and therefore their Suppositums must be really distinct , as Paternity and Filiation , for no one can be Father and Son to himself . There is no imaginable Account , why only opposite Relations constitute Persons , but because they distinguish their Subjects ; for when opposite Relations meet in the same Subject , but not in opposition , they do not distinguish and multiply Persons , as the same man may be Father and Son , and but One Person ; but when opposite Relations distinguish their Subjects , as the Divine Relations necessarily do , they multiply Persons too : And no Relations , Properties , Notions , according to the Doctrine of the Schools , constitute a Person , but such as distinguish their Subjects , that Three Persons , and Three Relations , are not Three Respects and Denominations of the same Singular Subject , but Three real distinct Relative Beings , and Subsistencies . 2. Let us now consider , why they insist so much upon the notion of Relations , that when they allow every Divine Relation to be the Divine Essence , Substance , an incommunicable Subsistence and Substance , yet they will not allow us absolutely to say Three Substances , but Three Relations , or Three Relative Beings , Subsistencies , or Substances . And the plain and short account of it is this ; That this is essential to the Unity of God , and gives us the truest and most perfect conception of a Trinity in Unity . As to shew this particularly ; 1. These Divine Relations ( though each of them be incommunicably in his own Person , Essence , and Substance ) secure the perfect Unity of the Divine Essence . For Three Relative Substances are essentially but One Substance , which Three Absolute Substances can never be , though they never so perfectly agree in the same Specifick Notion and Idea . By an absolute Substance , I mean one intire , perfect , individual , whole , which is compleat in it self , and subsists compleatly by it self , without any Internal , Essential Union to , or necessary dependence on , any Being of the same kind : By Relative Substances , I mean , such Substances as are internal subsisting Relations in the same One whole individual Nature : Of Absolute Substances we have as many Instances , as there are particular Creatures in the World ; of Relative Substances we have no instance in Created Nature , but some such Images and Resemblances , as may help us to form an intelligible notion of them . Now it is evident , without any need to prove it , that every compleat absolute Substance , how many soever they are , multiplies the Individuals of the same kind ; Three absolute Human Substances are Three Men , and Three Absolute D●vine Substances would for the same reason be Three Gods ; but it is ●therwise as to Relative Substances , which are ●ubsisting Personal Relations in the same One individu●l Nature ; and it is demonstrable , that the Relations of the same One individual Nature and Substance , can't multiply Natures and Substances , for then they would not be Relations in the same individual Substance , but would be Ab●olute , not Relative Substances . As to explain this by a familiar Example . The Fathers , and after them the Schoolmen , find some Images of the Trinity in Human Souls , as Memory , Vnderstanding . Will ; or which they think a nearer resemblance , Mind , Knowledge , Love : And a late S●cinian is very fond of such a Trinity , as Original Mind , Reflex Wisdom , and Love. Peter Lombard explains this particularly from the Doctrine of St. Austin , and it is evident that all these are very distinct , and never can be each other ; but all have a mutual and necessary relation to each other ; are in each other , and equal to each other , but are but One , One Mind , One Life , One Essence , and One Substance ; because they substantially exist in the same Soul and Mind , not as Accidents in their Subjects , which may be parted , but as Essential Properties and Powers . This our Socinian Adversaries like well enough ; for these distinct Properties and Powers do not multiply Persons , and therefore though they grant something like such distinct Powers in the Divine Nature , yet still there is but One Divine Person , and therefore according to their own Notion , but One God. But this is not the Question , Whether such distinct Faculties , Properties , and Powers , multiply Persons , which we grant they do not , because they do not multiply Natures , and One Individual Human Natu●e is but One Man , or One Human Person ; but the Q●estion is , Whether , if instead of these distinct Powers and Faculties , there were real subsisting Persons , as essentially related to each other in the same Individual Nature , they would any more divide or multiply Nature , than such distinct Powers and Faculties do ? And I am pretty confident , no man can give me any good reason , why Relative Subsistencies , or Personal Relations should any more divide or multiply the Divine Nature , than Relative Powers and Properties divide or multiply Human Nature : For if these Divine Persons are as essentially related to each other in the Divine Nature , as such distinct Powers and Faculties are in Human Nature , a Trinity of Persons must be as essentially One in the same One Individual Divinity , as a Trinity of Powers and Faculties are in the same single Human Nature . It is certain , Three such Divine Persons , though each of them be by himself true and perfect God , are not Three Absolute Divinities , and therefore not Three Gods , but Three Divine Relative Subsistencies in the same One Individual Godhead , and therefore but One God ; as Memory , Understanding and Will , are all that a Mind is , and each of them all that the other is , and yet not Three Minds , but One Mind . This shews the diff●rence between Absolute and Relative Substances ; Three Absolute Substances are always distinctly and separately Three , and can never be any otherwise than specifically One ; but Relative Substances may be essentially One in the same One Individual Nature ; and this is the Account both the Fathers and Schools give of a Trinity in Unity , Three Relations , or Three Relative Substances , or Subsistencies , essentially related to each other in the Unity of the same One Individual Essence . St. Gregory Nyssen has given the most particular Account of this matter in his Catechetical Oration . To convince the Heathens of the Eternal Subsistence of the Divine Word in the Unity of the same Godhead , he lays the foundation of all in that universally received Principle , That the Divinity is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which I translate ( not , irrational , without Reason , or Understanding , but ) not without its Word ; which is not the Personal Wisdom of the Father , whereby the Father is wise , as I have already shewn ( Chap. 3. ) but a Personal , Living , Subsisting , Word : Which answers to that Word which we feel in our own Minds , and which is essential to all Minds , that no Mind can be without its Word ; but is not a vanishing Notion and Idea , or a transient sound , as Human words , but answers to the perfection of the Divine Nature . And therefore as our Mortal Nature has a Vanishing , Perishing Word , so the Incorruptible , and Eternally Permanent , Immutable Nature , has an Eternal Subsisting Word . And ( as he proceeds ) if this Divine Word subsists , it lives ; for it does not subsist like stupid inanimate Stones , but as Mind , and Spirit , which must live , if it subsists ; and if it lives , the absolute simplicity of the Divine Nature , which admits of no composition , proves that he lives , not by a participation of Life , but as Life it self . And if the Word lives , as being Life it self , it must have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a power to do , what it freely wills and chuses . For that which cannot will and chuse ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) does not live ; and an Impotent Will is a contradiction to the Nature of God ; and therefore its Power must be equal to its Will : But this Divine Word can will nothing but what is good , and wills whatever is good ; and being able to effect whatever it wills , is not unactive ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) without doing any thing , but does the good it wills : And since we must acknowledge the World , and all things in it , which are wisely and artificially made , to be good ; all things are the Works of this Living Subsisting Word . This is his Proof , That God has a Subsisting , Living , Almighty , Creating Word , which is another distinct Person from him , whose Word he is . For the Word is a Relative Term , and signifies a Relative Subsistence , and necessarily supposes the Father ; for he is not the Word , but with relation to him , whose Word he is . And by this means he tells us , we may escape both the Polytheism of the Gentiles , and the Singularity of the Iews , by acknowledging the Living , Energetical , Operative Word , which the Iews deny , and the Unity and Identity of Nature , between the Word , and Him , whose Word he is . For as our Word proceeds out of our Mind , and is neither every way the same with the Mind , nor yet upon all accounts another . For that it is of the Mind , proves that is is another , and not the Mind it self ; but as it perfectly expresses and represents the Mind , it cannot be another Nature , but one and the same Nature , though a kind of different subsistence . So the Word of God , by a distinct subsistence of its own , is distinguished from him , from whom he receives his Subsistence and Hypostasis ; but inasmuch as he is all , and the same that God is , he is perfectly one and the same in Nature . This is the Doctrine of all the other Catholick Fathers , as well as of Gregory Nyssen , who resolve the Unity of the Godhead in a Trinity of Persons , into Relative Subsistencies in the same Individual Nature , which no more multiplies Natures and Divinities , to make Two or Three Gods , than the Mind , its Word , and Love , make Three Minds . This is the true and compleat notion of the Homoousion , which ( as I have already shewn ) does not signify a meer Specifick Unity , but the Unity of One Individual , not Singular , Nature in Three ; that Three Real , Distinct , Subsisting Persons are as intimately and essentially related to each other in the same Individual Nature , as a Human Mind and its Word are ; which are not , and never can be two Minds , but one Mind . Two compleat and perfect Minds can never in a proper notion be Consubstantial , or one Substance , though they have the same specifick Nature ; for their Substance is not one and the same , but naturally two , and naturally separable , how closely soever they may be united ; but Three Divine Persons , who are essentially related to each other in the same Divinity , as the Mind and its Word are , are in the strictest notion Consubstantial , or One Substance , being essentially related to each other in the same One Individual Nature and Essence . And here I must take notice of a great mistake , which some Learned Men run into , concerning the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , singular and particular Natures , Substances , and Essences , by which they understand , what some others call Personal Substances ; and conclude , That since Philoponus , and others , who asserted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Three particular Natures and Essences , or Substances in the Godhead , were charged with Tritheism ( as they deserved , if their Opinions be truly represented ) those who assert Three Substantial Persons , or Three distinct Personal Subsistencies or Substances , are liable also to the same Charge . This is a material Objection , and a fair Answer to it will set this whole matter in a clear light . Now the Answer in short is this , That those who rejected the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and charged it with Tritheism , did not thereby understand particular , personal , relative , Subsistencies or Substances , but compleat , absolute , particular Natures and Substances ; not Three Real , Substantial , Subsisting Relations in One Individual Nature , as a Mind , its Internal , Essential , Word , and Spirit , as Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are Three ; but Three absolute particular Natures , as Three Men , each of whom has a compleat , absolute , personal Nature of his own , are Three . Now if this be the true Account , every one sees the difference between Three personal , relative , Substances or Subsistencies of the same Nature , and Three absolute particular Natures ; the first is a real Substantial Trinity , Three Subsisting Infinite Persons in the Unity of the same Godhead . Three Persons , and One God ; the other is down-right Tritheism . And that this is all they meant by particular Individual Natures , I have many Arguments to prove . For 1st . Had they herein condemned distinct , personal , relative Substances , they had condemned the Faith of the Catholick Church , and relapsed into Sabellianism , as abundantly appears from what I have already proved at large . 2 Those very Persons , who charge Philoponus with Tritheism for asserting Three Individual Natures and Essences , do themselves own a Personal Substance . Leontius , as Nic●ph rus tells us , wrote a large Book against Philoponus , and yet he tells us , That the Fathers by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Essence or Substance , and Nature , understood the same thing , and so they did by Hypostasis and Person . That by Essence and Substance , they meant what the Philosophers call a Species ; by Hypostasis and Person , what they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , an Individual Substance : And in this sense he tells us , They acknowledged One Divinity in Three Hypostases , or Three Personal Subsistencies . That there is One Hypostasis ( that is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) of the Father , One Hypostasis of the Son , and One Hypostasis of the Holy Ghost ; that these Three ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) in nothing differ from each other , but only in their Personal Properties , ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) that one is the Father , the other the Son , the other the Holy Ghost : So that Leontius owns Three true proper Persons , each of which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , an Individual Substance , which he asserts to be the true Catholick Ecclesiastical Notion of a Person , and each Person as distinct from each other , as he that begets is from him who is begotten ; and therefore when he condemned Philoponus for his Individual Natures and Essences , he could not by that mean relative , Personal Subsistencies or Substances . Theodorus Abucara ( if he be the Author of that Tract against the Severians , Explanatio vocum , quibus Philosophi utuntur , which I have sometimes suspected to belong to Theodorus Presbyter Raithensis , who promises such an Explication of Philosophical Terms at the end of his Treatise de Incarnatione , I say , this Theodorus , whoever he is ) expresly charges these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Individual Natures and Essences with Tritheism ; and yet throughout that Treatise teaches , That Hypostasis is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a singular Individual Nature ; and so does Anastasius Sinaita in his Hodegos ; and indeed all the Writers of that Age , who asserted against the Severians the Union of Two Natures in One Person in Christ. 3 dly , But we shall soon be satisfied in this matter , if we consider the occasion of this Dispute . The Severians , as they had learnt from their Master Severus , and he from Eutyches , taught , that there was but One Nature , as well as One Person in Christ , and that for this reason , That to assert Two Natures , is consequently to assert Two Persons in Christ , which is Nestorianism ; for every Nature is a Person , that it is impossible there should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a Nature without a Personality of its own , for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Nature and Person , or Hypostasis , are the same . In opposition to this the Catholicks urged , That if Nature and Hypostasis were so the same , that One Hypostasis is One Nature , and One Nature but One Hypostasi● ; then as we assert Three Hypostasis in the Trinity , we must also allow 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Three Individual Natures and Essences in the Trinity . Philoponus saw that this was an unavoidable Consequence , and therefore rather than own Two Natures in One Person in Christ , he chose to assert Three Individual Natures in the Trinity : And for this , he and his Followers were very justly charged with Tritheism . And this shews us , what these Individual Natures were , not Three Relative Personal Subsistencies and Substances in the same One Individual Nature , which is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One Divinity ; but Three Compleat Absolute Divinities , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Three such Divine Natures , as there are Three Individual Human Natures in Three Men : Each of which is by himself , and alone , without communication with any other in the same Individual Nature , One compleat intire Humane Nature , and One Human Person : For this was the rise of the Dispute , concerning the Humanity of Christ. The Catholicks owned the Personality of the Word , but taught that Christ's Humane Nature was so united to his Divinity , as not to be a distinct Human Person , but to subsist in the Person of the Word , which is the true Faith of the Word 's being Incarnate , or made Flesh , which could not be true , if the Person of the Word were not Incarnate , and that could not be true , if the Human Nature in Christ , were a distinct Human Person , as other Men are . On the other hand , the Severians denied the Union of Two Natures in the One Person of Christ , because an Individual Human Nature must be a Person , and then Christ must be two Persons , as well as two Natures : So that this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a compleat absolute Individual Nature , such as an Individual Human Nature is , and three such Individual Natures make three Men , or Three Gods , and to assert Three such Absolute Divinities , is Tritheism ; but this concerns not Personal , Relative , Subsistencies or Substances in the same Individual Nature and Essence ; and therefore the Condemnation of Philoponus , or Valentinus Gentilis , and such kind of Hereticks ( if they did really teach what they are charged with ) cannot aff●ct those , who assert Three real , distinct , substantial , Persons , each of whom is by himself , in his own Person , the whole Divine Nature , Essence , Substance , but are essentially and inseparably related to each other in the Unity of the same Individual Essence . The very asserting three relative , personal Subsistencies , or Substances , in One Individual Nature , is a direct opposition to the Doctrine of Philoponus , and the Severians , that Nature and Person is the same , so the same , that One Nature can be but One Person , and One Person but One Nature , which necessarily overthrows a Trinity of Persons in the Unity of the Divine Essence , and the Union of the Divine and Humane Nature in the One Person of Christ ; but Three Relative Persons and Subsistencies in One Nature , and One Nature and One Person are direct Contradictions , as One Individual Substance , and Three Individual Substances are . Indeed those who deny Three Relative Personal Subsistencies , that is , Three Real , Proper , Substantial Persons , in the Unity of the Divine Nature , go upon the same Principle with Philoponus and the Severians , that One Nature is but One True and Proper Person , or Hypostasis , and therefore there cannot be Three Proper Subsisting Persons in the Unity of One Individual Substance ; which , as Anastatius Sinaita , and the other Catholick Writers of that Age frequently observe , is that fundamental Error , which gave birth to Sabellianism , Arianism , Nestorianism , and Eutychanism ; for as different as these Heresies are , the fundamental Principle is the same , that One Individual Nature is , and can be but One Person , and One Person but One Nature : For this reason Sabellius , who acknowledged the Unity of the Divine Nature , rejected a Trinity of proper Subsisting Persons ; Arius , who owned a Trinity of Persons , denied their Consubstantiality , or Sameness and Identity of Nature ; Nestorius , who owned Two Natures in Christ , asserted also Two Persons ; and Eutyches made Christ but One Nature , as well as One Person ; and in consequence of this Philoponus ( if he was not mistaken ) taught Three Individual Natures , as well as Three Persons in the Godhead . So that to make Nature and Person in the true and proper notion of Person commensurate and convertible Terms ; that a Nature is a Person , and a Person an Individual Nature ; that One Nature is but One Person , and One Person but One Nature ; and that Individual Natures and Persons must always be multiplied with each other , is the fundamental Principle of all the Heresies relating to the Trinity and Incarnation , and then one would think , that those Doctrines which expresly contradict this Principle , and all these Heresies which result from it , should be the true Catholick Faith : And then Three Real , Substantial , Subsisting Persons , or Three Relative Personal Subsistencies , or Substances , in the Unity of the same Individual Essence , or one Godhead , is the True Catholick Faith ; and to reject it upon pretence , that this must multiply Natures with Persons , and so make Three Divinities , and Three Gods , is to return to that condemned Heretical Principle , That One Nature can be but One True and Proper Person ; which , if Men understand the true Consequences of what they say , must inevitably betray them to Sabellianism , Arianism , or Tritheism . And thus much for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which , I hope , we shall hear no more of . The Doctrine of Relations demonstrates the Individual Unity of the Divine Essence ; for if Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , though each of them in his own Person be True and Perfect God , yet are not Three Absolute Divinities , but Three Eternal Subsisting Relations , in the same One Divinity , they must be One Individual Essence and Substance , for else they cannot be the Relations of the same One Essence and Substance . 2. As these Divine Relations prove the Individual Unity of Nature and Essence , so they prove the Sameness and Identity of Nature , wherein , as I have shewn at large , the Catholick Fathers place the Unity of the Godhead . That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . One Divinity is One God. A few words will serve to explain this , after what I have already discoursed on this Argument . The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as I have already shewn , does not signify the Singularity , but the perfect invariable Sameness and Identity of Nature ; not such a Sameness , as every single Person is the same with himself , but such a Sameness as is between distinct Persons of the same Nature . Now the Doctrine of Relations necessarily infers this perfect Sameness and Identity , and this Relative Sameness and Identy proves a perfect Unity . As for the first , there needs no other proof , but barely to represent it , for it is self-evident : For is it possible , that a Perfect , Living , Subsisting Word should not be perfectly the same with that Infinite Mind , whose Word it is , and from whom it proceeds ? That a Perfect , Living , Subsisting Image , should not be perfectly the same with its Prototype , from whom it receives its Being and Nature ? For if the Word be not perfectly the same with the Mind , nor the Image with its Prototype , it is not a true and perfect Word , not a perfect Image : By these Relations of Father and Son , of a Mind and its Word , a Prototype and its Image , the Catholick Fathers , as I have already shewn , prove the perfect , invariable Sameness and Identity of Nature ; for the thing proves it self . The Relation indeed of Father and Son , considered in general , proves no more than a specifick Sameness of Nature , which may admit of great changes and variety within the same Species ; but when God is the Father , and begets a Son of his own Substance , his Nature being absolutely and immutably perfect , he must communicate the same perfect invariable Nature to his Son ; especially when this Son is his own perfect living Word , and his perfect Image . But this is not all : A perfect Sameness between Two Absolute Natures , without the least conceivable difference or variation , would not be a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a Sameness of Identity ; for though they could subsist as perfectly the same , as their Idea is , yet they would be Two Absolute Natures , not One Nature : But a perfect Sameness in Essential Relations , or Relative Subsistencies , proves a perfect Identity of Nature , that they are perfectly the same in the same One Individual Nature : As a living substantial Word must receive its substance and being , whole of whole , from that Mind , whose Word it is ; for if it be not the same Substance , it can't be the substantial Word of that Mind , whose Substance it is not ; nor can a living substantial Image be any other Substance , than that of the Prototype ; for if it were , it might be its likeness , but not its natural Image . And thus this Sameness and Identity of Nature proves each Person by himself to be true and perfect God , and all Three but One God ; for each Person , according to this Doctrine , has , and must have , the whole perfect Divinity in himself , and all Three but one and the same Divinity . 3. These Subsisting Relations in the Unity of Nature , give us an intelligible Notion of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , of the inseparable Union of the Divine Persons , and their mutual 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Inexistence , Inbeing , in each other . That all the Catholick Fathers asserted the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or inseparable Union of the Divine Persons , as essential to the Unity of the Godhead , is so well known , that I need not multiply Quotations to prove it , after what I have already observed to that purpose . But the Question is , What they mean by this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , wherein the Essential Unity of the Godhead consists . Now it is certain this relates to the inseparable Union of the Persons ; for it is opposed to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , divided and separate Hypostases and Persons , which the Fathers charge with Tritheism . The Son is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , inseparable from the Essence and Substance of the Father , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is inseparably in the Father ; that he is begotten of the Father without any division of Substance , within the Father , and inseparable from him ; so that this does not relate immediately to the Unity of Nature , but the Union of Persons , and therefore cannot signify the Singularity of the Divine Nature , but the Inseparable Union of real distinct Persons in the Unity of Nature . That the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , this Inseparable Union and Inbeing of Persons , does as necessarily prove the real Distinction of Persons as the Unity of Nature , as St. Hilary , and Athanasius , and the other Fathers , frequently observe , and that proves that the Unity of the Divine Nature , which is the Inseparable Union of Three proper subsisting Persons , is not the Unity of Singularity : Which shews by the way , how improperly the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is made use of to prove the Singularity of the Divine Essence , for it proves quite the contrary ; it is the Unity of Three which is a Trinity in Unity ; not the Unity of One , which is Singularity and Solitude . In the next place I observe , That by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all the Catholick Fathers understand in this Mystery the inseparable Union of Relatives in the same Individual Nature , not the Union of compleat , absolute Natures , how close and inseparable soever it may be . There is by Nature no Inseparable Union , but in the same Individual Nature . Three compleat Individuals , though of the same Kind and Species , how closely and intimately soever they be united , are not by Nature inseparable nor essentially One , for they may be parted by that Power which united them , and when they are parted , can subsist apart ; as Three compleat Minds , how intimately soever they should be united by God , yet can never be essentially and inseparably One , for they are not essential to each other ; they might have subsisted apart , and may be parted again , and an External Union cannot so make them One , as to be naturally inseparable . Which I think is a Demonstration that a Natural Inseparability , which is an Essential Unity , can be only in One Individual Nature between such Relatives as are Essential to each other , and can neither be , nor be conceived , divided , or separated : And therefore the Catholick Fathers represented the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Examples of Natural Unions between things Essentially related to each other in One Individual Nature , which either cannot be conceived , or at least cannot subsist apart . Of this last Kind are a Fountain and its Streams , a Tree and its Branches , whereby they not only represent the Homoousion , but the Inseparable Union of the Divine Persons , as every one knows ; for there cannot be a Fountain but its Waters must flow out , nor Streams without a Fountain from whence they flow ; and though Branches may be separated from the Tree , yet they live no longer than they are united , and are Branches of that Tree no longer : But these are very imperfect Images , and without great caution will corrupt our Ideas of the Divine Unity . Of all Corporeal Unions the nearest resemblance we have of this , and which the Fathers most insist on , is the Sun , and its natural Splendor , for we cannot conceive the Sun without its Splendor , nor the Splendor without the Sun ; they never were , never can be parted , and therefore , though two , are essentially one . This Representation the Scripture makes of it , which calls the Son , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Brightness of his Father's Glory , and in this Sense they teach that he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Light of Light , as it is in the Nicene Creed , whereby they do not mean two distinct independent Lights , which either are or may be parted , though one be lighted at the other ( this was the Heresy of Hierachas , as St. Hilary tells us , who represented this Mystery by two Candles , one of which is lighted at the other , or by one and the same Lamp , which is divided and burns in two Sockets ) ; but that Light and Splendor which is essential to the same Sun , and can never be divided from it , as Athanasius teaches . But the truest Images we have of this in Nature , is the Inseparable Union which is between a Mind and its own Internal Word , which are so essentially related to each other in the same Individual Nature , that they can never be parted , nor conceived apart ; the Mind can never be without its Word , nor the Word subsist but in the Mind : It is evident , That two compleat , absolute Minds can never be thus united ; for they are not Essential to each other ; not naturally one , and therefore not naturally inseparable ; but a Mind and its Word , though two , are essentially One , and therefore can never be parted but must subsist together ; and these are the Characters the Scripture gives us of God the Father and his Son ; the Father Infinite , Eternal , Self-originated Mind ; the Son his Eternal Infinite , Living , Subsisting Word . And if Father and Son , this Eternal Mind and Eternal Word , be as essentially One , as a mans Mind and his Word are One , this is a Demonstration of their Inseparable Union , and gives us a sensible Notion and Idea of it . This is the account Athanasius every where gives of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that the Father and Son are inseparably One ; the Father being in the Son , and the Son in the Father , as the Word is in the Mind , and the Light in the Sun. To separate the Divine Persons , so as not to be in each other , whatever other Union we own between them , Dionysius of Alexandria charges with Tritheism ; for the Divine Word must of necessity be one with God , and the Holy Spirit be and subsist in him . And this Athanasius resolves into such a Sameness and Unity of Nature , as must be between two Relative Subsistencies in the same Individual Nature . That the Son is in the Father , as the Word is in the Mind , and the Splendor in the Sun ; that he is a genuine proper natural Son in the Father's Essence and Substance , not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not subsisting out of his Father's Substance , as other Creature Sons do . That the true Notion of the Sons being in the Father , is that the whole Being of a Son , is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Genuine Natural Birth of the Father's Substance , the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as the Splendor is of the Sun : That the very Being of the Son is the Form of Species , and Divinity of the Father . That as the Sun and its Splendor are two , but not two Lights , but one Light from the Sun enlightening all things with its Splendor and Brightness ; so the Divinity of the Son is the Divinity of the Father , and therefore inseparable ; and thus there is but one God , and none else besides him . All this plainly refers to the Inseparable Union and Inbeing of Relatives of the same Individual Substance , which are really distinct , but essentially in each other , as the Word is in the Mind , and the Mind in the Word , that Thought it self cannot part them ; which is such an Union as can never be between compleat absolute Substances , which are not naturally Inseparable , nor essentially One. Herein Athanasius places the adequate Notion of the Homoousion , the Sameness , Identity , and Unity of Nature . He tells us , That for this reason the Nicene Fathers taught the Homoousion , or that the Son is Consubstantial , or of one Substance with the Father , to signify that the Son is not only like the Father , but to be so of the Father , as to be the same in likeness ; not after the manner of Bodies , which are like each other , but subsist apart by themselves , as Human Sons subsist separately from their Parents ; but the Generation of the Son of the Substance of the Father is of a different Kind and Nature from Human Generations , for he is not only like , but inseparable from his Father's Substance . He and the Father are One , as he himself says : The Word is always in the Father , and the Father in the Word , as it is with Light and its Splendor , and this is what the Homoousion signifies ; and in like manner he resolves the Sameness , Identity , and Unity of Nature , into this Internal , Inseparable Union and Inbeing of Three , essentially related to each other in One Individual Divinity . 4 thly , That Mutual Inbeing of the Divine Persons , which is their Inseparable and Essential Union , that the Father is in the Son , and the Son in the Father , which the Greeks call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and the Latins Circumincessio , can be understood only between the Relatives of the same Individual Essence and Substance . The true compleat Notion of this Inbeing or Perichoresis , is not merely a Mutual Presence , or the same Vbi , that where-ever one is , there the other is ; or a kind of Immeation and Penetration of each other , which is a Corporeal Notion , and rejected as such by the Catholick Fathers , when they speak of this Divine Inbeing , as St. Hilary expressly does , inesse autem non aliud in alio , ut corpus in corpore ; that they are not in each other , as one Body is in another Body . And when the Arians objected against our Saviour's saying , I am in the Father , and the Father in me ; How can this be in that , and that in this ? Or how can the Father , who is greater , be at all in the Son , who is less ? Or what wonder is it , that the Son should be in the Father , when it is written of us all , That in him we live , and move , and have our being ? Athanasius answers , That this is all owing to Corporeal Conceits , as if they apprehended God to be a Body , not considering the Nature of the True Father , and true Son , the Invisible and Eternal Light , and its Invisible Splendor ; an Invisible Substance , and its unbodied Character and Image . But the true Notion of this Inbeing and Pericharesis is the Perfect Unity of the same Individual Nature in Three . That the Nature and Essence of the Father is in the Son , that the Son is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Character , Image , Mind , Divinity of the Father . Here , as Athanasius observes , our Saviour himself lays the Reason and Foundation of this Mutual Inbeing : He first tells us , I and my Father are One ; and then adds , I am in the Father , and the Father in me , that he might shew the Sameness and Identity of the Godhead , and the Unity of Essence . For they are One , not One divided into two Parts , and nothing more than One ; for they are Two ▪ the Father is the Father , and not the Son ; and the Son is the Son , and not the Father , but there is but One Nature ; for he that is begotten , is not unlike in Nature to him that begets , but is his Image , and all that the Father hath is the Sons . There is no need to multiply Quotations to this purpose , which may be met with every where . The Father is in the Son , and the Son in the Father , as the Nature of the Father is , lives and subsists in the Son ▪ not a Nature like the Fathers , but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Father 's own proper Nature and Essence ; they are in each other , as being essentially One , not One merely as being in each other , as it is possible Three may be , and yet not be essentially One , but Three ; as Three compleat absolute Minds would be Three still , though they should perfectly penetrate each other : Or as Three Candles in the same Room , are Three Lights though they are perfectly united in One. But Original Mind , its Word and Spirit are and must be in each other , as being Three in One Individual Essence ; for the same undivided Essence can't be whole and entire in Three , but those Three must be in each other . If the Divinity of the Father is in the Son , the Father is in the Son , and the Son in the Father ; the Mind is in its Word , and the Word in the Mind : The Son is in the Father , as eternally begotten in the Substance of the Father , whole of whole , and essentially one and the same , as the Word is in the Mind , not by such an Union and Penetration as we may suppose between two Minds , but as conceived in the Mind , and essentially one and the same with it . Now according to this Representation , which all the Catholick Fathers make of this Mystery , we must of necessity acknowledge Number without Multiplication , Distinction without Division or Separation , a perfect Trinity in perfect Unity ; Three Persons , each of which is by himself True and Perfect God , but not Three Gods , but One God : A Mind and its Word are two , and a living , subsisting Word is true and perfect Mind , Mind of Mind , and yet not two Minds , but one Mind ; for the Mind and its Word are essentially One , as all Men must confess ; the Word is in the Mind , and the Mind in the Word , and therefore identically one and the same : for which reason the Fathers acknowledge that the Father is Spirit , the Son Spirit , and the Holy Ghost Spirit , and these are Three , but not Three Spirits , as essentially related to each other in the same individual Essence , essentially the same , and essentially in each other : And thus Will of Will , Wisdom of Wisdom , Life of Life , Power of Power , though they multiply and distinguish Persons , do not multiply Wills , Wisdoms , Lives , Powers , which are essentially One , as the Mind , its Word , and Spirit , are One : They are not One Life , One Will , One Understanding , One Power , in the Sense of but One who Lives , who Wills , who Understands , and has Power ; but as the same , identically the same Life , and Will , &c. is in each of them , and indivisibly and inseparably in them all . And this gives an account of the Unity of Operation , wherein the Catholick Fathers unanimously place the Unity of God , for One Almighty Agent is but One God , and One Essential Will , Wisdom , and Power , can be but One Agent ; and Infinite , Original Mind , and its Eternal subsisting Word can have but One Will , and Wisdom , and Power , for the Will and Wisdom of the Mind is in its Word ; the same , not merely specifically the same , or the same by consent , as it may be between Two Minds , which Will perfectly the same thing , but the same One Individual Will ; the Father Wills , and the Son Wills , and they both Will distinctly , but with one Individual Will ; as it is impossible that the Word should Will with any other Will , but the Will of that Mind , whose Word it is . And therefore Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , though Three Eternal , Infinite , Living , Intelligent , Willing , Persons , which Subsist and Act distinctly , yet being that to each other in a more perfect and excellent manner , that Mind , its Word , and Spirit , are in Men , they must be as perfectly One Almighty Agent as a created Mind is , which Wills and Acts in its Word and Spirit . The Distinction and Unity of Operation necessarily proves the Distinction and Unity of Essence ; it being in our way of conceiving things a necessary effect of it ; there must be some real Distinction in the same Nature and Essence , in which there are Three who Act distinctly ; and there must be an Individual Unity of Essence , when in Three there is but One Individual Operation ; and though these things may be distinguished in Creatures , where we distinguish the Suppositum and the Powers , and give a priority of Nature to the Suppositum , yet Essence and Energy being the same in God , who is a pure simple Act , there can be no priority nor posteriority between them , but the Demonstration proceeds equally upon Nature or Operation ; but that is the best , which is the most intelligible Representation of this Distinction and Unity . For this reason the Fathers chose to explain the Distinction and Unity of the Godhead by the Distinction and Unity of Operation , which I need not prove at large , as being universally owned , and therefore I shall only observe , how St. Gregory Nyssen represents this matter . In his Answer to Ablabius , that there are not Three Gods , he tells us , That the best way to form the clearest and most perspicuous Notion of this , is to examine what this Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Godhead , signifies . Now whereas some think this a proper Name to signify the Divine Nature and Essence , he asserts with the Scriptures ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) that the Divine Nature and Essence is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , without a Name , and can't be signified by words ; and that every Name which is given to God , signifies something essential to him , but not his Nature and Essence it self . This he shews particularly in some Names given to God , and affirms , That thus it is in all other Divine Names , that either they remove all Imperfections , or attribute all Divine Perfections to him , but do not declare his Nature : And thus he adds it is in the Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that is , God is a S●er , an Inspector , who beholds all things : Now if God signifies him , who sees and knows all things , we must inquire , whether this All-seeing Power belongs only to one of the Divine Persons of the Trinity , or to all Three : For if this be the true interpretation of the Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that it is an All-seeing Power , and that He that sees all , is God , we cannot reasonably deny this to any Person in the Holy Trinity , since the Scripture does equally attribute this Omniscience to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost . Well! suppose this , as he adds , it does not remove but encrease the difficulty ; for though God be not a Name of Nature , but of Energy and Power , if the Name God signifies a Seer and Inspector , and there be Three , who thus see all things , Three must be Three Gods , as we number Persons of the same Profession , who all do the very same things , as well as those who have the same Nature ; as we say many Orators , Mathematicians , and the l●ke , as well as many M●n . Now this he answers by the Unity of Energy and Power , which is in each of them , but is but One indivisible inseparable Power ; not as it is in Men , who each of them acts separately by himself ; and though they do the same thing for kind , yet what each of them does , is properly his own doing , and not anothers : They act separately , and produce distinct and separate Effects , and therefore are many Agents . But it is quite otherwise as to the Divine Nature : The Father does nothing by himself without the Son , nor the Son without the Holy Ghost ; but each Divine Operation proceeds originally from the Father , is continued by the Son , and perfected in the Holy Spirit ; and therefore the name of Energy is not divided into a number of Agents , because neither of them acts separately by himself . And this he proves from the Unity of the Effect ; that whatever good thing we receive from God , as suppose Life , is attributed to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; but though it be given by Three , that which is given , or done for us , is not Three ; we do not receive three Lives , one from each Person of the Trinity , but we have but one Life , which we receive from them all . Now where there is but One Undivided Effect , there can be but One Natural Agent ; for separate Agents will produce separate Effects ; and therefore there can be but one motion of the Divine Will from the Father by the Son to the Holy Spirit , and that without distance and Succession . Now it is plain , that all this does not signify a mere Unity of Consent , as may be between Three Distinct and Separate Minds , but the Unity of Principle , which acts distinctly , but uniformly and inseparably in Three ; the same Divine Will , which is originally in the Father , acting in the same manner , and with one indivisible motion ( as they speak ) in the Son , and Holy Spirit ; which Unity of Operation , though it admits of distinct Acts , and consequently a real distinction of Persons , yet proves the individual Unity of Essence ; for there can be no Unity of Principle or Operation , but in the same Individual Essence ; where Three Persons are united in the same Individual Essence , as the Mind , its Word , and Spirit , are in Man. And here ( had there not been enough already said about it ) is a proper Place to vindicate that late Representation which has been made of the Distinction and Unity of the Godhead by the self-consciousness , and mutual consciousness of the Divine Persons . I have met with no body yet so hardy as to deny , that Self-consciousness is essential to the natural Unity of a Person , and that Three Persons cannot be naturally and essentially One without mutual Consciousness . But the great Objection against this Notion ( and which I am amazed to find some Learned Men insist on ) is the order of Nature , which requires , that a Person should be One by an Unity of Nature , before it can be self-conscious ; and that Three Persons must be One by the Unity of Nature , before they can be mutually conscious : For the Unity of Nature , and the Union of Persons in the same Nature , must be before all Acts of Self-consciousness , and mutual Consciousness : And that which in the order of Nature comes after such a Distinction and Union cannot be the cause of it . But who ever thought of causes of Distinction and Unity in an Eternal Nature , which has no cause ? Did the Fathers philosophize thus concerning Priority and Posteriority in the Divine Nature , when they placed the Unity of the Godhead in the Unity of Energy and Operation ? For does not the same Objection lie against the Unity of Energy and Operation , that does ●gainst mutual consciousness , ( which is essential to this Unity of Energy ) that the Divine Persons must first be One , before they can be One Energy and Power ? and therefore that One Energy does not cause their Unity , because they must be One , before they are One Agent . And indeed such Men Gregory Nyssen intimates he had to deal with , who would not allow the Deity to be Energy and Power , but he thought it not worth the while to dispute that Point with them ; for the Divine Nature being Infinite and Incomprehensible , the pure and simple Nature of God is not the immediate Object of our Knowledge , can have no name and definition given it ; and therefore we can know nothing of it immediately and directly , but by such Essential Attributes and Properties , as we c●n form some notion of . The not considering this , how perfectly unknown and incomprehensible the Divine Nature it self is , occasioned a late Author to tell us , That An Hypothesis in this Affair , which leaves out the very Nexus , the Natural and Eternal Vnion , and insists upon mutual consciousness , which at most is but the consequence thereof , wants the principal thing requisite to the salving the Vnity of the Godhead . But this is to philosophize about the abstracted Natures and Essences of Things , even the Divine Substance and Essence , which I dare not presume to do . No doubt but God is the most real substantial Being in the World , even Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; and there is as little doubt , but there is as real and substantial an Union between them : But I know nothing of the Substance of God , as distinguished from his Essential Attributes and Perfections , nor of such a Distinction and Unity of Substance in the Deity , as can help us to form any notion of a Trinity in Unity , and defend it from the Charge of Contradiction and Impossibility , when we have done . For we must have a care of conceiving any Extension , or Parts , or Composition in God , without which we can have no notion of a Distinction and Union of Substances , considered purely under the notion of Substance . And therefore we must be contented to be ignorant of the Substance and Substantial Unions of the Deity , as we are of all other Substantial Unions . We know not what the Substance of a Spirit is , nor what the Substance of Matter is , nor what their substantial Unity is : And therefore when we inquire into their Distinction and Unity , we never meddle with the Essential Reasons and Causes of Unity , which are concealed from us , but consider as far as Sense , or Reason , or Observation will reach , wherein the Unity of any thing consists , and when a thing may be said to be One : As to instance at present only in the Unity of a Mind , and in the Union of Soul and Body . Is there any thing else in the World which can make a Mind one with it self , and distinguish it from all other Minds , but a self-conscious Sensation , that it feels it self , and its whole self , and only it self ? I suppose these Men will grant , that such a Mind is One , and but One , and distinct from all other Minds ; but Self-consciousness is not the formal reason of the Unity of a Mind , or of a Person , because in order of Nature the Unity of a Mind or Person must go before Self-consciousness ; that is , Self-consciousness is owing to the Unity of Essence , not the Unity of Essence to Self-consciousness . Well , but what is this Essence of a Mind , and this Unity of Essence , which makes a Mind One ? Truly that no body can tell ; and therefore to say a Mind is one by the Unity of its Essence , is to say , it is One , because it is so ; for we know no more of the matter : But Self-consciousness is a sensible Unity , which we all feel in our selves , and know our selves from other Men by it . This Unity of Essence we know nothing of , but by Self-consciousness ; and I desire to know , whatever the Unity of Essence be , whether any but a Self-conscious Unity would make a Mind One , and distinguish it from all other Minds ? which shews , that we have nothing to do with the naked Essences and Substances of Things , but with their immediate and essential Properties ; and when we know them , we know all that is to be known of Nature ; and therefore we can know no more of the Unity of a Mind than Self-consciousness . The Substances of things are distinguished from each other by their Essential Properties , and therefore from them we must learn their Unity or Distinction . A Mind is a Substance , and Matter is Substance ; and the essential difference between them , as far as we can understand , is , that a Mind is a thinking Substance , and Matter extended Substance ; and therefore we must judge of a Mind by the properties of Thinking , and of Matter by extension : The Unity of a Thinking Substance must consist in the Unity of Thoughts and Sensations , that is , in one Consciousness ; and the Unity of an Extended Substance in the continuity of its extension ; and to ask farther , what is the cause or principle of Consciousness in a Mind , or of One Consciousness in One Mind , is to ask a reason of the natures of things ; why a Mind is a Thinking Being , and why One Thinking Being has one Center of Thoughts : Why do they not ask also , how Extension comes to be essential to Matter , and how Matter is extended ? I know no reason to be given of such matters , but the Will of God , who formed all things according to the Ideas of his own Infinite Wisdom . This I hope is sufficient to be said concerning the order of Nature , and the priority and posteriority of our Conceptions ; for if we do not stop in our Inquiries at immediate and essential Properties , but demand an antecedent Reason for them , this is to demand a Reason of Nature , Why things are what God has made them : Those who are not contented to contemplate Nature in its immediate and Essential Properties , may philosophize by themselves for me ; for there is nothing more to be known without an intuitive knowledge of Nature it self , which none can have but the Author of Nature . Thus should you inquire of me concerning the Union of Soul and Body ; all that I know of it is , That they are united in one Conscious Life ; That the Soul feels all the Impressions of the Body , and directs and governs it . No , will such Philosophers say , here wants the Nexus , the natural Union between Soul and Body ; for they must be One by a Natural Union before there can be this Conscious Life and Sympathy between them , which is not the Union , but the effect and consequent of this Union . Very true ! They must be vitally united to have One Life , and to receive impressions from each other ; But can they give any other notion of this Vital Union , than that the Body is animated by the Soul , and lives with it ? Could these Philosophers tell you , how a Soul , which is an Immaterial Being , could be fastened to a Body , what Union of Substances there is between them , ( which is the thing they want to know ) would they understand a Vital Union ever the better for it ? An Union of Substances seems to signify some kind of Contact , which is hard to conceive between Body and Spirit ; but however an Union of Contact , and an Union of Life , are two very different kinds of Union , and do not include or infer each other ; and therefore the true Answer to that Question , How Soul and Body are united , is not to say , That their Substances are united or fastened together , which gives us no notion of a Vital Union ; but that the Soul lives in the Body , and gives life to it ; receives impressions srom it , and governs its motions . But to inquire farther , is to inquire into the Reasons of Natural and Essential Unions , which are as great Mysteries as Nature is : We may as well ask , How a Soul lives , as how it animates a Body ; and God alone knows both . So that to inquire after the Natural Nexus , or Cement of this Union , is nothing at all to the purpose , and is not the Object of Human Knowledge . Now , though the Vital Union between Soul and Body , and the Union of mutual Consciousness , be of a very different Kind and Nature , yet the Dispute about the Nexus , or the Natural Union of Substances , is much the same . Consciousness is the Unity of a Spirit ; Self-consciousness is the Unity of a Person , and by the same reason mutual Consciousness is a Natural Union of Three distinct Self-conscious Persons in the Unity of the same Nature . And to reject this for want of a Nexus , or the Natural Union of Substances , is as if we should deny the Union of Soul and Body to be an Union of Life or Animation , because this don't explain the Natural Nexus between Soul and Body : If a Mutual Conscious Union be an Essential Union of Three distinct Persons in the same Nature , as a Vital Union is the Essential Union of Soul and Body , we have nothing to do in either Case with the Union of Substances which we can know nothing of , and if we could , should understand these Unions never the better for it . For whatever Union of Substance we may suppose between Soul and Body , and the Three Divine Persons in the Holy Trinity , it is the Kind and Species of Union which gives us the Notion and Idea of it . If you inquire , what Spirit , and what Matter is ? It would not be thought a good Answer to these Questions , to say a Spirit is a Substance , and Matter is a Substance , without adding their Specifick Differences , that a Spirit is an intelligent thinking Substance , and Matter is an extended Substance ; nor is it a better Answer to that Question , what Union there is between Soul and Body , or between the Three Divine Persons in the Trinity , To say , That their Substances are united , which gives us no distinct Notion of their Union ; but a Vital Union , and a Mutual Conscious Union , contain distinct Ideas ; and if these be Natural and Essential Unions , though we know no more of the Union of Substances than we do , what Substance is , yet we know that the Soul and Body must be one Natural Person , and the Three Divine Persons must be naturally and essentially One God ; for a Natural Union makes One according to the Nature of that Union . It is visible enough what has occasioned this Mistake : Men consider Mutual Consciousness between Three Compleat , Absolute , Independent Minds , and rightly enough conclude , that how conscious soever they were to each other , this could not make them essentially One ; for every compleat Mind is One by it self , and not naturally Conscious to any One but it self , and by whatever Power they should be so united , as to be mutually Conscious , this could not make them essentially One ; they would be Three Mutually Conscious Minds , not essentially One Mind ; for they are not by Nature One , nor mutually Conscious , and therefore may be parted again , and cease to be so . But then , in this way of stating it , the Objection equally lies against the Perichoresis , the inseparable Union and In-being of Minds , which can never make Three Compleat Absolute Minds essentially One. But if we apply this to the Union of Living , Subsisting , Intelligent Relatives of the same Individual Essence , to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , Eternal , Self-originated Mind , its Eternal , Living , Subsisting , Word , and Eternal Spirit , this Mutual Consciousness gives us the most Intelligible Notion of the Essential and Inseparable Union and In-being of Three in One. I dare not say what other Men can do ; but I have tried my self , and can form no Notion of an Unity in Trinity , but what either necessarily includes , or ultimately resolves it self into One Natural Essential Consciousness in Three . The Divine Nature is indivisibly and inseparably One in Three ; but we must not understand this Inseparability after the manner of Bodies , whose Parts may be divided and separated from each other ; God is not Body , and has no Parts ; but in the Unity of the Godhead there is Eternal Original Mind , an Eternal Word , and Eternal Spirit , which are inseparable from each other , that is , can never be parted : What then can parting and separating signify in a Mind , which has no Parts to be torn and divided from each other ? I can understand nothing by it , but that the Mind does no longer see , and know , and feel its Word in it self , nor the Word the Mind ; for this would make a perfect Separation between the Mind and its Word ; that Mind has no Word which does not see and feel it in it self ; and were it possible that a living subsisting Word should lose all Conscious Sensation of the Mind , whose Word it is , it would cease to be a Word , and commence a perfect separate Mind it self : So that as far as we can conceive it , the Inseparable Union between Father and Son , between Original Infinite Mind , and its Eternal Word , is an inseparable Conscious Life and Sensation , which is such a Natural Demonstration of their Inseparable Union , as no other Notion can give us ; for all Men feel that a Mind and its Word can never be parted ; a Mind can never be without its Word , nor the Word subsist but in the Mind . Thus what other possible Notion can we form of the Perichoresis , or Mutual In-being of Father and Son , as our Saviour tells us , I am in the Father , and the Father in me , which is their Natural and Essential Unity , I and my Father are one ? We all feel how the Word is in the Mind , and the Mind in the Word ; the Mind knows , and feels , and comprehends its own Word ; and a perfect , living , subsisting Word knows and feels that whole Mind , whose Word it is , in it self ; for the Word is nothing else but the whole Mind , living and subsisting in the Word , which is another Hypostasis , but perfectly One and the same Nature ; and therefore as they know themselves , so they know and feel each other in themselves . As the Father knoweth me , saith Christ , so know I the Father , 10 John 15. And thus to see and know God by an Internal Sensation , and to be in him , are ●quivalent Expressions in Scripture , 1 John 18. No man hath seen G●d at any time ; the only begotten Son , which is in the bosom of the Father , he hath declared him : Where to see God , and to be in the Bosom of the Father , must signify the same thing ; for to be in the Bosom of the Father , is put in the place of seeing God , that is , to see him within , to see him in his Bosom , as the Word sees the Mind , and this is to be in his Bosom , and thus the Son is in the Father . The same Account we have of the Holy Spirits being in God , 1 Cor. 2.11 . For what man knoweth the things of a man , but the spirit of man , which is in him ? even so the things of G●d knoweth no man , but the Spirit of God ; that is , the Spirit of God is in God , as the Spirit of a Man is in Man , and therefore by this In-being , the Spirit of God knows all the Things of God by such an Internal Conscious Sensation , as the Spirit of Man knows what is in Man. Thus what is the Unity of Energy and Operation , but the same Conscious Will and Power acting distinctly , but inseparably in Three ? for without this Internal Consciousn●ss , they must be Three separate Wills and separate Powers , and produce distinct and separate Effects ; but when God , his Word and Spirit are in each other , and see , and know , and feel each other in themselves , as a Man's Mind , his Word , and Spirit , do , though in a more perfect and excellent manner , there can be but One undivided Motion of the Divine Will , as there is but One Conscious Life in Three ; the Son lives , subsists , wills , understands , and acts , in and with the Father , and therefore is but One Eternal Life , One Almighty Will and Power . Now as Novel as some Men think this Notion of the Vnity of Mutual Consciousness to be , we meet with it more than once in express words in S● . Hilary , whose Authority I hope is sufficient to vindicate it from the charge of Novelty . Thus with reference to what our Saviour says , No man knoweth the Son but the Father ; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son , and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him , 11. Matth. 27. St. Hilary observes , ( Hilar. de Trin. c. 2 ) Illis scientia mutua est , illis vicissim c●gnitio perfecta ; That Father and Son have a mutual perfect Knowledge of each other . And this he asserts to be a Conscious Knowledge , connate with him , a Conscious Sensation of his Father's Nature in himself , which our S●viour himself signifies by his Unity of Nature and Operation with the Father ; as the Reader may see in the Margin . Thus Tertullian long before describ'd this mutual Consciousness between God and his Eternal Word and Wisdom by what we feel in our selves when we silently muse alone , our Word does as it were talk with us , and return our Thoughts to us , is present with us in every Turn , and Motion , and Pulse of Thought , and internal Sensation , as conscious to all within us . Thus he tells us , That the Son alone knows the Father , and does not his own , but his Father's Will , which he knows , de proximo , imo de initio ; that is , by an immediate Intuitive Knowledge , not by External Communication , but by Internal Sensation . Thus the Son does nothing of himself , but what he sees the Father do ; in sensu scilicet facientem , in his own Mind and Will ; Pater enim sensu agit , the Father does all things by disposing and ordering all things in his own Mind and Will ; Filius vero , qui in sensu Patris est , videns perficit : The Son , who is in the Mind , and Sense , and Will of the Father , sees the Father's Will , and does it : Now let any Man tell me what else can be meant by the Sons being in sensu Patris , & videns in sensu Patris , but this Internal Conscious Sensation . St. Cyril of Alexandria calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that the Son Wills together with the Father , and with the same Will. Dionysius the Areopagite , says , This Union does not only exceed all bodily Unions , but the Unions also of Souls and Minds , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . And Fulgentius tells us , The Word was with God , sicut in mente verbum , sicut in c●rde consilium , as the Word is in the Mind , and Counsel in the Heart . Marius Victorinus Afer tells us to the same purpose , That the Son being in the Bosom of the Father , signifies , that he is God ; that he is in the Bosom and Womb of his Substance , and therefore they are Consubstantial , each of them being in each other , and knowing each other . But not to multiply Quotations ; all those Catholick Fathers and Doctors , who placed the Unity of the Godhead in Consent , ( and none of them rejected this in a Catholick Sense ) could understand nothing less by it than this mutual natural Consciousness , for any other Consent was down right Arianism , as St. Hilary witnesses ; and y●t thus the famous Lucian , whom the Arians would have challenged as theirs , but whom the Catholick Church always owned , expresses it in his Creed ; and thus per substantiam tria , per consonantiam verò unum : Three in Substance , but in Consent and Agreement One , is justified by St. Hilary , ( Hilar. de Synod . ) as very Catholick ; but then he refers this to the Holy Spirit , who is the substantial Bond and Cement of this Union and Consent . But Gregory Nyssen , who allows of this Unity of Consent , more intelligibly represents it by the Consent and Uniformity of all the Motions between the Prototype and its Image , or a Man's Face in a Glass , which moves and acts with it . Thus Christ is the Image of the Invisible God ▪ and is immediately and instantly affected together with his Father . Does the Father Will any thing ? The Son also , who is in the Father , knows the Fathers Will , or rather is the Father 's Will. But this I think is sufficient to be said about mutual Consciousness , which is so manifestly the Doctrine of the Fathers , of some in express Terms , and of all according to the true Interpretation of what they taught , that I cannot imagine the meaning of this furious Zeal against it , but a Sabellian Zeal against Three Conscious Persons , for one single Self-conscious Nature : As St. Hilary observes in the Dispute between the Sabellians and Arians . The Arians allowed Father and Son to be Two Distinct Persons , but denied their Consubstantiality , or Unity and Sameness of Nature : The Sabellians , who denied the distinction of Persons , but asserted the Sameness , Unity and Singularity of Nature , which they thought sufficiently proved One Person , as well as One Nature ( as no doubt but it does ) confuted the Arian Dissimilitude of Nature by what our Saviour says , I and my Father are one ; which they said could be the Language of none , but of a Nature conscious to it self of its own Identity , and Sameness , which he allows to be a good Argument against the Arians , ( which he could not have done , had he not allowed this Consciousness in the Trinity ) but then observes , That the Arians did as eff●ctually consute them , as to the distinction of Persons ; and thus between them both the Catholick Faith , of a real distinction of Persons , in the Sameness and Conscious Unity of Nature , was vindicated . In short , If the whole Divine Nature is conscious to it self , as every Created Mind is conscious to all that is in it self ; and the Three Divine Persons subsist in the Individual Unity of the same Nature , then these Divine Persons must be intimately and mutually conscious to each other , as a Mind , its Word , and Spirit , are ; and however Men please to philosophize about this , as to the prius & posterius , whether they will make the Unity of Nature the cause of this mutual Consciousness , and therefore in order of Nature prior to it ; or make mutual Consciousness not the cause of this Unity , but the Essential Union of Three Distinct Subsisting Persons in the Unity of the same Individual Nature ; I will not contend with any Man which of these speak most properly . Consciousness is the Unity of an Intelligent Nature , and the mutual Consciousness of Persons in the same Nature , and the Conscious Unity of Nature in Three Distinct Persons is the same thing . We cannot conceive the Unity of a Mind without Consciousness , nor any other kind of Unity of a Mind , but a Conscious Unity ; nor can we conceive an Internal Essential Consciousness without an Essential Unity ; and if the mutual Consciousness of Persons in the same Nature , is the Consciousness of Nature , I cannot see why we may not say , That it is at least One Notion of the Unity of Nature too . But to return where I left off , ( if this may be called a a Digression ) what I have now said , is sufficient to shew , how necessary this Doctrine of Relations is to give us a sensible notion of a Trinity in Unity . To assert a Real Trinity , we must assert Three Real , Distinct , Subsisting , Substantial , Intelligent Persons , neither of which is each other , and each of which is by himself , in his own proper Person , True and Perfect God : But this , say Sabellians , Arians , and Socinians , is to assert Three Gods ; which the Catholick Church always abhorred the thoughts of . Now how the Fathers answered this Charge , and vindicated the Divine Unity in a Trinity of Real Subsisting Persons , I have already particularly shown , as by the Consubstantiality , the perfect Sameness and Identity of Nature , whole of whole , their Inseparability , and Unity of Operation ; but we can form no distinct Idea of all this , but only among Personal Subsisting Relatives of the same Individual Nature . Whatever is not this , is a meer Specifick Consubstantiality and Identity of Nature , and an External Union , how inseparable soever it be , which must make a number of Individuals in the Divine , as well as Human Nature : but now it is plain to a Demonstration , That if God hath an Eternal Subsisting Word , and an Eternal Subsisting Spirit , they can be but One Individual Essence , as a Man's Mind , and Word , and Spirit , are One ; and therefore all Three but One God , as a Man , with his Mind , and Word , and Spirit , i● but One Man ; which is an Intelligible Notion of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One Individual Essence and Godhead : For though the Word of God be a Person , which a M●n's Word is not , yet if his true Nature and Character is the Word , he is the same to the Eternal Mind , which a Man's Word is to his Created Mind , and therefore God , and his Living , Subsisting Word , must be One Individual Essence , as a Man's Mind and his Word are One ; a Word must be conceived and begotten of the Mind , and can have no other Substance , if it be a Living , Substantial Word , but that of the Mind ; and if it be a perfect Word , the perfect Image of the Mind , it must be whole of whole , all that the Mind is ; for the whole Mind is in its perfect Word and Image , and lives and subsists in it , and the whole Word in the Mind . So that the C●eternity , the Coequality , the Consubstantiality , the Identity , the Inseparability , the Unity of Operation between God and his Word , is so far from being Jargon , Contradiction , Unintelligible Nonsense , that i● God have an Eternal Word , it is self-evident that thus it must be : When we contemplate the Consubstantiality of Father and Son , under the notion of Substance , we can form no Idea of a whole , which is of a whole , that the Father should communicate his whole Essence , and Substance , to the Son , and be the whole himself ; and this is no great wonder , since we can form no Idea at all of the Divine Substance ; but we can very well understand , That the Whole Mind must be in its Word , that the Eternal Mind and its Word must be Consubstantial , Coeternal , Coequal , Two , but perfectly the same , inseparably in each other ; for all this is included in the very Relation and Notion of a Mind , and its Word . I 'm sure , a Living , Subsisting Word , which is not Consubstantial , Coeternal , Coequal , with that Eternal Mind , whose Word it is ; that a Mind should be without its Word ; that an Infinite , Eternal Mind , which is perfect Life and Being , should have a vanishing , perishing Word , as Man has ; not a living , subsisting Word ; that a Mind and its Word should ever be parted ; that the Word should not be and subsist in the Mind , and the Mind in the Word ; I say , all this contradicts all the Notions we have of a Mind and its Word : We cannot immediately and directly contemplate the Divine Nature and Essence , which is so infinitely above us , and therefore we must contemplate it in such Ideas and Representations , as God himself makes of it ; and if they are such , as we can form an intelligible notion of , we have no reason to complain of unintelligible Mysteries and Contradictions , though when we reduce it into Terms of Art , we find our Minds confounded and perplext , and unable to form any distinct and easy Ideas . The Arians , to avoid the Consubstantiality of the Son with the Father , would not allow the Term Substance to be used of God ; the Catholick Fathers proved , that Substance is in Scripture used concerning God , and that the Arians could not reasonably reject it , because they used it themselves ; for though they would not own the Son to be of the same Substance with the Father ; they taught , that he was of another Substance , which still is to own Substance in God. But though God be in the most true and absolute sense , perfect Essence and Being , the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or according to St. Ambrose his derivation of the Word ( which shews what he meant by it , whether it shews his skill in Greek or not ) that Essence and Substance is that which always is , and that which always is , is God , and therefore God is Essence and Substance , and a Consubstantial Son is a true and real Son ; for which reason , as he observes , the Arians would not allow the Son to be Consubstantial , because they would not allow him to be a true genuine Son ; and for this very reason the Nicene Fathers inserted the Homoousion in their Creed : But yet if we would rightly conceive of God , of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , of the Unity and Distinction of the Ever Blessed Trinity , we must not form our Notions by the Ideas of Substance and Consubstantiality , which we have no distinct conceptions of ; but we must learn their Unity , Distinction , and Consubstantiality from those Characters the Scripture gives of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost . This Rule St. Ambrose expressly gives us with reference to the Son , and the Reason is the same , as to the other Divine Persons . If we would avoid Error , says that Father , let us attend to those Characters the Scripture gives us , to help us to understand what , and who the Son is : He is called the Word , the Son , the Power of God , the Wisdom of God ; all this we can understand ; and not only St. Ambrose , but all the other Catholick Fathers , as I have already shewn , prove the Consubstantiality , Coeternity , Coequality , Unity and Distinction of Father and Son , from these Names and Characters , which they understood in a true and proper sense , for a Living , Subsisting Son , and Word , and Power , and Wisdom ; and there is no difficulty in conceiving all this , if we contemplate it in these Characters ; nay it is impossible to conceive otherwise of it . As impossible as it is to form any notion at all of those Philosophical Terms , whereby this Mystery is commonly represented , when we abstract them from those sensible Characters and Ideas which the Scripture has given us , and begin our Inquiries with them . It will be of great use to represent this matter plainly , that every man may see what it is that obscures and perplexes the Doctrine of the Trinity , and confounds mens notions about it , to the great scandal of the Christian Religion , and the disturbance of the Christian Church . The great difficulty concerns the Unity and Distinction of the Ever Blessed Trinity , that they are really and distinctly Three , and essentially One : And this is represented by One Nature , Essence , and Substance , and Three Hypostases ; and yet Hypostasis signifies Substance , and every Divine Hypostasis is the whole Divine Essence and Substance . Now if we immediately contemplate this Mystery under the notion of Substance , it is impossible for us to conceive One Substance and Three Hypostases , that is , in some sense Three Substances , or which is all One as to the difficulty of conceiving it , though the form of Expression is more Catholick ; Three , each of which is the whole Essence and Substance , and neither of them is each other ; we may turn over our Minds as long as we please , and change Words and Phrases , but we can find no Idea to answer these , or any other words of this nature . But now if instead of Essence and Hypostasis , we put Mind and its Word , we can form a very intelligible notion of this Unity and Distinction , and prove that Unity of Substance , and Distinction of Hypostases , which we cannot immediately and directly form any notion of . For Eternal Original Mind , and its Living Subsisting Word , are certainly Two , and neither are , nor can be each other ; the Mind cannot be its own Living Word , nor the Word the Mind , whose Word it is ; and yet we must all grant , that Eternal Mind is the most Real Being , Essence , Substance , and that a Living Subsisting Word is Life , Being , Substance , and the very same Life and Substance that the Mind is , and all that the Mind is ; for a perfect Living Word can have no other Life and Substance but that of the Mind , and must be all the same that the Mind is . The Eternal Generation of the Son 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , of the Substance of the Father , Life of Life , Substance of Substance , Whole of Whole , is impossible to be conceived , as immediately applied to the notion of Substance ; but the Generation of the Word , Whole of Whole , is very conceivable , for the Mind must beget its own Word , as we feel in our selves ; and a Mind which is perfect Life and Substance , if it begets its Word , must beget a Living , Subsisting , Substantial Word , the perfect Image of its own Life and Substance . And as impossible as it is to conceive , much more to express in words , this Mystery of the Eternal Generation , yet the necessary relation between a Mind , and its Word , proves that thus it is ; we feel it in our selves , though we are as perfectly ignorant , how our Mind begets its dying vanishing Word , as how the Eternal Mind begets an Eternal , Living , Subsisting Word : And the Generation of the Word includes in it all the Properties of the Divine Generation ; that it is Eternal ; for an Eternal Mind can never be without its Word ; that it is without any Corporeal Passions , or Esslux , or Division , begotten in the Mind , and inseparable from it . Now if we conceive after the same manner of the Eternal Procession of the Holy Spirit , can any man deny this to be an Intelligible Notion of a Trinity in Unity , though we can form no distinct Idea of One Essence and Substance , and Three Hypostases ? For if we can conceive Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; Eternal Original Mind , its Eternal Word , and Eternal Spirit , to be Essentially One and Three , the Catholick Faith is secured , though we do not so well understand the distinction between those Abstract Metaphysical Terms of Nature , Essence , Substance , Hypostasis , especially when applied to the Unity and Distinction of the Eternal Godhead , which is above all Terms of Art. The Catholick Faith is , That the Father is God , the Son God , and the Holy Ghost God ; but yet there are not Three Gods , but One God ; and this the Doctrine of the Divine Relations gives us a very intelligible notion of ; for we cannot conceive otherwise of the Eternal Mind , its Eternal Word , and Eternal Spirit , but that each of them are True and Perfect God , and yet a Mind , its Word , and Spirit , can be but One , and therefore but One God. But One Substance , and Three Hypostases , is but a secondary notion of a Trinity in Unity , to secure the Catholick Faith against the Sabellian and Arian Heresies : Against the Sabellians the Catholick Fathers asserted Three Hypostases , against the Arians One Substance ; and the Essential Relations of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , necessarily prove both the One Substance , and Three Hypostases ; but though One Substance and Three Hypostases be the Catholick Language , yet those Men begin at the wrong end , who think to form an intelligible notion of a Trinity in Unity from these abstract Metaphysical Terms . This is not the Language of the Scripture , nor have we any Idea to answer these Terms , of One Substance in Three distinct Hypostases , when we consider them by themselves , without relation to the Divine Nature , to which alone these Terms can belong , for there is no such thing in created Nature , and therefore we can have no Idea of it . It is abundantly sufficient in this Case , that we have a clear and distinct Notion of One Substance , and Three Hypostases in the Essential Unity and Distinction of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , Three subsisting Relations in One Individual Essence and Substance , though when we abstractedly consider these Terms of One Substance and Three Hypostases , we can form no consistent Notion or Idea of it . And now let our Socinian Adversaries , who talk so loud of Absurdities , Contradictions , Nonsense , false Counting and Tritheism , try their skill to make good these Charges against the Divine subsisting Relations in the Unity of the same Individual Essence . SECT . IX . A more particular Inquiry into the Difference between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Nature and Person , with an Account of some Catholick Forms of Speech , relating to the ever Blessed Trinity . BUT since one Nature and Essence , and Three Hypostases or Persons , is the Catholick Language , and necessary to guard the Faith from those Two Extremes of Sabellianism and Arianism , it will be necessary to consider how to apply these Ecclesiastical Terms to the Three and One in the ever Blessed Trinity . And here , were I so disposed , I might enter into a very large and perplext Dispute ; but my design , as far as possibly I can attain it , is only to explain what the Catholick Fathers meant by these Terms , and to give a plain and sensible Notion of them : And after what I have already so largely discoursed concerning Nature and Hypostasis , I have little more to do , than to compare them together , and to shew in what the Catholick Fathers placed this Distinction . And as nothing is of greater consequence , than rightly to understand this matter , so nothing requires greater Caution , nor greater Application of Mind . Whosoever is conversant in the Writings of the Ancient Fathers , must acknowledge it not only reasonable but necessary , to distinguish between their Faith , and their Philosophy . Their Faith , which they received srom the Scriptures , and the Universal Tradition of the Catholick Church , is plain and simple , and the same in all . That there is but One God , who has an Eternal Son , and an Eternal Spirit ; that Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are each of them by himself , True and Perfect God , and all but One God , which is a Trinity in Unity , and Unity in Trinity ; that they are in a true and proper Sense , Three and One. This is the Catholick Faith , wherein they all agree ; but then those Philosophical Terms , which the importunities of Hereticks , who corrupted either the Faith of the Unity or Trinity , forced them to use in the Explication of this Mystery , are of a different Consideration : These have not always been the same , nor have all agreed in them ; and the wisest Men have owned great Improprieties in them all , when applied to this Sacred Mystery ; and indeed it is impossible to be otherwise ; for that infinite Difference and Diversity there is between the Divine and Humane Nature , nay all created Nature , can never admit of any Common Terms proper to express both . The most perfect Creatures bear only some imperfect Analogy and Resemblance to what we conceive of God ; and therefore when we apply such Words and Terms to the Divine Natur● , as are borrowed from Creatures , ( and we have no other ) we must understand them only by way of Analogy and Accommodation ; and when we expound such Terms as are used by the Catholick Fathers in such an accommodated Sense , we must apply them no further , than that particular Matter they intended to represent by them . I have already sh●wn this in several particular Passages relating to the Homoousion , but now I am more particularly to consider the difference between Essence and Hypostasis ; and I shall only shew how the matter of fact stands , what has occasioned this difficulty , what the true state of the Controversy is , and how we may form some sensible notion of this Distinction ; and if I should mistake in so nice a Point as this , I hope it will be a pardonable Mistake , while I make no change in the Catholick Faith , and intend it only as an Essay , if it be possible to silence or qualify the Dispute about words . The Greek Fathers attribute all the Heresies relating to the Doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation , to this one Mistake , that Essence and Hypostasis are the same ; for then if there be but One Essence in the Blessed Trinity , there must consequently be but One Hypostasis , which is Sabellianism ; or if there be Three Hypostases , there must be Three Natures and Essences , either in the Arian or Tritheistick Notion : Thus with reference to the Incarnation , two Natures must be two Persons , or Hypostases , as Nestorius taught , or One Person must be but One mixt and compounded Nature too , which was the Heresy of Eutyches . This some Fathers thought a fundamental Error in Philosophy , introduced by Aristotle , who makes the first Substance , which is the only true and proper Substance , to be that which is predicated of no Subject , nor is in any Subject , that is , what we call , a Subsisting Individual , as this Man , or this Horse . And therefore Theorianus observes , That the Catholick Fathers understood Essence and Hypostasis in a very different sense from the Greek Philosophers ; that is , by Essence , and Substance , they did not mean one singular Individuum , or singular Nature and Substance , as Aristotle did ; but a common Nature , not a common Notion , as Genus or Species , which are Aristotle's second Substances , but a common Subsisting Nature , which is one and the same , whole and perfect in every Individual of the same kind . And what Aristotle call'd his first Substance , a singular Subsisting Nature , that they called Hypostasis , a common Subsisting Nature , with its individuating Characters and Properties . It is evident some Ages past , before these words Essence and Hypostasis were thus nicely distinguished , or at least before this Distinction was so unanimously received ; for as I have already observed , these Words were used very promiscuously , which occasioned the Alexandrian Schism ; and it does not appear to me , that this Distinction was setled by Athanasius , and the Bishops with him , in that Synod , as some seem to think ; though soon after it generally prevailed , as we may learn from St. Basil , Gregory Nyssen , St. Cyril of Alexandria , Damascen , Leontius , Theorianus , Theodorus Abucara , Ignatius Sinaita , and generally all the Catholick Writers of the Eutychian and Severian Age , who universally agree in this , That Essence and Hypostasis differ as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as that which is Universal , differs from what is Proper and Singular . Now so far these Fathers were certainly in the right , That if they must apply Philosophical Terms to Divine Mysteries ( which the Cavilling Objections of Hereticks made necessary ) there was an absolute necessity for them to change their signification ; for as there is nothing common to God and Creatures , so there can be no words in the same sense common to them ; but then this only requires an accommodation of words to Divine Mysteries by way of analogy and resemblance , but not to change the Language and Philosophy of Created Nature , which after all our Attempts , and all our Art of Expression , will fall infinitely short of the Divine Nature , and give us but a very imperfect Image of it . And if by such Attempts we confound our Notions and Ideas of Nature too , we shall so much the more confound and perplex our Ideas of God. It may help to ease mens Minds of some Notions which lie cross and uneven : Briefly to state this matter . I confess , I am not satisfied of that absolute necessity , which some pretend , of stating nicely and Philosophically this distinction between Nature and Person , in order to understand the Doctrine of the Trinity . This was the Catholick Faith long before this Distinction was universally received ; and Men who understand little of this Distinction , may believe very orthodoxly in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , without it : Nay the best , the safest , and easiest way , to understand these and all other Philosophical Terms applied to the Explication of this Faith , is to fit them to those Scripture Ideas we have of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , each of them True and Perfect God , and all Three but One God , as I have shewn at large in the First Chapter . But since there is a very warm Dispute about Nature and ●erson , and has been for many Ages , and this Distinction is become necessary to secure the Catholick Faith against the Attempts of Hereticks on both sides , as the Church has found by long Experience ; it will be necessary to set this matter in as clear a light as possible we can . And the best way I can think of to do this , is 1. To consider this distinction of Nature and Person in Creatures : As for instance , in a Man ; What the distinction between Nature and Person is in Man ; and to shew , which way soever we state this matter , how improper all these Notions are to represent this distinction between Nature and Person in the Blessed Trinity . And 2. To shew how the Catholick Fathers accommodated these Names of Essence and Person to the Explication of this Mystery , and what Unity , and what Distinction they intended to represent by them . 1. As for the first , If the Infinite distance between God and Creatures will allow us to Philosophize freely about Created Nature , without incurring the Suspicion of Heresy ; I must confess , I never could form a distinct notion of the difference between a subsisting Nature and Hypostasis , or Person in Man ; but do what I can , I can conceive no otherwise of an Individual Subsisting Human Nature , but as of an Individual Subsisting Human Hypostasis , or Person ; nor of an Individual Human Person , than as of an Individual Subsisting Human Nature . And I have some reason to think , that this is not peculiarly my Case ; for besides that I find other thinking Men blundered in this matter , and could never yet meet with a clear and sensible Explication of it ; I observe , that there is no word , which in its original institution signifies this difference ; and it is reasonable to think , as to Created Nature , that Mankind have no notion of that , which they have no word for . It is sufficiently known , that Hypostasis originally signifies Essence and Substance , not Person as distinguisht from Nature , which is a later , and a mere Ecclesiastical use of it ; and it is confessed , that Persona and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were taken from the Stage , and when they were applied to signify a true and real Man , they signified only the Man himself , not the Personality of a Man , as distinguished from an Individual Subsisting Nature : And , which is much more considerable , some of the Fathers , as I observed before , confess , that Aristotle knew no such distinction ; but in his Philosophy , Essence and Hypostasis signified the same thing ; for Nature and Essence , which is his first Substance , is an Individuum , which subsists not as part of another , but as whole and compleat , which the Fathers call Hypostasis ; and therefore Aristotle's first Substance , and what these Fathers call Hypostasis , is in Creatures one and the same thing ; and yet all confess , That no man ever more nicely distinguisht all the distinguishable Notions in Nature , than Aristotle did , that what escaped his observation , must be very nice indeed . And though St. Basil , and St. Gregory Nyssen , and the other Catholick Writers of that Age , do distinguish between Essence and Hypostasis , that they differ as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , what is common to all the Individuals of the same kind , which is a common Nature , and what is proper and peculiar to each Individual , and distinguishes one man from another ; yet I do not remember , that they quarrelled with the Greek Philosophers , or apprehended that they themselves taught any new Philosophy in this Point , as afterwards Theorianus , and others did ; nor can I see any other difference there is between them , if candidly interpreted , but only in words . The short account of the matter is this . Aristotle's first Substance , which subsists by it self , these Fathers , as they themselves own , call Hypostasis , not Nature , Essence , and Substance ; that is , every subsisting Individuum is Aristotle's Nature , Essence , and Substance , the Fathers Hypostasis ; now when they mean the same thing , and own that they do so , so far they are agreed in the thing , and differ only in words . But then these Fathers in every Hypostasis distinguished between the common Nature , and such Personal Properties , which distinguished common Nature into Individuals , or were Characteristical Marks , whereby to know one Person from another . Now Aristotle indeed never made such a distinction as this ; but yet all that is material in it , is included in his Notion and Definition of Substance . For when these Fathers distinguish in every Hypostasis , what is common to the whole Kind , and what is proper and peculiar to each Individuum , they mean no more by it , but that Peter , for instance , considered as a Man , is perfectly the same that Iames and Iohn are , considered also as Men , though there is something so peculiar to Peter , as to make him a particular Human Person , and to distinguish him from Iames and Iohn , and all other Men in the World. Now it is certain , neither Aristotle , nor any Man of sense , would ever have denied any thing of all this ; for it is evident , that there is something wherein all Men agree , and something proper to every particular Man. That which is the same in all Men , the Fathers call a common Nature , and so does Aristotle , a common Specifick Nature ; but here is some appearance of difference between them , which I think , if rightly stated , is none at all . Aristotle makes Nature as actually subsisting by it self ; as suppose Human Nature in Peter or Iames , to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Individuum , a particular , Singular Nature , and that it is common only in Notion , as every particular Man has a Nature of the same kind , or a true Human Nature . These Fathers on the contrary affirm , That Human Nature , as considered in Peter , or any other particular Man , is a common Nature , distinguished into Hypostases , by something proper , peculiar , and particular to each . That all Nature is common to all the Hypostases of the same kind , and that it is impossible to find a particular and appropriated Nature . Now as great an appearance as here is of a direct Contradiction , a little consideration , I believe , will satisfy all thinking Men , that Aristotle would have owned all that these Fathers say , and then the only Dispute will be , which of them speak most properly , which is of no great moment in this Cause . For what do these Fathers mean by a common Nature ? Do they mean , that there is but one Numerical Subsisting Nature common to all the Individuals ? but one Universal Human Nature in all the particular men in the World ? By no means . Damascen expresly teaches , That the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the common Nature in Creatures , is only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to be known by Reason ; but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the distinction of Hypostases , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is seeen in the things themselves , in their separate Existence . But what is this common Nature , which is seen by Reason ? why , every particular Man is a reasonable Mortal Creature ; each of them is Flesh animated by a reasonable Soul and Mind , and this is the common Nature which is seen by Reason ; common , because it is perfectly and invariably the same in all , though each of these Hypostases , in which this common Nature is , subsist distincty and separately by themselves , and therefore the common Nature too subsists distinctly and separately in these separate Hypostases . Now would Aristotle , or any one for him , deny that his first Substance , though it be an Individuum , which subsists compleatly and separately by it self , is in this sense a common Nature , as being perfectly the same in all the Individuals ; or in the Language of the Fathers , in all the Hypostases of the same Nature ? There can be no such thing , as what Aristotle calls a Species , if every Individual have not the common Nature ; for Nature subsists only in Individuals ; and if that be not a common Nature , it cannot have a common Name and Definition ; if Human Nature be not perfectly the same in Peter , Iames , and Iohn , the Name and Definition of a Man cannot equally and universally belong to them all . And therefore Damascen was certainly in the right , who from an Universal Predication infers , that common Nature is the Species ; and that for this reason , Nature is predicated of its Hypostases , or Individuals , because in every Hypostasis of the same kind , there is the same perfect Nature . Every Man has the perfect Nature of a Man ; and for that reason , and no other , the Name and Definition of a Man belongs to every Man. Upon this account it is , that they reject 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a particular , singular Nature ; because then the same Hypostases must have both the same , and a diverse Nature , even the Persons of the Holy Trinity . If Nature be perfectly the same in all the Hypostases , it is a common Nature ; but if Human Nature in Peter have any thing peculiar and different from Human Nature in Paul , it is then a particular Humanity , and Peter and Paul are not perfectly of the same kind , which is one Notion , wherein they rejected a particular Nature ; which added to what I discoursed above , that by a particular Nature , they meant a whole , absolute Individual Nature , it includes , I think , all that they meant , when they rejected as Heresy , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Three Individual Natures in the Trinity : By Three particular Natures , they always understood Three Absolute , Whole , Individual Natures , and this alone is Trith●ism , for Three such Absolute Divinities must be Three Gods ; but besides this , they thought there could not be Three Individual Natures , without some essential difference to distinguish and number Natures , and this added a mixture of Arianism to Tritheism , and made , at least in part , Three different Divinities , that they were partly of the same , and partly of a different Nature . For , as far as I can understand this matter , the reason why they rejected Singular and Individual Natures , was not , that Human Nature , for instance , does not subsist singly and individually , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as Damascen speaks , in Peter and Paul , and every individual Man in the World ; but because what is common to all without the least Alterity or Diversity , can be but one in all , for Alterity and Diversity is necessary ●o make a Number ; and therefore Nature , which is perfectly the same in all , though it subsists singly in Individuals , is not an Individual it self , as having no principle of Individuation in it self , that is , no Diversity : For which reason it may be numbred with the Hypostases , with the numbring Number ; but the res numerata , that Nature which is numbred with the Hypostases , is but one in all , as I have shewn above . In this sense also these Fathers rejected an Individual Nature , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in their Disputes with the Severians , concerning the Personality of Christ's Human Nature : These Hereticks taught , That every Nature is an Individuum , Hypostasis , or Person , and therefore the Human Nature of Christ , if it were true Human Nature , must be a Human Hypostasis or Person too : In answer to which , these Fathers absolutely denied that there is any such thing as an Individual Nature ; that pure Nature is no Hypostasis , not that it can't subsist , for the Human Nature of Christ does actually subsist ; but that meer Nature has no individuating Principle in it self to distinguish it into different Hypostases , but is distinguished not by any Essential Diversity , but by Personal Properties ; that Nature with Personal Properties is a Person , and therefore if there be a Subsisting Nature , which has no Personal Properties , but is distinguished some other way from Human Nature in Human Persons , it is certain it is Human Nature , but no Human Person : And thus it is with the Human Nature of Christ , which is distinguished from Human Nature in all others by its Hypostatical Union to the Eternal Word , which is no Personal Property , and therefore does not make it a distinct Person , though it be a perfect Subsisting Nature . This is the best and easiest Account I can give of the Philosophy of these Fathers , concerning a Common and Individual Nature , which if it be thought a new way of speaking , yet it is what may be understood , and has a great deal of old Truth in it ; and will help us to understand the Fathers in these Disputes about the Trinity and Incarnation , a little better than I find many men do . Let us then in the next place , inquire what these Fathers mean by Hypostasis , and how they distinguish it from Nature in Created Beings . Now they themselves tell us , That by Hypostasis , they mean Aristotle's first Substance , or that which subsists by it self ; not as a Part in a Whole , nor as Accidents in a Subject , but is a perfect whole it self , and has a compleat Subsistence of its own . What is it then that subsists by it self ? For that is Aristotle's first Substance , and the Fathers Hypostasis : And that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Nature , Essence , and Substance : For nothing else can subsist by it self , as is evident in Aristotle's Definition of Essence and Substance ; and though the Fathers put something more into their Definition of Hypostasis , yet it comes all to one . For as Damascen tells us , Every Hypostasis is perfect Nature and Substance ; and therefore the Hypostases do not differ from each other in Nature , but only in such peculiar and Characteristical Accidents , as distinguish Hypostases . For the Definition of Hypostasis is Nature with its Accidents : That every Hypostasis has the common Nature with its peculiar distinguishing Accidents , subsisting by it self . So that an Hypostasis is nothing else but Nature with its Accidents and distinguishing Characters , subsisting by it self : Now we know Accidents do not subsist by themselves , but if they be Inherent Accidents , they subsist in Nature and Substance ; and therefore though they may distinguish Hypostases and Persons , do not constitute an Hypostasis , and therefore are owned to be only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the peculiar distinguishing Marks and Characters of Hypostases or Persons , whereby they are known from each other : But the Marks and Characters which distinguish Hypostases , are not the Hypostases themselves ; such as the Time when they were born , the Place where they lived , their Parentage , Name , Features of Body , Endowments of Mind , and a hundred other distingushing Marks , for these are very different in different Persons , and as changeable in the same Persons , as Time , Age , Place , Features of Body , Endowments of Mind , Trades , Offices , &c. and yet all these are Persons , and the same Persons under all these Changes . Now setting aside all these Characters and Accidents , which cannot make a Person , but only distinguish one Person from another , there is nothing left to be the Hypostasis or Person , but only the common Nature subsisting by it self : Common , as it is the same in every Individual , but an Hypostasis or Individuum by a separate Existence , or subsisting by it self . For an Individuum , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is one undivided Whole , subsisting by it self , and therefore a whole , perfect , undivided Human Nature , subsisting by it self , is an Hypostasis , or Person , one single , individual Man , though there were no other Mark and Character to distinguish him from other Men , but only this Separate Subsistence . The Humanity of our Saviour is a plain Demonstration of this , that it is only a Separate Existence , or subsisting by it self ( which in Created Beings is the same thing ) that makes Human Nature an Hypostasis , or Person . All Catholick Christians own , that Christ took Human Nature on him , but not a Human Hypostasis or Person , and therefore in him we may see the difference between Nature and Person . What then was Christ's Human Nature ? I know no more of it , but that he had a true Body of Flesh , animated by a Reasonable Soul , such a Body , and such a Soul , as other Men have , and this is Human Nature : But why is not this Human Body and Soul a Human Person too ? Did he want the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , some peculiar Marks and Characters to distinguish him from all other Human Persons ? By no means ! He had more of these Marks of Distinction , and more Authentick ones , than any other Man ever had . The Time and Place of his Birth , his Parentage , his Miracles , his Doctrine , the minute Circumstances of his Death , his Resurrection , &c. were foretold by Ancient Prophets , and he distinguished himself from all the rest of Mankind by those wonderful things he did , that if peculiar distinguishing Characters make a Person , he was more a Person than ever any Man was before or since . What then was wanting to make us Human Nature a Human Person ? Truly nothing , but only subsisting by it self , which it never did , but in union to the Eternal Word . This I think looks very like a Demonstration , that an Hypostasis is nothing but Nature subsisting by it self ; for all that the Humanity of Christ had , without being a Human Person , cannot make a Person , for then the Human Nature of Christ must have been a Human Person too ; and that which alone was wanting to make the Human Nature of Christ a Person , which was subsisting by it self , must be the only thing which makes Nature a Person . I have the rather chose this Instance , because the Humanity of Christ , which is no Person , is often alledged to prove , that there must be some peculiar mode of Subsistence , which must coalesce with common Nature to make a Person . This , I confess , is Language which I do not understand , if there be any thing more meant by i● , than that Nature subsisting by it self is a Person : For Nature which does not subsist , is nothing but in Idea , and Subsistence is a mere Notion without something that subsists ; now we may unite these two Notions of Nature and Subsistence , and form the Idea of a Subsisting Nature , which is all the coalescing I know of ; but actual Production makes a Subsisting Nature , which is not Nature and Subsistence , or a mode of Subsistence coalescing , but Nature in Act. In a Subsisting Created Nature , which does not necessarily exist , we may distinguish between the Notions of Nature and Subsistence , but a Subsisting Nature is nothing but Nature in being , Nature which is , that is , Nature it self ; for the meer Idea of Nature is not Nature . But Subsistence has a Mode , and there must be a peculiar manner of Subsistence to make a Person : Must every Person then have a peculiar manner of Subsistence ? Are there then as many peculiar Manners and Modes of Subsistence , as there are , or ever have been , or ever shall be , distinct Persons in the World ? This is beyond my Philosophy . I have heard of a Compleat and Incompleat Subsistence , to subsist by it self , or to subsist as a Part in the Whole , or an Accident in a Subject , &c. but I never could understand , that any other Subsistence strictly belongs to the Notion of an Hypostasis or Person , but to subsist by it self . The Human Nature of Christ did upon all other Accounts , as truly and properly subsist , as any other Man in the World , but was no Person , as not subsisting by it self , but in Union to the Eternal Word ; which made it the Human Nature of the Word , which was made Flesh , and dwelt amongst us . All this Talk about the different Modes and manner of Subsistence , seems to be a mistake of the Fathers Doctrine concerning the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which these Men translate Modes of Subsistence , of which more anon ; but at present I only observe , That the Fathers do not place the Personality of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , in these Modes of Subsistence , but only distinguish and characterize their Persons by them , and from thence prove the real distinction of Persons in the Individual Unity of the Divine Essence : But then I do not remember , that they so much as distinguish all Created Persons by their peculiar Modes of Subsistence . I know very well , that both Damascen and others , give an Example of this in Adam , Eve , and Seth ; that Adam was immediately formed by God of the Dust of the Earth , Eve formed of one of Adam's Ribs , and Seth begotten of Adam and Eve , which they call their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which in this Example can signify nothing else but their different manner of Production , not different Modes of Subsistence ; but then they do not alledge this as the formal Reason of Personality , nay not as necessary to the distinction of Persons , ( though such Peculiarities , whenever they are , will always distinguish Persons ) but all they designed by it , was to prove , that such different ways of coming into being , made no change or alteration in Nature ; for Adam , Eve , and Seth , had all the same Human Nature , though formed after such a different manner ; in answer to the Arian Objection against the Homoousion , that an Unbegotten and Begotten Nature cannot be the same , and therefore Father and Son not Consubstantial . Indeed this would have been a very ill Example of the Distinction of Persons by these different Modes of Subsistence , because it could only distinguish Adam and Eve from all the rest of Mankind ; for all Mankind ever since , excepting our Saviour , have come into the World the same way that Seth did , and therefore are not distinguished by a peculiar manner of Subsistence , for they have all the same ; and consequently either are not distinct Persons , or else such peculiar Modes of Subsistence , coalescing with common Nature , do not constitute the Person . And yet I can meet with no other Account of any Modes of Subsistence necessary to the constitution of a Created Person ( excepting their Personal Properties and Characters , which do not make , but only distinguish Persons , which are not properly Modes of Subsistence , but Modes , Affections , and Properties of the Subsisting Nature ) ; but only a separate Subsistence , that every Created Hypostasis , or Person , subsists by it self , and separately from all others . And herein both Fathers and Philosophers , notwithstanding some difference in words , seem well enough agreed , and this is all that I need say concerning the Distinction between Nature and Person in Created Beings . But now every one who understands the True Catholick Faith of the Trinity , must needs be sensible , how improper all this is to explain that Venerable Mystery of One Nature , and Three Persons , in the Unity of the Godhead , if we apply these Terms strictly and properly . The Catholick Fathers would not allow Aristotle's Definition of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Nature , Essence , and Substance , that it is that which subsists by it self ; because this leaves no possible distinction between Essence and Hypostasis , without which we can never defend the Faith of One Nature in Three Persons ; for what in his Sense thus subsists by it self , is an Individual and Singular Nature , which is the same with Hypostasis , and then it is impossible there should be Three Hypostases in One Singular Nature , which is but One Hypostasis . But after all , Do these Fathers deny , that the Divine Nature is One Individual Nature ? Do they not , as I have largely shewn , make this the Fundamental Reason of the Divine Unity , That there is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One Divinity in Three Perfect Hypstases ; and that this One Divinity is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a Perfect Indivisible Vnit , and Monad ; and that in a very different Sense from what they own in Creatures ? So that in some Sense these Fathers own , That the Divine Nature is as True an Individuum , and infinitely a more Perfect Vnit and Monad , than Aristotle's First Substance , though his First Substance is , and can be but One Hypostasis , and the Divine Nature subsists perfectly in Three . And therefore to qualify this , they tell us , That Nature signifies the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that which is common to all the Hypostases of the same Nature ; but the Hypostasis is the common Nature with some peculiar and distinguishing Properties , subsisting separately by it self ; and this seems to give us a better image and resemblance of One Nature in Three Hypostases ; for here is one common Nature , not only in Three , but in all the distinct Hypostases of that Nature , that ever were , or ever shall be : But I 'm sure this needs greater qualification , when applied to the Mystery of the Trinity , than Aristotle's ●irst Substance , or it will unavoidably introduce , not merely Tritheism , but Polytheism without end ; for God can limit the Numbers of Created Hypostases , but the number of Hypostases in an Infinite necessary Nature can never be limited , if the Divine Nature be common to the Divine Hypostases , only as Humane Nature is common to Human Hypostases . They teach , as I have already observed , That Human Nature , for instance , is a common Nature , and that every Hypostasis , or every particular Man has this same common Nature ; but then it is a common Nature , not as it is numerically One in all , for it subsists separately in every Hypostasis , and therefore in this sense is not One common Numerical , Individual Nature ; but it is common only , as it is perfectly the same in all . Which they will not allow to be a meer common Notion , but a common Specifick Nature ; for the Nature is the Species , which is the foundation of the common Predication : For therefore all Men have the common Name and Definition of a Man , because they have the same common Human Nature . And thus , though every Hypostasis has not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a particular Nature , as that signifies a distinction in the Nature it self , yet it has the common Specifick Individual Nature ; that is , that Nature which makes the Species , and is common , as it is the same in all , but yet subsists individually 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and separately in each Hypostasis . But now will any Catholick Christian say , that thus it is in the Ever Blessed Trinity ? That the One Common Divinity is One and Common , only as One Common Humanity is , that is , that it is perfectly the same in all ? not One Individual , but One Specifick Nature : Or will he say , That each Divine Person has one whole intire Specifick Divinity , as every Human Person has a whole Specifick Humanity ? As far as I can see , this would as unavoidably make Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , Three Gods , as Peter , Iames , and Iohn , are three Men ; and a common Nature , and personal Properties , and different Modes of Subsistence , would no more prevent a Trinity of Gods. than a Trinity of Men. This , I think , plainly shews , how vain an Attempt it is to find out any Notions of Unity and Distinction , of Nature and Person , or any words to express those Notions by , common to God and Creatures . These Creature-Ideas , and Creature Terms , can be applied to God only by way of Analogy and Accommodation , and that a very imperfect one too . 2. Let us then consider , how the Catholick Fathers accommodated these Names of Essence and Person to the explication of this Mystery , and what they intended to represent by them . I shall do this in as few words as possibly I can , that what I have to say may be the more easily understood . They tell us , That all Nature is common , that Human Nature is common to all Mankind , and the Divine Nature common to all the Three Divine Persons , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; not that they thought the Divinity or Godhead a common Nature , merely as Human Nature is common , but there is this Analogy between them ; that the Divine Nature is not singular , or does not subsist in Singularity , but in Three Hypostases , as Human Nature is common , because it is not confined to one , but is in all Human Hypostases ; and that the Divine Nature is perfectly and invariably the same in each Hypostasis , as the Human Nature is , which for this Reason is called a common , not a particular Nature ; which is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Sameness , Identity , not Singularity , of Nature in the Blessed Trinity . Thus far the Analogy holds , ( which is a direct opposition both to Sabellianism and Arianism ) but it reaches no farther ; for the Divine Nature is not a common Specifick Nature , as all Created Nature is common , for the Godhead is no Species ; that is , there is , and can be but One God : Which I have already at large shewn to be the Sense of the Fathers . They expresly teach , That the Divine Nature is an Individual Nature , but not Singular ; it is common , as being whole and perfect in more Hypostases than One , which excludes Singularity , but it is one whole Entire , Individual Nature ; so one Individual , as Human Nature is one in one Man. For though Individual and Singular is the same in Creatures , it is not so in the Divine Nature ; nor can it be , if the Catholick Faith be One Nature , One Divinity in Three Perfect Hypostases : And if we can form any sensible Notion of this , it will silence all the pretences of Jargon , Nonsense , Contradiction , Tritheism , which are so constantly objected against this Venerable Mystery . And therefore I shall briefly inquire , 1. What that One Divinity is , which is common to Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , and how it is common : 2. How this common Nature is in a strict and proper Sense , One Individual Nature . And I think this is easily accounted for from the Doctrine of the Fathers . 1. As for the first ; This 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One Divinity , is the Divinity of the Father , the Natura Patris , the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Nature of the Father , and the Divinity of the Father , who is the Eternal Self-originated Mind , which has no Second , and therefore there can be no other , no Second , or Third Divinity . Now this One Divine Nature , One Divinity of the Father , is common to the Son , and to the Holy Spirit : Common , I say , not merely as Human Nature is common to all Men , because it is the same in all , perfectly the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , though it be not the same Individual Nature in all , which is singular and incommunicable in Creatures ; but it is common by a perfect communication , whole of whole ; that it is no New Divinity , but the Divinity of the Father , which is in the Son , who is therefore so often , as I observed above , called the Nature , and Divinity , and Mind of the Father , his Image and Character , and that which is signified by all this , his Eternal , Living , Omnipotent Word . I do not intend to prove all this over again , which I have abundantly proved already , but only to put every thing into its proper place , that we may view the Whole in a true light . This Divine Nature then of the Father which is but One , is that One Divinity , which is by an Eternal Ineffable Generation communicated whole and perfect to the Son , and by a like Eternal and Ineffable Procession to the Holy Spirit : But still the difficulty is , How this is One Nature , which is not Singular , nor subsists in Singularity , but in Three Proper , Distinct , Compleat Hypostases , or Persons . 2. And therefore rightly to apprehend this , we must inquire into the Notion of One Individual Nature . Now that which is most obvious , and which the Fathers perpetually alledge in justification of the Divine Unity , is , That an Individual is an undivided Nature , and therefore the One Divinity of the Father , though actually communicated to the Son , and Holy Spirit , is One Individual Divinity , because it is communicated whole and perfect , without Division or Separation ; and that which is undivided is One. But though to be undivided be essential to the Notion of an Individual Nature , yet there must be something else to compleat this Notion , or at least to give us a more distinct conception of it . Could Human Nature propagate it self whole and compleat to Two or Three , without any division or separation of Substance , this could not make it One Individual Nature , though they were undivided ; for One Individual Nature , is One whole Compleat Nature , without division ; which is all that is essential to such a Being , and is this all but once , and that without division . But how will this agree with the Notion of One Divinity , or One Individual Divine Nature ? For does not the One Divine Nature , which is the Divinity of the Father , subsist compleatly and distinctly , though without division and separation , in the Son and Holy Ghost ; and will you call this One Individual Nature , which is not singularly in One , but subsists distinctly in Three ? Yes , I will , because all these Three , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are essential to the Notion of One Divinity , and therefore are One Individual Divinity in Three ; for an Individual Nature is that , which without division has all that is essential to such a Nature . Well , But is not the Father then , in his own Person , True and Perfect God , and the Son True and Perfect God , and the Holy Ghost True and Perfect God ? that is , Have not each of these Divine Persons all the Divine Perfections included in the Notion and Idea of God ? And are they not Three who have all the Perfections of the Divine Nature ? and how then is this One Individual Nature ? I answer : When I say , That One Individual Nature is that which has all that is essential to such a Nature ; by Essential I mean , not only Essential Properties , Qualities , Powers , and Perfections , ( which are commonly called Nature , there being no other notion of Nature in Created Beings ) but Essential Productions too , which ( when there is any such thing ) are as essential to Nature , as any other Properties or Perfections . In the first Sense of Essential , the Divine Nature is not singular , but communicated by the Eternal Father to the Eternal Son , and by Father and Son to the Eternal Spirit , and all Three are Infinite in Wisdom , Power , and Goodness , and all other Divine Perfections . This is but One Divinity , One Godhead ; for there is not a Second and Third Divinity in the Son , and in the Holy Spirit , but the One Divinity of the Father . But yet we must confess , that here is Number ; Father , Son , and Holy Ghost are Three , and how can that Divinity , which is perfectly and distinctly in Three , be One Individual Nature , One Numerically ; One as Human Nature in every particular Man is One ? Now this must be resolved into the second Notion of Essential , for Essential Productions ; for all Essential Productions in the Unity of Nature , though they may be distinguished and numbred among themselves , are but One Individual Nature . It will be in vain to seek for an Example of this in Created Nature , and I believe the reason of it will be evident without it . An Eternal Self-originated Mind is True and Perfect God , the First Supreme Cause of all things , and has all the Perfections of the Divinity wholly in it self , is the One and only True God : But if it be essential to an Eternal Mind to have an Eternal , Living , Subsisting Word and Spirit , by an Eternal Generation and Procession , then this Eternal Word and Spirit are essential to an Eternal Mind , not as Essential Perfections , or Essential Parts , but as Essential Productions or Processions in the Unity and Identity of Nature . Thus the Scripture represents this Mystery , That there is One God , who has an Eternal Word , and an Eternal Spirit ; and the Catholick Fathers , as I have already observed , insist on this as a natural Demonstration of a Trinity , That the Eternal Mind must have its Eternal Word and Eternal Spirit . Now if the Eternal Word and Eternal Spirit are essential to the Eternal Mind , it is certain , that Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , the Eternal Mind , its Word , and Spirit , are but One Individual Divinity ; every thing that is essential , is included in the Notion of an Individual Nature ; for that is not a Compleat and Perfect Nature , nor an adequate notion of Nature , that wants any thing that is essential . Now though we may have a general Notion and Idea of a God , That he is an Absolutely Perfect Being , which Includes all the Divine Attributes and Perfections , without knowing any thing of the Son , or Holy Ghost ; yet if we consider this Absolutely Perfect Being as Eternal Self-originated Mind , with its Eternal Word and Spirit , as essential Productions or Processions , we can consider them no otherwise , but as One Individual Divinity ; this Eternal Word and Spirit being essential Processions of the Eternal Mind , which can never be separated from it : For such essential Processions are not only coeval and consubstantial with the Nature from whence they proceed ; as the Sun , its Light and Heat , ( by which Argument the Catholick Fathers proved the Coeternity and Consubstantiality of the Son and Holy Spirit with the Eternal Father ) but whatever distinction there is between them , they are One Individual Nature , if all that be One Individual Nature , which is essential to such a Being ; and such all essential Processions are , as well as essential Perfections . These are two very different Questions , and of a very different consideration , What God is ? and Who this God is ? In an answer to the first , we form the Idea and Notion of all Divine Perfections , or of an absolutely Perfect Being , which is the true notion of the Divinity , and whoever has all these Divine Perfections , is True and Perfect God ; and this is our natural notion of God , as that signifies the Divinity , which gives no notice of any distinction in the Divinity ; for there can be no diversity in Absolute Perfections and therefore no distinction or number , according to the Philosophy of the Fathers . But when we consider who God is , or what is the Subject of all these Divine Perfections , we can form no other Idea of it , but an Eternal , Infinite , Self originated Mind ; this the Wisest Philosophers , as well as Christians , are agreed in , That God is an Infinite Mind ; and this rightly explained , may teach us some distinction in the Divinity ; for all Men must grant , what they feel in themselves , that every Mind has its Word and Spirit , and cannot be conceived without them ; and therefore the Eternal Mind must have its Eternal word and Spirit too ; and the reason why this did not lead all Mankind into the natural belief of a Trinity of Persons , Mind , Word , and Spirit , in the Unity of the Godhead , was plainly this , Because they found that their own Word and Spirit were not permanent , subsisting Persons , but were the perishing Creatures of the Mind , which were no sooner produced , but died and vanished as our Thoughts do , and thus they conceived it was with the Divine Mind ; which is one kind of Sabellianism , as I observed above : But yet the Catholick Fathers thought this natural belief , That the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that the Divinity , or Divine Mind , is not without its Word , a very proper Medium to prove a real subsisting Word in the Divinity ; for an Infinite Perfect Mind , which is all Life , Being , Substance , if it begets its own Word , as every Mind does , must beget a Living , Substantial , Subsisting Word , the perfect Image and Character of its own Life and Infinite Being . However , thus much I think we must own , That since every Mind must have its Word and Spirit in the Individual Unity of its own Nature ; and the Holy Scripture assures us , that God , who is the most perfect Mind , has his Word and Spirit , and that this Divine Word and Spirit is an Eternal , Living , Subsisting Word and Spirit , this is a very good foundation for the belief of a Real Trinity both from Reason and Scripture . The natural Notion and Idea of a Mind , teaches us this distinction in the Divinity ; and Natural Reason strongly infers , from the perfect Productions of an infinitely perfect Mind ; that the Divine Word and Spirit must be an Eternal , Living , Infinite Word and Spirit ; and the Holy Scripture confirms all this : And therefore Scripture and Reason are so far from contradicting each other in this Article , that the Belief of the Trinity , though it be ultimately resolved into the Authority of Revelation , yet has Reason on its side , as far as it can judge of such matters : Which proves a considerable Authority , when the obscure and imperfect Conjectures of Reason , are explained and confirmed by Revelation . For though the Notion of an absolutely perfect Being , which is the Natural Idea of the Divinity , teaches no such distinction , yet the Idea of an Infinitely Perfect and Self-originated Mind , which is as natural a Notion of God , does . Thus Damascen teaches us to distinguish between the Divinity , and in what the Divinity is , or to speak more accurately , what is the Divinity , and that which proceeds eternally from this First Cause , that is , the Hypostases of the Son and Holy Spirit ; the first teaches us that there is but One Divinity ; the second shews the distinction of Persons in the Unity of the Divine Nature . But then ( which is what I intended in all this ) this very distinction proves one individual Divinity , because it is in the individual Unity of the same Numerical , not Specifick Nature ; for all essential Processions , as the Eternal Word and Spirit are , which cannot so much as in Thought be separated from Original Mind , must continue in the Unity of the same individual Nature . This is what the Fathers meant by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the One common Divinity , which is individually One in Three perfect Hypostases , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost : The Divinity of the Father , of Eternal , Self-originated Mind , is the common Divinity , communicated to the Eternal Word and Spirit , in the individual Unity of Nature . 2. Now this will give us some Notion of the distinction of Nature and Persons in the Eternal Godhead . I say , Persons , not Person ; which I take to be the fundamental Mistake which has obscured and perplex'd this Mystery . Men have rack'd their Inventions , to find out some distinction between Nature and Person in every single Person in the Godhead ; which it is certain these Fathers never thought of ; though their Attempt to distinguish between Nature and Person in every Man , gave some occasion to this Mistake : But I have already proved both from Fathers and Schoolmen , That when they spoke distinctly of each particular Person , they made Person and Nature the same : That the Person of the Father is the Nature of the Father , and the Person of the Son the Nature of the Son. Nor indeed had they any occasion to distinguish between Nature and Person in each single Person , which could do no service in this Mystery : For the true reason and occasion for this distinction , was to reconcile the Individual Unity of the Divine Nature , with a Trinity of real Hypostases or Persons ; how One Nature can subsist in Three distinct Hypostases , and continue One Individual Nature : Which had been no difficulty at all , were not each Divine Person by himself the Divine Nature . But how the Divine Nature should subsist whole and perfect in Three distinct Persons , and not be Three distinct Natures , but One Nature , and One Divinity ; not specifically , but individually and numerically One ; This was the difficulty they were concerned to answer ; which the distinction between Nature and Person in each single Person could not answer : For let us suppose such a distinction as this , whatever it be ; if the Divine Nature subsist whole and perfect in each distinct Person , the difficulty still remains how the Persons are distinct , and the Nature individually One : As , to put the Case in Human Nature ; whatever distinction we allow between Nature and Person in every particular Man ; if we allow that every Man has Human Nature as distinctly in himself , as he is a distinct Person , the distinction between Nature and Person can never prove the Individual Numerical Unity of Human Nature in Three Men. The Question then is , Not how Nature and Person is distinguish'd in each single Person , ( much less , how Three Persons in One singular Nature are distinguished from that singular Nature , which unavoidably reduces a Trinity of Persons to an unintelligible Trinity of Modes ) ; but , How the Three Persons in the Ever-blessed Trinity , which are Three in number , and each of them the Divine Nature , are distinguished from that One Individual Divinity which is in them all , or rather , which they all are . Now what I have already said , seems to me to give a very intelligible Notion of this , viz. That the Divine Nature , which is but One , is the Eternal , Self-originated Divinity , with its Eternal , Essential Processions or Productions ; which , as I have already shewn , are but One , not Singular , but Individual Nature , and Individual Divinity : But then this One Self-originated Divinity is most certainly an Infinite , Eternal , Self-originated Person , if Infinite , Eternal , Self-originated Mind be a Person ; and these Eternal Essential Processions are Persons also , if an Eternal , Living , Subsisting Word be a Person , and an Eternal , Living , Subsisting Spirit be a Person ; and then it is evident , that there are Three Eternal , Subsisting Persons in the Individual Unity of Nature . These Divine Processions do not multiply nor divide the Divine Nature , because they are essential to an Infinite Mind , and are Processions ad intra in the perfect Identity ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) and Individual Unity of Nature ; but they are distinct Persons , as being Eternal , Subsisting , Living , Intelligent Processions , which is all that we mean by Persons in this Mystery , with reference to the Eternal Word and Spirit . For these Three Divine Persons have their different Characters and Order , whereby they are distinguished from each other , which the Fathers call the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by which they meant their different manner of subsisting in the Individual Unity of the Divine Nature , that though they have all the same Divinity , as that signifies all Divine Perfections , yet they have it after a different manner that is , as they constantly explain it , Vnbegotten , Begotten , and Proceeding , as the Athanasian Creed teaches us to believe ; The Father is made of none , neither created , nor begotten . The Son is of the Father alone , not made , nor created , but begotten . The Holy Ghost is of the Father , and of the Son , neither made , nor created , nor begotten , but proceeding . This is the only distinction which the Catholick Fathers allow between the Three Divine Persons , and let us consider the nature of it . Now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies actual Existence , and that which does actually exist ; and therefore the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , signify that there are Three that do actually exist , but after a different manner : That is , That the Father is Unbegotten , Self-originated Divinity , is God of himself , without any other cause of his Being , and this Self-originated Unbegotten Divinity is the Person of the Father , and in the highest and most absolute sense the One God. The Son is Eternally begotten of his Father's Substance , and lives and subsists in him ; and so the Holy Ghost Eternally proceeds from Father and Son : That is , There is One Eternal Self-originated Divinity with its two Eternal Processions in the perfect Unity and Identity of the same Nature . The Father's manner of subsistence is easily understood , and secures to him the Prerogative of the One True God ; but we must shew this a little more plainly with reference to the Son and Holy Spirit , each of which is by himself True and Perfect God , but not a Second and Third God : The right understanding of which depends upon the true stating of their different manners of subsistence . And here I need only refer to what I have already discoursed concerning the difference between an Absolute Nature , and Relative Subsistencies in the same Nature . An Absolute Nature is a whole Compleat Nature , with all that essentially belongs to such a Nature , as every perfect Man has all that belongs essentially to the Nature of Man , and thus a Man begets a Man in his own Nature and Likeness ; and the Son , which is begotten , is upon all accounts as much a Man , as he who begets , and Father and Son are two Men : And to beget , and to be begotten , tho they prove their Persons to be distinct , yet are but External Relations not different manners of subsistence in the same Nature . And thus God does not beget a Son , which would be to beget a Second God : For to beget , and to be begotten , when he who begets , begets in an absolute sense all the same that he is himself , makes two of the same kind . And therefore we must observe , That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which is the Personal Character and Property of the Father , does not only signify , that he has no cause of his Being and Nature , but that what he is , he is absolutely in himself , has an Absolute , not a Relative Nature and Subsistence ; and so consequently the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which is the Personal Property of the Son , signifies that his Being and Nature is Relative ; not only , that he receives his Being and Nature from his Father , but that he so receives it , as to be a Relative Subsistence in his Father's Nature ; and the like may be said of the Procession of the Holy Ghost . As to shew this more particularly . God begets a Son , his own perfect Image and Likeness , but he does not beget his own Absolute Nature in his Son , as Man does , though he begets his Son of his own Nature and Substance ; as for instance . God is Perfect , Absolute , Original Mind , not only as Original is opposed to what has a Cause , and a Beginning , but as opposed to an Image ; but God does not beget an Absolute Original Mind in his Son , but only his own Eternal , Essential Word , which is the Perfect , Living Image of Eternal , Self-originated Mind , and is it self Eternal , Infinite Mind , in the Eternal Word ; but is in its own proper Character , the Eternal Word of the Eternal Mind , not originally an Eternal Mind it self . It has all the Perfections of an Eternal Mind , as a Perfect Word must of necessity have , which is the perfect Sameness and Identity of Nature ; but it has all these Perfections , not as Original Mind , but as a Begotten Word , which is a different Mode of Subsistence , and a sensible distinction between the Eternal Mind and its Word in the perfect Identity of Nature . This I take to be a True and Intelligible Account of these different manners of Subsistence , which distinguish the Divine Persons in the perfect Unity of Nature , that they have all the same Nature , and same Perfections , but after a different manner ; which can never be understood in Absolute Natures and Persons , for three Men , though Father , Son , and Grandson , have all of them Human Nature after the very same manner ; but in an Absolute Nature , and Relative Essential Processions , this is to be understood , and proves a real distinction , and perfect Unity . It is evident to all Men , that the Mind and its Word are Two ; and it is as evident , that Life , Wisdom , Knowledge , are in Absolute , Original Mind , after another manner than they are in its Word ; and yet the very Notion of a Mind , and its Word , and that Essential Relation that is between them , makes it a contradiction to say , that any other Life , Wisdom , Knowledge , can be in the Word , than what is in the Mind ; which would be to say , That the Word is not the Word of the Mind , if it have any thing that is not in the Mind : For a Natural Word can have nothing but what is in the Mind , and is no farther a Word , than it is the Natural Image of the Mind : And the like may be said concerning the Holy Spirit , which hath all the same Divine Perfections , but in a different manner , from Original Mind , and its Word , as eternally proceeding from both . This is the Account which the Catholick Fathers give of the Unity of Nature , and Distinction of Persons , in the Ever Blessed Trinity , which answers the Objections of our Sabellian , Arian and Socinian Adversaries , and vindicates those Catholick Forms of Speech , which they charge with Tritheism , Contradiction , and Nonsense : As to shew this briefly in one view , for each part of it has been sufficiently confirmed already . The Catholick Faith teaches us , That there is but One God ; and this is demonstrable from the Doctrine of these Fathers . For in this Account I have now given , there is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , One Absolute Divinity , One Divine Nature , and therefore but One God. But , say our Adversaries , One God in Natural Religion , and according to the general Sense of Mankind , signifies One Person , who is God : And this also in some sense has always been owned by the Catholick Church ; That as there is but One Absolute Divinity , so the Person of the Father , who is this One Absolute Divinity , is this One God ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , there is but One Person , who is God , in this Absolute Sense , because there is but One Father , who , as they often speak , is the Fountain of the Deity , that is , of the Divine Processions , of the Son and Holy Spirit : He is the Whole Absolute Divinity himself , and whatever is Divine , Eternally and Essentially proceeds from him , in the Unity of his own Nature . But at this rate , what Divinity do we leave for the Son , and the Holy Spirit ? Truly , the very same by Eternal Generation and Procession , which is originally and absolutely in the Father : For it is the Nature of the Father , and the Divinity of the Father , which is in the Son and Holy Spirit ; as the Fathers constantly own , and as of necessity it must be , because there is no other . This Eternal Generation and Procession has always been owned as an ineffable Mystery ; which we must believe upon the Authority of the Scriptures , without pretending to know how God begets an Eternal Son , or how the Eternal Spirit proceeds from Father and Son , which we confess we have no Notion of ; but we know likewise , That this is no reason to reject this Faith , no more than it is a reason to reject the belief of an Eternal , Self-originated Being ; because though it be demonstrable , That there must be an Eternal First Cause of all things , which has no Cause of its own Being , but an Eternal necessary Nature , yet we can no more conceive this , than we can an Eternal Generation and Procession . Supposing therefore ( without disputing that matter at present ) that God has an Eternal Son ; that Eternal , Self-originated Mind has an Eternal , Subsisting Word , and an Eternal Spirit , it is evident that this Eternal Word and Eternal Spirit , must have all the same Perfections of the Eternal Mind , must be all that the Eternal Mind is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , excepting its being an Absolute , Self-originated Mind . Now if he be God , who has the whole Divine Nature and Perfections , then the Son is God , and the Holy Ghost is God , who by Eternal Generation and Procession have that same Divinity which is absolutely and originally in the Father . Well then : Here is One Divine Person , viz. the Eternal Father , who is absolutely and originally God ; and Two more , the Son , and Holy Ghost , who are each of them in his own Person , true and perfect God , by having all the Divine Perfections : But are not these Three then Three Gods ? the Unbegotten God , who is originally and absolutely God , the Begotten God , and the Proceeding God. No , it is the constant Doctrine of the Catholick Fathers , that the Trinity is but One Divinity , and One God , una Summa res , One Supreme Being , as St. Austin taught , and from him Peter Lombard , and was confirmed by the Council of Lateran , in the Condemnation of Abbot Ioachim . For Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , though they are Three true and proper Persons , are but One Individual Nature ; for it is Essential to the Eternal Mind to have its Eternal Word and Eternal Spirit , and the Eternal Word and Spirit live and subsist in the Mind ; and though living , subsisting Persons , yet are as individually One with the Mind , as a Created Mind , its Word and Spirit are One. Whatever is Essential to Nature , is in the Individual Unity of it ; and that is but One Individual Nature which has nothing but what is Essential to it ; and therefore if , as I have already observed , and as the Catholick Faith teaches , the Son and Spirit , the Eternal Word and Eternal Spirit , are Essential Processions of Eternal Original Mind , and essentially , indivisibly , and inseparably in it ; Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , are as essentially and inseparably One Individual Divinity , as any One Nature is One with it self . But is not this a kind of Sabellian Composition of a God ? A whole Divinity made up of Three partial and incomplete Divinities ? Which St. Austin calls a Triformis Deus : By no means ! What is compounded , is made up of Parts , which make a compound Nature ; but perfect Hypostases , however united , can make no Composition : However you unite Iames and Iohn , you can never make a compound Man of them , because each of them have a perfect Human Nature ; and as Damascen observes , we do not say , That the Nature or Species is made up of the Hypostases , but is in the Hypostases : So that each Divine Person , being a complete and perfect Hypostasis , having the whole Divine Nature in himself , as being True and Perfect God ; their Union in the same Individual Nature , though it makes them One Essential Divinity , yet it cannot make a Compound God ; for however their Persons are united , the Divinity or Divine Nature is not compounded , each of them being True and Perfect God , and not One God by Composition , but by an Individual Unity of Nature in Three . For every Divine Person is not God , in the same sense , that every Human Person is a Man , as having an Absolute Individual Nature of his own ; for in this sense the Father only is God , as being Absolute Original Divinity , an Eternal , Self-originated Mind ; and Three such Persons must be acknowledged to be Three Gods ; but as I have been forced often to repeat it , the Son and Holy Spirit are Divine Persons , as they are Eternal , Living , Subsisting Processions in the Divine Nature , which proves them to have the very same Divinity , and to be but One Individual Divinity , but not One Compound God. For One Individual Nature in Three , though distinguisht into Distinct Subsisting Persons , makes such a natural , inseparable Unity of Will , Energy , and Power , that they are as perfectly One Almighty Agent , as every single Person is One Agent , as I have shewn above . It is thought by some a manifest Contradiction to say , as the Athanasian Creed teaches us , The Father is God , the Son God , and the Holy Ghost God , and yet there are not Three Gods , but One God. But whoever carefully considers what I have now said , must own , that this is the only true and proper way of speaking in this Mystery . If there be but One Absolute Divinity , there can be but One God ; for the Divine Processions in the Unity and Identity of the same Individual Nature , cannot multiply the Divinity , nor multiply the Name and Title of God ; for the Name God does not originally , absolutely , and immediately belong to them , but only relatively : The proper immediate Character of the Second Person in the Trinity is , not God , but the Son of God , and the Word of God ; and so the Third , is the Spirit of God. And though we must necessarily own , that the Son of God , and the Spirit of God , are each of them True and Perfect God , equal in all Divine Perfections to the Father , as being all the same that the Father is , excepting his being a Father ; yet they are not Three Gods , for this is not their immediate , Original Character , but there is One God the Father , his Eternal Son , and Eternal Spirit . This is what I have above observed from Tertullian , That there is One God with his Oeconomy , that is , his Son and Spirit , and that Christ is called God , when he is spoken of by himself ; but when he is named together with the Father , he must have his own proper Title , which is the Son of God ; and the Reason is the same , as to the Holy Spirit ; by which Rule , we can never say , That Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , though each of them be God , are Three Gods ; but there are Three , God the Father , his Son , and Holy Spirit : The Father God of himself , the Son and Spirit Eternal Processions , and Divine Subsisting Relations in the Unity and Identity of the Father's Godhead . They have all the same Divinity , their Glory equal , their Majesty coeternal , but their different manner of having it , the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , distinguishes their Names and Characters : The Father is God , absolutely God , an Unbegotten , Self-originated Being ; so God , that there is no other God besides him . The Son is not absolutely God , but the Son of God ; and when he is called God in Scripture , it is in no other sense , - but as the Son of God ; for the Son of God , must be God the Son : Nor is the Holy Spirit absolutely God , but the Spirit of God , which is all we mean , when we call him God ; for the Spirit of God must be God the Holy Ghost : This is the Catholick Faith , and let any Man try if he can find Three Gods in it : For when we number Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , we must not number them by the common Name of Nature , which is One Undivided Divinity in them all ; but by their Relative Names and Characters , which do not only distinguish their Persons , but signify their Unity , Order , and Relations in the same Nature . We must not call them Three Gods , because God is not the original Name of the Son , or Spirit , and therefore they are not Three Gods ; but there are Three in the Unity of the Godhead . The One God the Father , the Son of God , and the Spirit of God ; so that there is but One God in the Christian Faith , if the Son of God be the Son of this One God the Father ; and the Spirit of God , be the Spirit of this same One God : And though the Son of God be God , and the Spirit of God be God , that is the Name of their Nature , not of their Persons , and therefore can no more be multiplied with the Persons , than the Divine Nature is . The Son of God is God , but it is Authoritate Paternae Naturae , as St. Hilary speaks , not by any Absolute Godhead of his own , but in right of his Father's Nature and Divinity , which he received by an Eternal Generation . Thus it must be , where there is but One Absolute Nature , with its Internal Processions . Let us put the Case in a Human Mind , and suppose , That its Word and Spirit were Distinct , Living , Intelligent Hypostases in the Mind , Essential Processions in the Unity and Identity of Nature , perfectly the same with the Mind , but distinct Hypostases ; but would any one for this Reason , call these Three , Three Men , or Three Minds ? And yet such a Living , Subsisting Word , and a Living Subsisting Spirit , would as perfectly have the Nature of the Mind as the Mind it self , but neither of them would be an absolute Mind , but one the Word of the Mind , and the other the Spirit of the Mind ; not Three Minds , but One Mind , with its Essential Word , and Spirit . This , though an Imaginary Case , gives us a sensible representation of the difference between the Eternal Mind , and its Eternal Word and Spirit ; which I freely acknowledge cannot properly be called Three Infinite Minds and Spirits ; for though the Eternal , Subsisting Word is an Infinite Mind , and so the Eternal , Subsisting Spirit , yet Mind , as well as God , is the Name of their Nature , not of their Persons , which is Identically one and the same in all . This , as I take it , is what some Learned and truly Catholick Writers mean , in distinguishing the several Acceptations of this Name God. That sometimes it signifies the Divine Nature and Essence in general ; as when we say , The Trinity is One God , that is , One Divinity ; that there is but One Divine Nature and Essence in all the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity : Sometimes it signifies Personally , as when we say , The Father is God , the Son is God , and the Holy Ghost is God ; that is , the Person of the Father , the Person of the Son , and the Person of the Holy Ghost is God : But then they are still forced to acknowledge , that the Name God is not predicated Vnivocally of all Three Persons ; but that the Father is God in a more excellent and eminent Sense , than the Son is God , or the Holy Ghost God , as being God of himself , an Unbegotten , Self-originated God , the Fountain of the Deity to the Son and Holy Spirit : Upon which account he is so often by the Catholick Fathers called the One God , and the only True God. Now all this is very True , and very Catholick , but with all submission , it seems to me to be an inconvenient way of speaking , which perplexes the Article with different Senses , and is liable to great Cavils and Misconstructions , as the Examples of Dr. Payn , and the Author of the 28 Propositions , witness ; and when most dexterously managed , will sooner silence than convince an Adversary . The Divine Essence must be considered only as in the Divine Persons ; when we say , That the Trinity is One God , the true meaning is , That Three Persons are One God ; and the general abstract Notion of the Unity of Essence does not account for this , but the Unity of the Divine Essence in Three . Thus to say , That the Father is God in the highest sense of that Name God ; and that He alone ( strictly speaking ) is a Being absolutely perfect , because he alone is Self-existent , and all other Beings , even the Son and Holy Ghost are from him ; may be expounded to a very Catholick Sense , and was certainly so meant ; but is liable to great Cavils , when Men take more pains to pick Quarrels with Words , than to understand an Author . An Absolutely Perfect God ; and a God that wants any Perfection , sounds not only like Two Gods , but like Gods of different Kinds ; for every diversity of Nature alters the Species . All that is meant by this is certainly True and Catholick , and taught in express words by the Primitive Fathers ; That the Father is not the Son , nor the Son the Father ; that the Son is all that the Father is , excepting his being the Father , and unbegotten , that is , excepting Paternity , and Self-existence , or Self-origination ; and that upon this Account the Father is eminently called the One God , the Son , God of God ; that is , God as the Son of God. What I have now discoursed seems to me to give the fairest Account of this Matter . I take the Name God always to signify a Person , in whom the Divine Nature is , not the Divinity in the Abstract ; and then the Name God must belong to any Person after the same manner , as the Divine Nature is his ; that is , he must be called God in no other sense than as he is God. Now , as I have already shewn , there is but One Absolute Divinity , with Two Internal Processions in the Unity and Identity of Nature : And if we make this our Rule of Speaking , ( as we must do , if this be the Catholick Faith of the Trinity , and we will fit our words to the nature of things ) then it is very plain , That the Name God absolutely belongs only to him , who is this Absolute Divinity , that is , the Person of the Father , that no other Person is God in recto , absolutely and simply God , but only he ; that he is the One God , the only True God , as both the Scripture and Fathers own . But what becomes then of the Son , and Holy Ghost ? Is not the Son God ? and the Spirit God ? Yes ! the Name and Title of God belongs to them , as the Divine Nature does ; that is , not absolutely , as to the Absolute Divinity , but as to Divine Processions , to Divine Subsisting Relations in the Unity of the Godhead ; that is , the Second Person in the Trinity is God , but not in recto , as God signifies that Person , who is the Divinity ; but as the Son of God , as habens Deitatem , having the Divinity , not absolutely and originally , but by Communication , by Eternal Generation : And so the Holy Spirit is not absolutely God , but the Spirit of God ; and God only as the Spirit of God , as an Internal Procession in the Divine Nature . But in what sense then can we say , That the Trinity is One God , or that Three Persons are One God ? Must we not necessarily own , that God in these Propositions is taken Essentially for the Deity in the abstract , and not as considered in any One Person ? For will we say , That the Trinity , or Three Persons , are but One Person ? No! and yet in this Proposition , The Trinity is One God ; by One God , I understand , One , who is absolutely God , One Absolute Divinity , which is the Father , who has indeed a Son and Spirit , in the Unity of his own Nature and Godhead , each of which is True and Perfect God , but not a Second , and Third God , but the Son of God , and the Spirit of God ; Divine Subsisting Relations in the One Absolute Godhead of the Father , which does not multiply the Name nor Nature of God. This is the Account the Catholick Fathers give of the Unity of God in a Trinity of Persons , and therefore this must be the Catholick Sense of this Proposition : And here it will be proper to observe , That in the Account they give of the Unity of God , that is , the Unity in Trinity , they indifferently assign One Divinity , and One Father , as the Reason of it : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . There is One God , because there is One Divinity ; and there is One God , because there is One Father , which are not two different Reasons , but one and the same ; from whence it necessarily follows , That this One Divinity is the Divinity of the Father , and that this One God in Trinity , is the Father ; for One God must necessarily signify One Person , when the Father is the One God. So that the Father , who is the One Absolute Divinity , is the One God , who ceases not to be the One God , ( as St. Hilary and others constantly teach ) by having a Son , and Holy Spirit , who receive all from him , live and subsist in him , and are eternally and inseparably One with him : Thus we are taught in the Athanasian Creed , to worship One God in Trinity , that is , the Eternal Father , who is the One God , with his Son , and Holy Spirit ; and the Trinity in Vnity , that is , Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , not Three Gods , but One in the Unity of the Father's Godhead . For the Godhead of the Father , of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost , is all one , the Glory equal , the Majesty Coeternal : There is but One Godhead , One Glory , One Majesty , and that is the Godhead , Glory , and Majesty of the Father ; and the Son and Spirit are in the Godhead , Glory , Majesty of the Father , as Internal Processions , Living , Subsisting Relations in the Father's Godhead . This Account , which I confess is the only Account of this Matter that I can understand , whatever other Faults it may have , which I do not yet see , I 'm sure is perfectly Orthodox ; is neither Tritheism , Sabellianism , Arianism , nor Socinianism , but the True Catholick Faith , of a Trinity in Unity . Here is but One Absolute Divinity , but One Father with his Eternal Son and Spirit , in the Unity of his own Nature and Godhead , and therefore but One God : For Three Gods must be Three Absolute Divinities , without any Internal Relation , or dependence on each other . Internal Relations , though Real , Subsisting Relations , can't multiply Nature , and therefore can't multiply Gods. Here are Three Real , Proper , Living , Intelligent , Substantial , Divine Persons , and therefore no Sabellianism , not One Personal God , with three Names , Offices , Manifestations , Modes , Powers , Parts . Here are Three truly Divine Persons , each of which is by himself , or in his own Person , True and Perfect God. The Father God of himself , Unbegottan , Self-originated God , the Fountain of the Deity to the Son and Holy Spirit . The Son , the Son of God , and True and Perfect God , as the Son of God. The Spirit , the Spirit of the Father , and the Son , and True and Perfect God , as the Spirit of God : So that here is neither Arianism , Macedonianism , nor Socinianism ; no Made or Created Nature , no Creature in the Ever Blessed Trinity . No , say our Arian and Socinian Adversaries , neither the Son , nor the Holy Ghost , according to this Hypothesis , are True and Perfect God , as the Father is : Neither of them have Self-existence , or a Fecundity of Nature , which are thought great Perfections in the Father ; but the Son is not of himself , but begotten of his Father ; nor is the Spirit of himself , but proceeds from Father and Son ; and neither of them have a Son , or Spirit of their own , as the Father has . All this I readily grant ; for it is the Catholick Faith , that the Father is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , so a Father , that he never was a Son , and the Son 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , so a Son , that he never was , nor can be a Father , and so of the Holy Spirit ; That there is but One Father , not Three Fathers ; One Son , not Three Sons ; One Holy Ghost , not Three Holy Ghosts , as the Athanasian Creed teaches . This proves indeed , as we all own , that neither the Son , nor Spirit , are absolutely God , an Absolute Divinity , as the Father is , but only Divine Processions ; an Absolute Divinity has a Fecundity of Nature ; Absolute , Original Mind , according to this Hypothesis must have its Word and Spirit , in the Unity of its Nature ; but the Word being no Absolute Nature , can't beget another Word , nor the Spirit another Spirit . So that this Objection only delivers us from the Charge of Tritheism , by proving Father , Son , and Holy Ghost to be but One Divinity , One God : For if the Son were as absolutely God , as the Father is , there is no account to be given , why he should not beget a Son , as his Father did him , as we see it is among Men , where the Son begets a Son , and becomes a Father , and thus there could be no possible end of Divine Generations ; but these are Generations ad extra , which give as compleat and absolute a Nature , and absolute Subsistence to the Son , as the Father has ; but Internal , Essential Relations are in the Individual Unity of Nature , and therefore cannot multiply , when Nature has all that is essential to it . So that Self-existence and Generation do not belong to the Character of a Son ; and with the Catholick Church , we teach , That the Son of God is God , only as the Son ; and it would be Heresy to ascribe the peculiar Prerogatives of the Father to him : And then it can be no Objection against the Divinity of the Son , that he has not what is peculiar and proper only to the Person of the Father , as Self-existence and Generation is . Self-existence , Self-origination , to have no cause of his Being , I grant , is essential to the Idea of a God : And Eternal and Necessary Existence to the Notion of any Person , who is in any sense God ; for he , who ever began to be , and subsists precariously , can in no sense be God. But then though Self-existence be essential to the Notion of an Absolute Divinity , yet a Person , who is a Son , and therefore not Self-originated , but eternally begotten of a Self-originated Father , and subsists eternally and necessarily as an Essential Procession and Relation in a Self-originated Nature , must be the Son of God , and God the Son , True and Perfect God , as the Eternal , Necessary , Essential Procession of a Self-originated Divinity . For what is internally and essentially related to a Self-existent Nature , can be no Creature , and therefore must be True and Perfect God. Thus to proceed : The same Rule of speaking ( if Men be peaceably and charitably disposed to understand one another ) will easily reconcile that late warm Dispute , about One Substance , and Three Substances , in the Unity of the Godhead ; for the Dispute is the very same , in other words , with One Nature and Three Persons . The Nicene Fathers , who asserted the Homoousion , the One Nature and Substance of Father , and Son , did not by this mean One Singular Substance , as I have abundantly shewn ; and those who assert Three Substances in opposition to Sabellianism , do not mean Three Absolute , nor Three divided and separated Substances , but One Individual Substance , as there is One Individual Nature in Three Substantial , Subsisting Persons . That is , There is but One Absolute Substance , with Two Relative , Substantial Procefsions in the Individual Unity of the same One Substance : Which the Schools make no scruple to call Three Relative Substances . All Catholick Writers , both Ancient and Modern , own , that the Father is Substance , the Son Substance , and the Holy Ghost Substance ; but yet are cautious of saying Three Substances ; nor will they say , ter Vna , thrice One Substance , because Number does not belong to the Nature , but to the Persons ; though at the same time they own , that Deus trinus signifies tria supposita Deitatis . These seem to be great Niceties , and Arbitrary Distinctions , without any reason and foundation in Nature ; for what difference is there between Three Substances , and Three Relative Substances ? For Relative Substances are Substances . What difference between Three Substances , and tria supposita ? when suppositum is only another name for Substance ; and so St. Hilary , as I have observed , called them , tres substantias , & tria in substantia , Three Substances , and Three in Substance . When there are Three , each of which is in his own Person Substance , and neither of them each other , what difference is there between saying , Tres in una substantia , & ter una substantia ? Three in One Substance , and thrice Once Substance ? Marius Victorinus , as I observed before , ventures to say , ter ipsa Substantia , ( not ter una , as it is mistaken in a late Treatise , by trusting too much to memory ) thrice the very same Substance ; now thrice the same One Substance , is thrice One Substance ; where the Number belongs to the Essence and Substance , which is Aquinas's Objection against it . But the whole Account of this must be resolved into the Distinction between Absolute and Relative . Substance , when it stands by it self , signifies Absolutely , and so Three Substances are Three Absolute Substances ; Three Human Substances , Three Humanities ; and Three Divine Substances , Three Divinities ; and therefore we must not without great caution , say Three Substances in the Trinity , for fear of asserting Three Gods ; but yet we must own , that each Person is True and Perfect Substance ; and both the Fathers and Schools own this ; and Three in Substance are Three Substances , but not Three Absolute but Relative Substances , Three Subsisting Relations in the Unity of the Divine Essence and Substance : Though , as I have more than once observed , in proper speaking , we cannot say Three Relative Substances ; for though the Father speaks a Relation to the Son , and Holy Spirit , it is as he is the Fountain of the Deity , Original , Absolute , Divinity , Essence , Substance , in his own Person , not a Relative Subsistence ; and therefore in the Blessed Trinity , there is One Absolute Substance , Absolute Divinity , and Two Relative Substances , as there are Two Internal Substantial Relations in the Unity of the same Substance . And to prevent Mistakes , I must here observe , That by Absolute we do not mean Compleat and Perfect , for so the Son is Absolute Substance , and the Holy Spirit Absolute Substance , Compleat and Perfect Substance , as each of them in his own Person is True and Perfect God ; in which Sense St. Austin tells us , that persona ad se dicitur , that Person is predicated absolutely ; that every Person , as considered in himself , is a Person , and not merely as related to another ; but when we say , that there is but One Absolute Substance in the Godhead , by Absolute we mean Original , as I have already explained it , as distinguished from Relative Processions , as the Original is distinguished from the Image ; though the Image , if a Living , Subsisting Image , is as Compleat and Perfect Nature and Substance , as the Original is . And this is the only difference I know , between Substance , Nature , Essence , and Suppositum , Subject , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Res , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Thing , Being , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Subsistence , and the like : That the first signify Absolutely , or as the Schools speak , the Form ; that is , an Original Substance , Nature , and Essence ; and therefore these must not be multiplied in the Divinity , by saying Three Substances , Natures , or Essences , for fear of a Diversity or Number of Divinities , and Gods. The other Terms , though they do not in common use signify Relatively , as Subject , Suppositum , Thing , Being , Subsistence , do not , yet they signify any thing that really is , that has a Compleat , Actual Subsistence of its own , and therefore are applicable , to all substantial relative Processions , which are compleat Subsistencies , Things , Beings , as well as to original Nature and Substance : And both the Fathers and Schools for this reason owned the Three Divine Persons to be Three Things , Three Beings , Tres Entes , Tria Entia , Tres Res , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; and scruple not the use of any such transcendental Terms , as do not necessarily multiply the absolute and original Form. Thus the One Substance of the Godhead either signifies the absolute Divinity of the Father , and this is but One , and can never be Ter Vna , Thrice One ; or it signifies the One individual undivided Divinity of Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , that is , the absolute Divinity of the Father , with his internal essential Processions in the perfect Unity and Identity of Nature , and this it is but One Substance , for there is but One Individual Nature ; not Ter Vna , but Tres in Vna ; not Thrice One Substance , but Three in One Undivided Nature and Substance ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which I have sometimes , not so properly , translated a Thrice subsisting Monad , but it is a Monad with Three Hypostases ; which , in other words , is One Nature and Three Persons ; not One singular Nature Thrice subsisting ( which I cannot understand ) , but One individual Nature , and Three subsisting Hypostases ; Vna Substantia , non Vnus Subsistens ; One Substance , not One that subsists : This Individual Nature subsists but once ; but in the Individual Unity of the Father's Essence and Godhead , are those Eternal , Substantial , Subsisting Processions , the Hypostases of the Son , and Holy Spirit . And in this sense the One Individual Substance of the Divinity may properly enough be stiled Ter ipsa , or Ter Vna Substantia ; Thrice the same One Substance , not Thrice One Absolute Substance , in which sense Aquinas rejected it ; but Tria Supposita Vnius Substantiae , or Deitatis ; which is One Substance , by the individual Unity , and invariable Sameness and Identity of Nature ; as I have shewn above . Thus that warm Dispute among the Schoolmen , about one Absolute Subsistence and Existence in the Trinity , and Three Relative Subsistencies and Existences , which is managed with so much perplexing Subtilty , as far as I can understand any thing by it , may easily be composed after the same manner . For there is but One Absolute Being and Nature in the Divinity , and therefore there can be but One Absolute Subsistence and Existence , as Absolute signifies , not Compleat and Perfect , but , to subsist and exist as an Original , which in the Godhead signifies a self-originated Subsistence and Existence : But then to deny all relative Subsistencies and Existencies , is to deny the compleat Subsistence and Existence of the Son and Spirit , who are essential Relations in the Unity of the Father's Godhead , and therefore subsist not as Originals , but as Relatives , which is the meaning of a Relative Subsistence . There is but One Absolute Divinity , and Two Relative Processions , and therefore in this sense , but One Absolute , and Two , not Three , Relative Subsistencies ; which seems fairly to divide the Question between them . Thus , once more : It is a known Rule of speaking in this Mystery , That Substantives must be predicated in the Singular Number , Adjectives will admit a Plural Predication ; and the same difference is made between Abstract and Concrete Terms . There are not Three Gods , but Tres Deit atem habentes , there are Three who have the Divinity ; not Three Omnipotencies , or Three Omnisciencies , but Three who are Omnipotent and Omniscient . And the approved reason for this is , That Substantives and Abstract Terms , signify the Nature , Essence , and Form , and to multiply them , is to multiply Natures ; but Adjectives immediately signify the Subjects , Suppositums , and Persons , and only connote the Nature and Form , which multiplies the Persons , but not the Nature . Now though I understand what is meant by this , when applied to the Divinity , yet I never could understand this Reason for it ; for there is no such difference between Substantive and Adjective Predications in any other Case ; Three men , and Three , who have Human Nature , signify the very same thing , and multiply the Form , as well as the Persons ; Three , who have Human Nature , are truly and properly Three men ; and then the meer difference between Substantives and Adjectives cannot be a good Reason , why Three , who have the Divine Nature , are not Three Gods. But the difference between an Absolute and Relative Predication does give an account of this . Substantives and Abstract Terms always signify the Form , as the Schools speak , that is , an Absolute and Original Nature , and in this Sense Number multiplies Nature , as well as Persons , and Three Gods are Three Absolute Original Divinities , as wellas Three Divine Persons ; and thus it is as to Adjective Predications in all Creatures , as I observed before , because there is no such distinction in Creatures between an Absolute Nature , and Internal Subsisting Processions in the Unity and Identity of Nature ; and when Nature always signifies the Original Form , a Substantive or Adjective Predication can make no difference : but where there is such a distinction , as there is in the Divinity , Substantives and Adjectives do most aptly represent it , because Adjectives admit of a Relative Predication , and may signify a Person , who has the Divine Nature , as an Internal , Subsisting Procession in the Divinity , but is not the Absolute Divinity , nor in an Absolute Sense God , but the Son of God , and the Spirit of God. Indeed in such Forms of Speech we must have more regard to the Absolute or Relative Signification , than to the Substantive or Adjective Form of the Words . Adjectives in an Absolute Sense must no more be multiplied than Substantives , which I take to be an easier Account of the tres aeterni , and unus aeternus in the Athanasian Creed , than to turn it with Aquinas into tria aeterna , and unum aeternum . For Three Eternals , whether Substantives or Adjectives , in an Absolute Sense are Three Gods ; Three Eternal , Three Intelligent , Three Omniscient Persons , in an Absolute Sense , are Three Eternities , Three Omnisciences , and in this Sense there is but unus aeternus , One Eternal Self Originated Person , as there is but One God : and on the other hand , Deus or God , though a Substantive , may signify Relatively , as it does in the Nicene Creed , God of God ; and in this Sense some of the Schoolmen , thought it very Orthodox to say Three Gods , if we explained in what Sense we meant it , as I observed above , Tertullian did , Ecce duos deos , though at the same time he rejects the use of such Forms , for their ambiguous Signification which might betray men into Polytheism . And if God may have a Relative Signification , so may Mind and Spirit too , and then Three Minds and Spirits is as Orthodox , as Three that have an Intelligent and Spiritual Nature . In short ; as far as I can hitherto observe , all the Catholick Rules of Speaking relating to this Mystery must be resolved into this distinction of Absolute and Relative : This is the only distinction we know of in the Godhead , and this we as certainly know there is , as we know , that there is an Eternal Father , who has an Eternal Son , and an Eternal Spirit ; One Absolute , Self-Originated Divinity , with its Internal , Essential Processions in the Individual Unity and Identity of Nature : and if this be the Unity and Distinction of the Divinity , this must be our Rule of Speaking also , to have a due regard to the One Absolute Nature , and the Relative Processions of the Godhead ; which will secure us both from a Sabellian Singularity , and a Tritheistick Trinity of Absolute Divinities . The CONCLUSION . With a short Application to the Socinians . I Proposed one thing more to be considered in relation to this Subject ; viz. Whether the Catholick Faith of a Real a●d Substantial Trinity , can be as reasonably and intelligibly explained by the Notion of One Singular Substance in the Divinity , as by asserting Three Personal Substances or Suppositums : And whether the Singularity of the Divine Essence in this Notion , delivers the Asserters of it from any Inconveniences and Objections , which the contrary Opinion is thought liable to . But , I hope , after what I have already said , there is no occasion for this , and I will not needlesly revive old Quarrels . Let but Men sincerely and heartily believe in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , Three Eternal , Infinite , Substantial , Living , Intelligent , Omnipotent , All-wise Persons , each of which is in his own Person True and Perfect God , and all Three but One Divinity , and One God ; and I will dispute with no such Orthodox Christians concerning the Philosophy of the Divine Nature , which is so infinitely above our comprehension . There may be a necessity for such Disputes , when we have to do with Hereticks , who ridicule the Catholick Faith as contradictions and absurd ; but when Men agree in the Faith , such Disputes are of no use to them , and may prove of dangerous consequence ; for there are too many , who will be sooner disputed out of their Faith , than out of their Philosophy ; which should teach all Catholick Christians , as much as it is possible , to silence all Disputes amongst themselves , which their common Adversaries are so apt to improve into Scepticism , Infidelity , or Heresy . And therefore for a Conclusion , I shall only take a brief Review of the Doctrine of the Fathers concerning this Article of a Trinity in Unity , and apply it in a few words to our Socinian Adversaries . The Faith of the Catholick Church taught by Christ and his Apostles is , that there is but One God ; but this One God is a Father , who has an Eternal Son , and an Eternal Spirit , in the Essential Unity of the same Undivided and Undiversified Godhead : And this is the Faith which all the Catholick Fathers have owned and taught in their several Ages . The whole Christian Church Baptizes , as our Saviour commanded , in the Name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost ; and this is the Rule of their Faith , to believe in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost : A plain , simple Faith , could Men have been contented to believe God concerning himself . Let our Socinian Adversaries tell us , what there is absurd , impossible , or contradictious in this Faith ? Will they venture to say , That it is absurd or contradictious , that God should have a Son ? No! in some sense they will allow this true ; they themselves believe in Father , Son , and Holy Ghost ; they acknowledge Jesus Christ to be the Son of God , as he is frequently called in Scripture , and that in a higher sense , than any other Man is the Son of God ; but that he is but a Man after all , though advanced by God to Divine Honours , above all Principalities and Powers , and made the Judge both of the Quick and of the Dead ; and this they affirm to be all that the Scripture means , in calling Christ the Son of God. But this is not the present Dispute : They know that the Catholick Church believed otherwise , that Christ is the Eternal Son of God , begotten of his Father before all worlds , God of God , very God of very God ; and they know also , that thus the Catholick Fathers expounded those Texts which concern the Sonship and Divinity of our Saviour ; and they cannot but confess , That they are very capable of such an Exposition ; nay , that it is very difficult to put any other sense upon many Texts ; and the only reason why they reject these Catholick Expositions , is the pretended Absurdity and Contradiction of the Catholick Faith. Here then we join issue with them , and desire them to shew us , what is impossible or contradictious in this Faith ? That there is something incomprehensible in this Mystery , that is , something which we have no Natural adequate Ideas of , we readily acknowledge with the whole Catholick Church ; and some of our Adversaries grant , That it is possible for a thing to be , whereof we have no Idea ; and then it seems to me very unreasonable to add , but we are no ways concerned , nor can we Reason or Discourse about those things whereof we have no Ideas : For the direct contrary seems to be the more natural consequence , that if God thinks fit to reveal such things to us , of which we have no Ideas , we are concerned and obliged to believe them ; for if they may be true , they are the proper Objects of Faith , though they want the Evidence of Natural Ideas But I do not intend to dispute this now , but refer them to the Bishop of Worcester ' s Answer to Mr. Lock ' s Second Letter ; and to a late Sermon , and its Vindication , Concerning the Danger of Corrupting the Faith by Philosophy . What I have now to say , is of another Nature , viz. That we have an Idea of a Trinity in Unity , and such an Idea , as contains nothing absurd , impossible , or contradictious in it : That very Idea , which I have so largely explained , One Absolute Divinity , with Two Eternal , Essential Processions , in the Unity and Identity of Nature . The Eternal Father , Eternal Self-originated Mind , with his Eternal Word , his Eternal Son , and the Eternal Spirit of Father and Son. This is that Idea which the Scripture gives us of it , and which the Catholick Church hath always taught : Every Man may understand what is meant by it , and therefore it is not Jargon and Nonsense ; and I think I have sufficiently vindicated it from Tritheism and Contradiction , and have no more to say of that nature , till I hear what they have to object against what is already said ; and when they come to consider this Matter again , as Men that shall certainly be called to an Account for it in this World , as well as in the next , I hope they will see reason to grow out of conceit with their own Philosophy , about Emanations and Processions , a Priority of Time , and Priority of Nature , Self-Existence and Necessary Existence , and such like Arian Objections , which were made and answered many Ages since , and which they may find sufficiently answered in this Treatise . This brings back the Dispute to Scripture , where the last Appeal must lie in all such Matters , without appealing for the Sense of Scripture to Natural Ideas and Philosophy : And if the Interpretations of the Catholick Fathers were of any Authority with these Men , I have already shewn how they expounded Scripture , which will always be a venerable Authority to modest Men and sober Christians , how much soever it be despised by Hereticks . But it is time to put an end to this Treatise ; we may consider their Expositions of Scripture some other time . THE END . DR . Sherloc● , Dean of St. Paul's Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity . Third Edition . Quarto — Apology for Writing against Socinians . Quarto . — The Danger of Corrupting the Faith by Philosophy . A Sermon . Quarto . — A Vindication of the Sermon , in Answer to some Socinian Remarks . An Answer to the Animad versions on the Dean of St. Paul's Vindication of the Trinity . By I. B. A. M. Quarto . A Defence of the Dean of St. Paul's Apology for Writing against Socinians . Quarto . A Defence of Dr. Sherlock's Notion of a Trinity in Unity . Quarto . The Distinction between Real and Nominal Trinitarians examined ; in Answer to a Socinian Pamphlet . Quarto . All Printed for William Rogers . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A59853-e4010 Quâ nec dicuntur ut cogitantur , nec cogitantur ut sunt . Aug. de Trinit . l. 5. c. 3. Cùm ergo quaeritur quid tria , vel quid tres , conferimus nos ad inventendum aliquod speciale vel generale nomen , quo complectamur haec tria , neque occurrit animo , quia excedit supereminentia divinitatis usitati eloquii facultatem . Aug. de Trin. l. 7. c. 3. Ad se quippe ( Pater ) dicitur Persona , non ad Filium , aut Spiritum Sanctum . Aug. de Trin. l. 7. c. 6. Cur ergo non haec tria simul unam Personam dicimus , sicut unam Essentiam , & Deum , sed tres dicimus Personas , cùm tres Deos , aut tres essentias non dicamus , nisi quia volumus vel unum aliquod vocabulum servire huic significationi quâ intelligitur Trinitas , ne emnino taceremus interrogati , quid tres , cùm tres esse fateremur . Ibid. Quidigitur restat , nisi ut fatcamur , loquendi necessitate partita haec vocabula , &c. l. 7. c. 4. No● h●c definitione eam quam Graeci 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dicunt terminavimus . Boet. de Una Persona Christi . Prima & summa vita , cui non aliud est vivere , & aliud esse , sed idem est esse & vivere . Primus & summus intellectus , cui non est aliud vivere , & aliud intelligere , sed id quod est intelligere , hoc vivere , hoc esse est , unum omnia . Aug. de Tr. l. 6. c. 10. Si tamen dignum est , ut De●● dicatur subsistere . — Deus autem si subsisti● at substantia propriè dici possit , inest in co aliquod tanquam in subjecto , & non est s●●plex . — N●fas est autem dicere ut subsist●t , & subsit Deus bonitati suae . — Unde manifestum est , Deum abusiv● substantiam vocari , ut nomine usitatiore intelligatur essentia , qu●d verè & proprie dicitur , ita ut fortasse solum Deum dici oporteat esse essenti●m . — Ego sum qui sum , & qui est misit me ad vos . Id. l. 7. c. 4 , 5. Personam in accidentibus non posse constitui , relinquitur ergò , u● Personam in Substantiis dici conveniat . Boet. de una Christi Persona . Non enim aliud est Deo esse , ali●d Personam esse , sed omnino idem . Neque in hàc Trinitate , cùm dicimus Personam Patris , aliud dicimus , quàm Substantiam Patris . Aug. Tr. l. 7. c. 6. Personam in Substantiis dici conve●●at — non autem in non viventibus corporibus , vel s●nsu carentibus , vel intellec●●s & ratione . Boet. ibid. In universalibus Persona dici non potest , sed in singularibus atque individuis . Boet. Ibid. Cùm ipsae Substantiae in Universalibus quidem sint , in particularibus verò capiant Substantiam , jure Substantias particulariter Subsistentes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( Graeci ) appellaverunt . Id. Omnis essentia , quae relativè dicitur , est etiam aliquid excepto relativo , ut homo dominus , homo servus — ad se dicuntur , & substantiae sunt vel essentiae : dominus vero & servus — ad aliquid relative dicuntur : sed si non esset homo , id est , aliqua substantia , non esset qui relative dominus diceretur . — Quapropter si & Pater non est aliquid ad se ipsum , non est omnino qui relativè dicatur ad aliquid . Aug. de Trinit . l. 7. c. 1. Nos verò unicum , quidem Deum credimus , sub hác tamen dispensatione , quam aeconomiam dicimus , ut umci Dei sit & filius , & sermo ipsius , qui ex ipso processerit , per quem omnia facta sunt , & sine quo factum est nihil . Tert. cont . Prax. c. 2. p. 501 Oxon. Dum unicum , Deum non aliàs putat credendum , quàm si ipsum eundemque & Patrem , & Filium , & Spiritum Sanctum dicat , quasi non sit quoque unus sit omnia , dum ex uno omnia , per substantiae scilicet unitatem , & nihilominus custodiatur aeconomiae sacramentum , quae unitatem in Trinitatem disponit , tres dirigens Patrem , & Filium , & Spiritum Sanctum . Ibid. Iudaicae fidci ista res est , sic unum Deum credere , ut Filium adnumerare ei nolis , & post Filium Spiritum . Tert. c. Prax. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. cont . Sabell . Tom. 1. p. 651. Paris . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. Quidam ita Evangelicae fidei corrumpunt Sacramentum , ut sub unius Dei pià tantùm professione , nativitatem Unigeniti Dei abnegent — Qui sub unius Dei solâ sanè utili ac religiosâ praedicatione , aut Deum natum Christum negant , aut verum Deum non esse contendunt , ut Creatio potentis Creaturae intra unum Deum fidei Sacramentum relinquat , quia nativitas Dei extra unius Dei fidem religionem protrahat confitentium . Sed nos edocti divinitus , neque duos Deos praedicare , neque solum , hanc Evangelici ac Prophetici praeconit rationem in Confessione Dei Patris & Dei Filii afferemus , ut unum in fide nosira sit uterque , non unus ; neque cundem utrumque , neque inter verum & falsum aliud confitentes : quia Deo ex Deo nato , neque eundem nativitas p●rmittit esse , neque aliud . Hilar. de Trin. lib. 1. Cùm enim unum Deum prophanae assertio infidelitatis ingereret , & rursum unum Deum negare fides sana non posset , tractari de eo non sine ancipitis periculi conscientiâ potuit , quod non minus impiè confirmaretur , quàm negar●tur . Hil. de Trinit . lib. 5. Non ignorans , quantum in eo sit , vel responsionis periculum vel silentii , & e● utraque opportunitatem impietatis expectans . Atque ita sapientia mundi , quae stultitia apud Deum est , specie blandae & pestiferae simplicitatis illuderet , cum hoc fidei suae constitu●ret exordium , in quo sibi impiè assentiremur aut adversaremur . Et per hoc utriusque rei periculum , Dei filium Deum non esse obtineret , quia Deus unus est ; aut extorqueret alterius haeres●os necessitatem , si & patrem Deum & filium Deum confitentes , unum Deum praedicare secundum Sabellii opinionem impiam existimaremur . Ibid. Non n●gantes Deum , unum , sed — Deum & Deum — Praedicantes , & Deum unum non per unionem docentes , neque rursum ad diversitatis numerum des●cantes ; neque contra in nominibus tantùm confi●entes , sed Deum & Deum . Ibid. Nemini dubium esse oportet ad divinarum rerum cognitionem divinis utendum esse Doctrinis — Non subeunt ingenia nostra in coelestem scientiam , neque incomprehensibilem virtutem sensu aliquo infirmitas nostra concipiet . Hilar. l. 4. de Trin. Ipsi de se Deo credendum est , & iis , quae cognitioni nostrae de se tribuit , obsequendum ; aut enim more Gentilium denegandus est , si testimonia ejus improbantur ; aut si , ut est , Deus creditur , non potest aliter de Deo , quàm ut ipse est de se testatus , intel●igi . Ibid. Non negantes Deum unum , sed eo ipso Autore Deum & Deum , per quem Deus unus praedicatus est , praedicantes . — Atque ita non autoritati contrarium est , sed ex autoritate responsum est , ne per id filium liceret Deum negare , quia ad Israel Deus unus est : cùm confitendi Dei filium Deum idem Autor est , qui Autor est Dei unius praedicandi . Hilar. de Trin. l. 5. prope initium . Habes ergo Deum ex quo , habes Deum per quem ; aut si id negabis , necesse est , id quod factum est , per quem factum sit , doceas . Quod ergo dictum est , fiat firmamentum , in eò quod pater sit locutus , ostenditur ; & quod fecisse Deus dicitur , in eo persona efficientis est intelligenda , qui faciat . Hilar. de Trin. lib. 4. Sensus communis intelligentiae non recipiet , ut in eo quod dictum est , jussit & facta sun● ▪ solitarius atque id●m significatus credatur . Ibid. Caeterùm , etsi ubique teneo unam substantiam in tribus cohaerentibus , tam●n ahum dicam oportet ex necessitate sensus , eum qui jubet , & eum qui facit : nam nec j●ber●t , si i●se faceret , dum juberet fieri per eum : tamen jubebat , haud sibi jussurus si unus esset ; aut sine ●●ssit facturus , quia non expectasset , ut sibi juberet . Tert. adv . Prax. c. 12. Haec aut nega Scripta , aut quis es , ut non putes accipienda qu●madmodim Scripta sunt ; maxime quae non in Allegoriis & Parabolis , sed in d●finitionibus , & certis & simplicibus habent sensum . Tert. adv . Prax. c. 13. Deus enim per Legistatorem secundum intelligentiam nostram locutus est : Verbis videlicet quibus uti ipse nos voluit , cognitionem corum nobis , quae gessit , imperticus . Hilar. Ibid. Sustulit singularis intelligentiam prof●ssione consortu : Consorti●m autem esse aliquod solitario ipsi sibi non potest . Quid enim tam alienum ab eo qui solus ●sset , ut sibi faciendum diceret , cùm voluntate tantum opus est , ut fieret . N●one rursum recipit solitarii solitudo , F●ciamus , r●que quisq● un alieno à se Nostram loqui●●● uterque sermo , & faciamus , & nosi 〈…〉 silitarium ●●ndemque non patitur , ita neque divers●●● à se alienumque significat . Cognita per id , quòd nost●am imagin●m dicit , non etiam imagines nosiras , ●mus in utroque prepietate naturae . Hil. Ibid. Non ergo in fabricatione mundi solitarius Pater sibi loquitur , sapientiâ suâ secum & co operante , & consummata co operatione gaudente . Ibid. Te●t . a●v . Pra●●a●● . Salvo enim filio recte unicum Deum potest determinasse , cujus est filius . Non enim definit esse qui habet filium ipse unicus , suo scilicet nomine , quotiens sine filio n●minatur . Sine filio autem nominatur , quum principaliter determinatur ut prima p●rsona , quae ante si●i● nomen erat proponenda ; quia pater ante ●●gn●●citur , & post patrem fi●ius nominatur . Igitur unus Deus Pater , & ali●s absque ●o non est . Quod ipse infer●us non ●●lium n●gat , sed alium Deum . Cae●●rum alius à Patre filius non est . D●nique , inspice sequentia hujusmodi pronuntiationum , & invenies fere ad Id●lorum factitatores atque cultores definitionem carum pertinere ; ut multitudinem falsorum Deorum unio Divinitatis expellat , habens tamen filium quanto individuum & inseparatum a patre tanto in patre reputandum , etsi non nominatum , atquin si nominasset eum , separasset , ita dicens , alius praeter me non est , nisi filius mēus ; alium enim etiam filium fecisset , quem de aliis excepisset . Puta solem dixisse , ego sol , & praeter me ●on est , nisi radius meus , nonne denotasses vanitatem , quasi non & ra●ius in sole deputetur . Tert. adv . Prax. c. 18. Qui etsi De●●●●catur , quando nominatur sing●●● 〈◊〉 non igitur du●s Deos faciat , se● 〈◊〉 , hoc ipso quod & Deus ex unitate patri● vocari habeat . Ibid. c. 19. Non alter ad eum Deus deputatur ( filius ) non enim ex alia substantia , sed ex Deo Deus est . Nihil itaque in eo novum , nihil extraneum , nihil recens est . Hilar. de Trin. l. 4. in fine . Reliquus autem nunc omnis s●rmo ad id proficiet , ut qui Deus verus esse intelligitur , non in Deum alterum deputetur : Et quod in alterum non proficit , id unum intelligatur . Non enim aliud quàm Deus subsistit , quod non aliunde quàm ex Deo Deus subsistit : Nam cùm ipse Deus sit , tamen etiam per naturae virtutem in eo Deus est : Et per id quod ipse Deus , & in eo Deus est , non est Deus praeter eum : Cùm non extet aliunde quod Deus est , & in eo Deus sit , habens in se & quod ipse est , & ex quo ipse subsistit . Id. l. 5. Quoniam ego sum Dominus , & non est Deus praeter me : Est enim unigenitus Deus , neque consortem unigeniti nomen admittit , sicut non recipit innascibilis , in eo tantum quòd est innascibilis , participem . Est ergò unus ab uno , neque praeter Deum innascibilem Deus innascibilis alius est ; neque praeter unigenitum Deum Deus unigenitus quisquam est . Uterque itaque Unus & Solus est , proprictate videlicet in unoquoque & innascibilitatis & originis . Ac sic uterque Deus unus est : Cùm inter unum & unum , id est , ex uno unum , Divinitatis aeternae non sit secunda natura . Hil. l. 4. In his ergo si unum magis quam solitarium Deum intelligis , ecclesiae religionem profiteberis , quae Patrem in Filio confitetur . Sin verò unum Deum ad solitarii significationem , sacram●nti coelestis ignarus oltendis , extra cognitionem Dei es , Deum i● Deo esse non confitens . l. 5. Considerations , p. 1. Consid. p. 2. Consid. p. 3. P. 3. P. 5. P. 2. P. 9. P. 10. Alii qu●que Haeretici ●sque adeò Christi manifestam amplexati sunt Divinitatem , ut dixerint illum fuisse sine Carne , & totum illi susceptum detraxerint hominem , ne decoquerent in illo divini nominis potestatem , si humanam illi sociassent , ut arbitrab●ntur , nativitatem . Novat . de T●init . c. 18. Epiph. l. 1. Tom. 2. Haer. 4. five 24. Tertul de praescript . Haeret. Hoc si qui putaverit me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aliquam in● roducere , id est , prolation●m rei alterius ex altera , quod facit Valentinus , alium atque ali●m Aeonem de Aeone producens ; primo quid●m dicam tibi , non ideo non utitur & Veritas Vocabulo isto , & re & censu ejus , quia & haeresis potius ex veritate accepit , quod ad mendacium suum strueret . Prolatus est Sermo Dei an non ? Hic mecum gradum fige . Si prolatus est , Cognosce probolam Veritatis , & viderit Haeresis si quid de Veritate imitata est . Iam nunc quaeritur , quis quomodo utatur aliqua re & vocabulo ejus ? Valentinus probolas suas discernit & separat ab Auctore : Et ita longe ab eo ponit , ut Aeon Patrem nesciat . Denique desiderat nosse , nec po●est ; immo & pene devoratur , & dissolvitur in reliquam substantiam . Apud nos autem solus filius patrem novit & sinum patris ipse exposuit , & omnia apud patrem audivit & vidit . — Sermo ergo & in patre semper , sicut dicit , Ego in patre . Et apud Deum semper , sicut scriptum est , & sermo erat apud Deum , & nunquam separatus à patre , aut alius à patre ; quia , Ego & Pater unum sumus . Haec erit probola veritatis , cuflos unitatis , quâ prolatum dicimus filium à patre , s●d non separatum . Tert. adv . Praxeam . c. 8. Firmum est genus probationis , quod etiam ab adversario sumitur , ut veritas etiam ab ipsis inimicis veritatis probetur . Nam usque adeò manifestum est in Scripturis esse Deum tradi , ut plerique haereticorum divinitatis ipsius magnitudine & veritate commoti , ultra modum extendentes honores ejus , ausissent non filium , sed ipsum Deum patrem promere vel putare . Quod etsi contra veritatem Scripturarum est , tamen divinitatis Christi argumentum grande atque praecipuum est : qui usque adeo Deus , sed quâ filius Dei natus ex Deo ; ut plerique illum ( ut diximus ) haeretici , ita Deum acceperint , ut non filium , sed patrem pronunciandum putarent , &c. Novat . de Trin. c. 18. In eo quod credit ( Arius ) alium esse Patrem , alium Filium , mecum est contra Sabellianos . Aug. de 5. Haeres . c. 5. P. 9 , 10. P. 14. P. 13. ● . 14. P. 14. P. 20. P. 24. Persona , ut Ecclesia in hoc articulo loquitur , est substantia individua , intelligens , & incommunicabilis . Satis constat veteres Scriptores Ecclesiae solitos haec duo vocabula discernere , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & dicere unam esse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , id est , essentiam aeterni Patris , Filii & Spiritus Sancti , sed tres 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , id est , tres verè subsistentes , non commentitios , non caducos , non confusos , sed distinctos , singulares intel●●gentes . Lusit homo Fanaticus Servetus de vecabulo Personae , & disputat olim Latinis significasse habitum aut officti distinctionem , ut dicimus Roscium alias sustin●re Personam Achillis , alias sustinere Personam Ulyssis ; seu alia est Persona Consulis , alia servi : ut Cicero inquit , Magnum est in republica tueri Personam Principis . Et hanc veterem significationem vecabuli sycophantice detorquet ad Articulum de tribus Personis Divinitatis . Sed has impias pras●igias fugiamus & execremur , & sciamus in hoc Articulo aliter loqui Ecclesiam , & Personam dici substantiam individuam , intelligentem , & incommunicabilem . Ac prodest in hac cogitatione saepe mente intueri baptismum Christi , ubi tres Personae illustri discrimine monstrantur . Pater sonat hanc vocem : Hic est Filius meus dilectus . Filius stans in flumine conspicitur : & Spiritus Sanctus specie visibili demittitur . Melanct. loci Theolog. de tribus Personis Divinitatis . P. 20. P. 13 ▪ P. 21. P. 24. P. 16 , 20 , 21. P. 16. P. 18. P. 19. P. 21. P. 21. P. 22. P. 24. P. 24 , 25. P. 2● . P. 30. P. 31. P. 32. P. 37. P. 36. P. 37. P. 38. P. 38. P. 39. P. 40. P. 41. P. 41. P. 42. P. 43. Sin autem ideo dictum putant Deum , quod inspirationem divinitatis habuit , sicut & multi sancti viri — ergo non ultra homines eum praeferunt — Ambr. de fide , l. 5. cap. 1. P. 44. Sed quia duos unum volunt esse , ut idem Pater & Filius habeatur , oportet & totum de filio examinari , ut sit , & qui sit , & quomodo sit . Tert. ad Prax. c. 5. Ipsum qu●d Pater & Filius dicuntur , nonne aliud ab alio est . Utique ●nim omnia quod vocantur , h●c crunt ; & quod crunt , hoc vccaluntur — Ita aut pater aut filius est , & neque dies cadem & nox , neque pater idem & filius , ut sint ambo unus , & utrumque alter . Ibid. c 9 , 10. Ipsi se , inquiunt , filium sibi faci● , atquin pater filium facit , & patrem filius . Et qui ex alterutro fiunt , à semetipsis sibi fieri nullo modo possiunt , ut pater se sibi filium faciat , & filius se sibi patrem praestet . Qu●e institut Deus , ipse custodit . Ibid. Habeat , necesse est , pater filium , 〈◊〉 pater sit , & filius patrem , ut filius sit . Aliud est autem habere , aliud ●sse . Verbi gratia , ut maritus sim , h●b●a● oportet uxorem , non ut ipse mihi ero ●xor ; sic etiam , ut pater s●●n , filium habco , non ipse mihi ero filius . Ibid. Qu●e enim me faciunt , si ha●●●ero , tun`e ero pater , si filium habeam , filiu● ero , si patrem , Parro , si ipse ero qui● coruum , jam non habeo , quod ipse ero ; n●c patrem , quia ipse ero pat●● , 〈◊〉 filium , quia ipse ero filius : in q●antum vero alterum ex his hab●re m● oportet ; alterum esse , in tantum si ●trumque sucro , alterum non ero , dum alterum non habeo ▪ si enim ups● ero filius ut , q●a & pster , sum non habeo filium , sed ipse sun filius . Non haben●o autem filium cum ipse sum flius , quem●do pater ero ? habere enim filium d● b●n , ut pater sini ; non sum ergo silius , quia patr●n● non habeo , qui 〈◊〉 filium ; 〈…〉 si ipse sum pater , qu● & filius , &c. H●c ●rit titum ingenium Diab●li , alterum ex aliero ●xelua●re , dum utrumque in 〈◊〉 s●b Monar●●●ae ●avore conclu●●●ns , ●entrum hale●● 〈◊〉 , &c. Ibid. Non posse unum & eundem videri , qui loquitur , & de quo loquitur , & ad quem loquitur : quia neque perversit as , neque fallacia Deo congruat , ut ci●n ipse esset ad quem loquebatur , ad alium potius , & non ad semetipsum loquatur . Ibid. c. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. cont . Gregales Sabellii . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. Ibid. Ipse enim ad humana semper colloquia descendit ab Adam usque ad Patriarchas & Prophetas , in visione , in somnio , in speculo , in aenigmate , ordinem suum praestruens ab initio semper , quem erat persecuturus in finem ; it a semper ediscebat & Deus in terris cum hominibus conversari , non alius potuit quàm sermo , qui caro erat futurus . Tert. adv . Prax. c. 16. Quid agis Lot sancte ? Angelos vides , non unum , sed duos , & dicis domine mi. Duos video , aequales video , unum rogo , nulli injuriam facio , quia patrem & filium non divido ; Sabellianus legat duos venisse , &c. Aug. de 5. Haeres . Epiph. c. Noes . Haer. 57. Audi tu Sabelliane , audi de coelo patrem , vide in terra filium , & noli dicere , idem pater qui silius . Aug. de quinque Haeres . cap. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. cont . Gregal . Sabellij . Ergo inquis , das aliquam substantiam esse sermonem ? plane . Non vis enim eum substantivum habere in re per substantae proprietatem , ut res & persona quaedam videri possit , & it a capiat secundus a Deo constitutus duos officere , patrem & filium , Deum & sermonem . Quid est enim , dices , sermo , nisi vox & sonus oris , & sicut Grammatici tradunt , aer offensus , intelligibilis auditu , caeterum vacuum nescio quid , & inane & incorporale . Tert. adv . Prax. c. 7. At ego nihil di●o de Deo mane & vacuum prodire potuisse , ut non de inani & vacuo prolatum , neo carere substantiâ , quod de tanta substantia processit , & tantas substantias fecit , feciz enim & ipse , quae facta sunt per ipsum : quale est ut nihil sit ipse , sine quo nihil factum est ? ut inanis solida , & vacuus plena , & incorporalis corporalia operatus sit ? Nam etsi potest aliquando quid fieri diversum cjus per quod fit ; nihil tameu potest fieri per id , quod vacuum & iname est . Ibid. Vacua & inanis res est sermo De● , qui filius dictus est , qui ipse Deus cogneminatus est ? & sermo erat apud Deum , & Deus erat sermo . Hic certè est , qui in effigie Dei constitutus , non rapinam exiitimavie esse se aqualem Deo. In qua ●ffigie Dei ? utique in alia , non tamen in nullâ . Quaecunque ergo substantia sermonis fuit , illam dico Personam , & illi nomen filii vindico ; & dum filium agnosco , secundum a Patre defendo . Ibid. In substantia fuit Christus ante mundi institutionem . Nov. de Trin. c. 24. Sermo filius natus est , qui non in ●ono percussi aeris , aut tono coactae de visceribus vocis accipitur , sed in substantia prolatae à Deo virtutis cognoscitur . — Substantia scilicet illa divina , cujus nomen est verbum . Ibid. c. 30. Deus utique procedens ex Deo secundam personam efficiens . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. cont . Sabellii Gregal . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. Ibid. p. 658. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Est alia , quae triformem sic asserit Deum , ut quaedam pars ejus sit pater , quaedam filius , quaedam spiritus sanctus , hoc est , quod Dei unius partes sint , quae istam faciunt Trinitatem , velut ex his tribus partibus compleatur Deus , nec sit perfectus in seipso , vel pater , vel filius , vel spiritus sanctus . Aug. de Haeres . ad quod vult . Deum . Haeres . 74. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Athan. con . Greg. Sab. p. 661. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 662. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Damasc. Orth. Fidei . l. 1. c. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Id. ib. c. 13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; Ath. contr . Gregal . Sabell . p. 662. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — Ibid. 658. Quin etiam id adjiciunt , cum unius substantiae patrem & filium esse audiunt , ab anterioribus episcopis esse praedicatum , ut id subtiliter per speciem haereticae opinionis infirment ; dicentes eos verbi hujus significationem , id est , unius substantiae , quod gracè dicitur homoousion , hoc sensu usurpare atque eloqui , tanquam ipse sit pater qui & filius , ex infinitate videlicet suà protenlus in virginem , ex quâ corpus assumens sibi , in to corpore quod assumpsit filii nomen addiderit ; & haec quidem de Hil. de Trin. l. 4. Secundo id quodque addidistis , quod Patres nostri , cum Paulus Samosatenus hareticus pronunciatus est , etiam homoousion repudiaverint , quia per hanc untus essentiae nuncupationem , solitarium atque unicum sibi esse Patrcem & Filium praedicabat , & hoc same nunc quoque prophanissimum Ecclesia recognoscit , Patrem & Filium in his nominum professionibus ad unionis & singularis solitudinem negat● personarum proprietate revocare . Hilar . de Synod . propè finem . Bull. Defens . Fidei Nicaenae . p. 52. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Basil. ep . 300. Sequens illa est , quod affirment id enuntiationem homoousii significare , quod rei anterioris & alterius communio sit duobus , & tanquam prior substantia vel usia materiae alicujus exciterit , quae participata duobus , & in utroque consumpta , utrumque illam & nature anterioris , & rei esse testetur unius . Atque ideirco improbare se homoousii aiunt confessionem , quod enuntiatio ejus neque Filium à Patre distinguat , & posteriorem Patrem materia , quae sibi cum Filio sit communis , oftendat . Hil. de Trin lib. 4. initio . De homoousio verò , quod est unius essentiae tractantes , primùm idcirco respuendum pronuntiastis , quia per verbi hujus enunciationem substantia prior intelligeretur , quam duo inter se partiti essent — prophanus hic sensus est , & communi judicio ab ecclesiae respuendus . Hil. de Synod Quis enim sanae mentis tertiam substantiam , que & Patri & Filio communis sit , praedicabit . Non hic sanctissima religiosorum virorum synodus , nescio quam priorem , quae in duos divisa sit , substantiam introducat , sed Filium natum de substantia Patris . Ibid. Tertio quoque hanc improbandi homoousti causam commimscuntur , quod secundum verbi hujus significationem , ex divisione Paternae substantiae esse Filius existimetur , tanquam desectus ex co fuerit , ita ut in duos sit res una divisa : & ideo substantiae dicantur unius , quia portio desecta de toto , in natura ca sit unde desecta est . Hil. de Trin. lib 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — Socrates H. E. lib. 1. c. 8. Eusebii Epist. ad Caesariensis apud Socrat . Ibid In his igitur tot tamque gravibus fidei periculis , verborum brevitas temperanda est , ne impie dici existimetur , quod pic intelligitur : ne secura atque innocente conscientia , per occasionem haereticorum reus sermo sit , dicturus unam substantiam Catholicus Patris & Filii , non inde incipiat ; neque hoc quasi maximum teneat , tanquam sine hoc vera fides nulla sit . Hilar. de Synodis . Unam substantiam dicet , cùm ante dixerit , pater ingenitus est , filius natus est , subsistit ex Patre , Patri similis est , virtute , honore , natura , &c. Et post haec unam substantiam patris & filii decendo , non errat , at unam substantiam negando , jam peccat . Nemo unam substantiam brevi & nudo sermone putet praedicandam : ut possit religiose deci , una esse substantia . Nihil solitarium ex divinis sacramentis ad suspicionem audientium , & ad occasionem blasphemantium proferamus . Ante nativitas filii , ante subjectio , ante similitudo naturae praedicanda est , ut non impie unius & Pater & Filius substantiae praedicetur . Ibid. Si ergo naturam neque aliam , neque dissimilem ci , quem impassibiliter generabat , dedit , uon potest aliam dedisse , nisi propriam ; ita similitudo proprietas est , proprietas aequalitas est , & aequalitas nihil differt ; qui autem nihil differunt , unum sunt ; non unione personae , sed aequalicate a●●urae . Hil. de Synod . Testor Dominum coeli atque terra me cùm neutrum audissem , semper tamen utrumque sensisse , quòd per homaeusion homousion eperteret intelligi ; id est , nihil simile sibi secundum naturam esse posse , nisi quod esset ex cadem naturâ . Fidem Nicaenam nunquam nisi exulaturus audivi , sed mihi homousii & homaeusii intelligentiam Evangelia & Apostoli intimaverunt . Ib. in fine . Religiosè unam substantiam praedicamus , dummodò unam substantiam proprietatis similitudinem intelligamus , ut quod unum sunt , non singularem significet , sed aequales . Aequalitatem dico , id est , indifferentiam similitudinis , ut similitudo habeatur aequalitas . Aequalitas verò unum idcirco dicitur esse , quod par sit , unum verò in quo par significatur , non ad unicum vindicetur . — Credamus & dicamus esse unam substantiam , sed per naturae proprietatem , non ad significationem impiae unionis . Una sit ex similitudine non ex solitudine . Hilar. de Synod . Ita similitudinis aequalitas nec solitudinem habet , nec diversitatem , quia omnis aequalitas nec diversa nec sola sit . Idem l. 7. de Trin. Deus qued est genuit , ejusdem substantiae , ejusdem essentiae , sine tempore , sibi coaeternum genuit — Hanc Dei Trinitatis substantiam unam homusion verbo Graeci complecti breviter maluerunt . Non enim nomen est , sed res terribilis est in verbo hujusmodi sonaus . Quod verbum apertè ipse Fili●s declarat , cùm dicit , ego & Pater unum sumus . In isto uno consistit substantia una . — Contra hoc pugnetur , quod possidet , quod habet , quod docet verbum Graecum , non contra ipsum verbum , quod auribus retinuit syllabis articulatum . Contra divitio●s , contra aequalitatem naturae , quod possidet verbum , &c. Altercatio inter Aug. & Pascentium . To. 2. Nec esse nomen fidei homusion , sed aequalitatem magis ipsius Trinitatis — Laurentius vir clarissimus dixit , sic ergo & homusion quod in dubium veniebat te proponente , & si scriptum non est , res ipsa tamen , quae latet in verbo , vera est . Credatur honorificè Unitati , ne fiat injuria Tranitati . Ibid. Displicet cuiquam in Synodo Nicaena homousion esse susceptum ? Hoc si cui displicet , necesse est placeat quod ab Arianis est negatum . Negatum enim idcirco est homousion , ne ex substantia Dei Patris Deus Filius natus , sed secundum Creaturas ex nihilo conditus praedicaretur — Hilar. de Synod . prope finem . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Socr. H. E. l. 1. c. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. de Decr. Syn. Nicaenae . p. 267. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 269. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. Conc. T. 2. Col. 8 21. — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. Syn. Nic. decret . p. 274. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. Ibid. Defens . Fidei Nicenae . p. 66. Basil. Hom. 27. c. Sabell . Basil. Ep. 43. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Athan. de communi Essentia . Vol. 1. p. 213. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 214. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil adv . Eunom . T. 1. l. 1. p. 719. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Basil adv . Eunom . T. 1. l. 1.717 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — Ibid. lib. 2. p. 734. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Basil. Ep. 78. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 734 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Damasc. orth . nd . l. 1. c. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — Damasc. de orth . fide . l. 1. c. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Greg. Nyssenus cont . Eunomium . Orat. 1. p. 78. Parisiis . 1615. Tres enim Deos dicit , qui divinitatem separat Trinitatis , cùm Dominus dicendo ; Ite , baptizate Gentes in Nomine Patris , & Filii , & Spiritus Sancti , unius esse Trinitatem potestatis ostenderit . Ambr. de Fide. l. 1. c. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil Ep. 300. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. cont . Arianos . Orat. 2. p. 314. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 320. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Gr. Nyss. c Eun. or . 1. p. 9. Quasi aliud sit Homoousion quâm quod dicit , ego de Patre exivi , ego & Pater unum sumus ; — Haec est autem nominis ratio , ut in Patre & Filio unitatem substantiae credas , licet rem ipsam ( quae est inenarrabilis ) definire ●on posses . Ambr . de Fide cont . Arian . c. 5. Cùm autem ego Patrem & Filium statuo , unitatem generis assigno ; & si illam in personis divido , discretiones tamen personarum rursus cadem nomina in unitatem sui naturali legis foedere consignant , unde & tantus est Filius , quantus videbitur Pater , totus de toto , integer de integro , perfectus de perfecta consummataque virtute . Ibid. c. 7. Habet utique in natura , habet in substantia , & habet non per gratiam temporalem , sed per sempiternam Divinitatem ; habet non ex dono quasi servus , sed ex generationis proprietate , quasi Filius coaeternus . Et habet sicut Pater . Sicut enim Pater habet vitam in semetipso , ita & Filio dedit vitam habere in semetipso . Sic habet , inquit , sic dedit . Didicisti supra quemadmodum dederit , ne putares esse gratiae largitatem , ubi generationis arcanum est . Ambr. de Fide. l. 5. c. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ath. cont . Arian . or . 2. p. 321. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 314. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 321. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 330. Verbi enim appellatio in Dei Filio de Sacramento Nativitatis est , sicut sapientiae & virtutis est nomen , quae cùm in Dei F●lium cum substantia ver●e Nativitatis extiterint , Deo tamen ut sua propria , quamvis ex Deo in Deum sint nata , non desunt . — Earum rerum unigenito Deo aptata cognomina sunt , quae cum eum subsistentem ex Nativitate consumment , tamen Patri non desint exinde mutabilis virtute naturae . Hilar. de Trin. l. 7. Non enim sicut frequenter dictum a n●bis est , divisionis in Filio , sed Nativitatis Sacramentum praedicamus ; nec separatio fuit imperfecta sed progenies perfecta , quia Nativitas non habet detrimentum generandi , cum profectum teneat nascendi . Ibid. Quid est enim Filius de eo quod Pater est ? alius idem . Et hoc est quod Graeci Homoousion appellant , cum uno aliud ipsum . Ambr. de Fide cont . Arianos . c. 6 , 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Gr. Nyss. cont . Eunom . p. 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. contr . Arian . Orat . 2. p. 322. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. Unus ab uno — ac sic uterque Deus unus , cùm inter unum & unum . id est , ex uno unum Divinitatis aeternae non est secunda natura . Hil. de Trin. l. 4. Nemo ambigat naturam Autoris in Filit nativitate connasci . Id. l 5. Et per id unus est Deus , quia ex natura Dei Deus sit . — Unum autem illud non subsistentem naturam perimat in Filio , sed in Deo & Deo naturam Dei conservet unius . Verum & absolutum & perfectum fidet nosirae Sacramentum est , Deum ex Deo , & Deum in Deo confiteri : non corporalibus modis , sed divinis virtutibus , nec naturae in naturam transfusione , sed mysterio & potestate naturae : n●n enim per desectionem , vel protensionem , vel derivationem , ex Deo Deus est , sed ex virtute naturae in candem naturam nativitate subsistit ▪ Eandem autem naturam inde ita , non ut natus sit ipse qui genuit , ( nam quomodo erit ipse , cùm genitus sit ) sed in his ipsis subsistat ille qui genitus est , in quibus totus est ipse , qui genuit : quia non ex alia genitus , neque aliud quam Deus est , quia non est aliunde quod genitus est . Hil. Ibid. Unius cujusque intelligentiam consulo , quid existimet in eo quod dictum sit , ex ipso . Utrumne ex altero intelligendum sit , anne ex nullo , an ipse ille censendus sit . Ex altero non est , quia ex ipso est ; id est , ne aliunde praeterquam ex Deo Deus sit . Ex nihilo non est , quia ex ipso est ; demonstratur enim natura unde nativitas est . Ipse non est , quia ubi ex ipso est , nativitas Filii resertur ex Patre . Hilar de Trin. l. 6. Nescit enim in Deo portionem , se● scit Deum totum ex Deo toto ; seit ex uno unum , non desectum , sed natum : seit nativitatem Dei , nec d●minutienem esse gignentis , nec infirmitatem esse nascentis . Ibid. Quod Deus est , Deus totum est — Deus ut est Deus , quod est permanet , & permanens Deum genuit . Ibid. Deus qui ex Deo natus est , non utique natus ex nihilo est , neque de non extantibus natus est , sed nativitatis suae viventem habuit naturam , nec idem Deus , qui erat , sed Deus ex Dec qui erat natus est . Ibid. Sed quia ex Deo Deus , neque per nativitatem suam Deo ademit , quoa Deus est , neque ipse in nativitate non Deus est , & quod Deus est non caepit esse , sed natus ex Deo Deus est , & quod nascitur , id ipsum secundum humanae naturae sensum videtur esse prolatum , & ita ut prelatio ipsa nativitas esse existimetur ; idcirco tentatum est per Valentini haeresim prolationis nomen excludi , ne nativitatis veritas permaneret , quia prolationis intelligentia opinione terrena non multum esset à natura terrenae nativitatis aliena . Ibid. De quâ Pater substantia , & ipse substantia Filius , spiritusque substantia , sed ter ipsa substantia . Marius Victorinus Afer . hym . 3. Bl. Patr. Vol. 4. p. 258. Filium non similem , sed eundem diximus , quippe ex cadem substantia . Id. adv . Arium . l. 1. p. 183. Non itaque secundum genus & speciem ista dicimus , sed quasi secundum communem eandemque materiam . Aug. de Trin ▪ l. 7. Nec sic ergo Trinitatem dicimus tres personas vel substantias , unam essentiam & unum Deum , tanquam ex una materia tria quaedam subsistant , quanqam quicquid illud est , in his tribus explicatum sit ; non enim aliquid aliud ejus essentiae est praeter istam Trinitatem ; tamen tres personas ejusdem essentioe , vel tres personas unam essentiam dicimus , tres personas ex eadem essentia non d●cimus — Cùm dicuntur tres honanes una natura , vel tres homines ejusdem naturae , possunt ctiam dici ●res homines ex eadem naturâ , quia ●n cadem naturâ & alti tres homines possunt existere . In illa verò essentia Trinitatis , nullo modo alia quaelibet persona ex eadem essentia potest existere . Aug. de Trin. l. 7. c. 6. Nam si genus est essentia , species autem substantia sive persona , ut nonnulli sentiunt ; omitto illud quod iam dixi , oportere appellare tres essentias , ut appellantur tres substantiae vel personae , sicut appellantur tres equi , eademque animalia tria , cùm sit species equus , animal genus ; neque enim species ibi pluraliter dicta est , & genus singulariter , tanquam diceretur tres equi unum animal , sed sicut tres equi speciali nomine , ita tria animalia generali nomine . Quod si dicunt substantiae vel personae nomine non speciem significari , sed aliquid singulare atque individuum , ut substantia & persona non ita dicatur , sicut dicatur homo , quod commune est omnibus hominibus , sed quomodo dicitur hic homo , velut Abraham , velut Isaac , velut Iacob , vel si quis alius qui etiam digito praesens demonstrar : possit ; sic quoque illos eadem rati● consequetur ; sicut enim dicuntur Abraham , Isaac , & Iacob , tria ina●vidua , ita tres homines . & tres animae ; cur ergo & Pater & Filius & Spiritus Sanctus , si secundum genus & speciem & individuum etiam ista disserimus , non ita dicuntur tres essentiae , vel tres substantiae & personae . Sed haec , ut dixi , omitto , si essentia genus est , una essentia jam non habet species . Non sunt ergo tres species unius essentiae pater & filius & spiritus sanctus . Si aut●m species est essentia ▪ sicut species est homo , tres vero illae quaes appellamus substantias sive personas , sic candem speciem communiter habent , quemadmodum Abraham , Isaac , & Iacob , speciem quae homo dicitur communiter habent , non autem sicut homo sub●ividitur in Abraham , Isaac , & Iacob . ita unus homo & in aliquos si●gulos homines subdi vidi potest , om●●no enim non potest , quia unus homo jam singulus homo est : cur ergo una essentia in tres substantias vel personas subdividiutr : Nam si essentia species est . sicut homo , sic est una essencia sicut unus homo . Aug de Tr. l. 7. c. ● Non enim major essentia est pater & filius & spiritus sanctus simul , quam solus pater out solus filius ; sed tres simul illae substantiae sive personae , si ita dicendae sunt , aequales sunt singules , quod animalis homo non percipit . Ibid. Teuenda est haec regula , quâ non minor est filius , sed de patre esse int●matur , quibus verbis non inaequalitas , sed nativitas ejus ostendatur . Aug. de Trin. l. 2. c. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. contr . Gregal . Sabell . Vol. 1. p. 651. Quanquam in ejusmodi nominum usu , cùm singularem & individuam Dei esse naturam dicimus , proprietas est observanda significationis : ne sic singularis credatur esse natura , ut communis esse nequeat : & sic individua , ut in unâ tantùm existat persona , vel hypostasi , qui fuit Sabellianorum ac similium haereticorum error , ob quem nonnulli Patres istis repudiatis vocibus , it a divinitatem unam esse docuerunt , quomodo natura quaelibet communis pluribus una dicitur . Petav. de Trin. l. 4. c. 14. sect . 11. p. 443. Nec sit dissimilis in genere , quia diversitatem substantiae geniti ex substantiâ Patris Filii similitudo non recipit , & omnem in se Divinitatis Paternae , qualis & quanta est , formam invisibilis Dei Filius & imago complectitur . Et hoc verè est esse Filium , Paternae scilicet formae veritatem , coimaginatae in se naturae perfecta similitudine retulisse . Hilar. de Syn. Retinetur it aque in Patre & Filio naturae indifferentis similitudo per essentiae nativitatem , non tamen damnum Personae affert , ut unus sit missus & mittens , similitudo Naturae — quia cùm gignens & genitus unus esse non possit , non tamen diversae Naturae sint natus & generans . Ibid. In Naturâ Dei Deus unus est , it a tamen ut & Filius Deus sit , quia in so Natura non differens sit ; & cùm Deus ex Deo sit , non potest non uterque Deus esse , quorum per generis indifferentiam — non discernatur essentia . Ibid. Petav. de Trin. l. 4. c. 13. Si ad exact am Philosophiae regulam qui de Deo habetur Sermo dirigatur , non sic ejusdem Substantiae , id est , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sunt Tres Personae , uti Petrus , Pauleus , & Ioannes ; quod tamen antiqui in omni f●rè sua disputatione ponunt , quam contra Arianos instituunt . Petav. de Trin. l. 4. s. 6. p. 425. Neque verò culpandi ob id illi erunt ▪ aut inscitiae daumandi , tanquam numeralem Unitatem Divinae Essentiae funditùs ignorarint ac solam ejus , quae in natura inest humana , similem agnoverint . Nam & priorem illam intellexerunt , ut mox ostendam ; & prudenter nihi lominus hâc sunt it . exemplam usi posteriore , speci●ique propriâ Etenim sic illi adversus Arianos obnitendum sibi esse meminerant , ut scirent Sabellianam quoque pesiem esse vitandam ; in quam ab illa fugienti praeceps lapsus erat , ac lubricus . Itaque modum hunc adhibendum or ationi suae putarunt ; ut summam illam conjunctionem , & , ut Gregorius Nyssenus loquitur , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , parcius inducerent , ne Sabellianae solitudini & singularitati locus dari videretur ; alteram verò quae speciei convenit , libentiùs usurparent : Quae cùm ad Arianorum retundendam insaniam satis illis erat , tum ab Sabelliani suspicione dogmatis , & calumnia longè cos abesse monstrabat . Ibid. Petav. de Trin. l. 4. c. 13. p. 427. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. Or. 4. p. 489. Ath. or . 5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ▪ Ath. in expos . fidei . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Greg. Naz. Orat. 37. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . At h Decr. Syn. N p. 269. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 272. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. 273. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . C●nt . Arian . Or. 1. p. 300 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Or. 2. p. 338. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . v. 346. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 365. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 352. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 365. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 367. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. Decr. Syn. Nic. p. 280. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Bas. ad Eunom . c. 1. p. 718. Tom. 1. Par. 1638. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — Ath. C. Ar. O. 4. p. 488. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid p. 489. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Basil. Ep. 43. Gr. Nyss. d ediffer . Essent . & Hypost . Exclusa est assertio volentium nominibus tantum Patrem & Filium praedicare , cùm imago omnis ejus ad quem coimaginetur , species indifferens sit . Neque enim ipse sibi quisquam imago est , sed eum cujus imago est , necesse est ut imago demonstret . Imago est itaque rei ad rem coaequandae imagiuata & indiscreta similitudo . Est ergo Pater , est & Filius , quia imago Patris est Filius . Et qui imago est ut vere imago sit , speciem necesse est & naturam & essentiam , secundum quod imago est , in se habeat Autoris . Hilar . de Synod . Pet. de Tri. l. 4. c. 13 , & 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Basil cont . Sabellianos . p. 521. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 522. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. Haec est verae nativitatis intelligentia , & fidei nostrae , quae ex natura divinae unitate , unius indifferentisque divinitatis veritatem in patre & filio confitetur , absolutissimum sacramentum . Hil. de Trin. l. 7. p. 86. Bas. 1570. Exaequata virtus est per naturae indissimilis unitatem . P. 87. Omnia habere sola natura possit indifferens , neque nativitas aliquid possit habere , nisi datum sit . — Neque aliter potuit aut debuit filius à patre distingui , quàm quod natus sit , nec tamen differens doceretur . Ibid. Non confunditur itaque aut aboletur natura , ne filius sit , nec tamen rursum adimitur natura , ne Deus sit , nec discernuntur diversitate , ne unum sint , neque quod unum sunt id potest praestare , ne uterque sit . P. 88. Ego & Pater unum sumus : Ut quod unum sunt , nec diversum nec solitarium crederetur , non alia in utroque per nativitatis & generationis proprietatem existente natura . — Confessionem unius in utroque & consimilis naturae . 89. Quia non differt , nec degenerat nativitas , — dum Dei filius , non aliud quàm Deus est . Vnum dixit , ne fiat discretio potestatis ; sumus addidit , ut patrem filiumque cognoscas , quo perfectus pater perfectum filium genuisse credatur . Et pater & filius unum sint , non confusione , sed unitate naturae . Ambr. de fide , l. 1. initio . Non enim pater ipse qui filius , sed inter patrem & filium generationis expressa distinctio est ; ut ex Deo Deus , ex manente manens , ex pleno plenus sit . — Est enim plenitudo divinitatis in patre , est plenitudo divinitatis in filio , sed non discrepans , sed una divinitas . Nec confusum quod unum est , nec multiplex quod indifferens . — Quanto magis pater & filius unum sunt , ubi nec substantiae nec voluntatis ulla est differentia . — In te igitur est Deus per unitatem naturae , & non est Deus praeter te per proprietatem substantiae , repulsam differentiae . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( fortà 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Greg. Nyss. Catech. Or. Praef. Gr. Nyss. cat . or . c. 1. Deus est essentia Spiritualis , intelligens , verax , bona , pura , justa , misericors , liberima , immensae potentiae & sapientiae , Pater aeternus , qui Filium imaginem suam ab aterno genuit , & Filius imago Patris coaeterna , & Spiritus Sanctus procedens à Patre & Filio , &c. Melanct. loci Theol. de Deo. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Greg. Nyss. ad Ablabium , Vol. 2. p. 448. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Gr. Nyss. Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. Diversitas plures facit , unitas potestatis excludit numeri quantitatem , quia unitas numerus non est , sed haec omnium ipsa principium est . Ambr. de fide , c. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Greg. Nyss. Catech. Or. cap. 3. N●merus enim duplex est , unus quidem , quo numeramus , alter verò , qui in rebus numerabilibus constat ; ergo in numero quo numeramus , repetitio unitatum facit pluralitatem ; in rerum vero numero non facit pluralitatem unitatum repetitio . Boet. de duabus in Christo Naturis . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Basil. Apolog . ad Caesar. Ep. 141. p. 164. T. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ibid. Peter Lomb. lib. 1. dist . 23. Estius , lib. 1. dist . 2. sect . 5. Lib. 1. dist . 23. Damascen . de Orthod . fide l. 1. c. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Damasc. de Orth. Fide. l. 1. c. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — Ibid. Contra Eunom . l. 12. Pet. de Tr. l. 4 c. 1 , 2 , 3. Petav. de Tr. l. 4. c. 3. s. 6. L. 1. dist . 25. Parte prima . q. 30. Art. 1. Sicut nos d●●in●us in divinis pluraliter tres personas , & tres subsistentias , ita Graeci dicunt tres hypostases . Sed quia nomen substantiae , quod secund●m preprietatem significationis respond●● hypostasi , aequ●●●ocatur ●pud nos , cùm ●uandoque significet essentiam , quandoque hypostasin , ne pess● esse erroris occasio , maburunt pro hyp●stasi tran ferre s●bsistentiam , quam sabscantiam . Ibid. q. 29. art . 2. ad secundum . Ecce expresse dicitur , quòd Persona secundum substantiam decitur , ut cum decitur , Pater est Persona , hic sit sensut , Pater est divina essentia ; similiter cùm dicitur , Filius est Persona . Spiritus Sanctus est Persona , id est divina essentia . Lomb. dist . 23. Idem , Dist. 26. Dist. 25. Hoc etiam modo sanè potest accipi persona in praemissis locutionibus , cùm dicitur alia est persona Patris , alia filii , id est , alia est proprietas , quâ pater est pater , alia , quâ filius est filius , alia , quâ spiritus sanctus est spiritus sanctus . Ita etiam nomine personae quidam proprietates intelligere volunt , cùm dicuntur tres personae ; sed melius est ut subsistentias vel hypostases intelligamus , cum dicimus tres personas . Ex praedictis colligitur , quòd nomen personae in Trinitate triplicem tenet intelligentiam ; est enim ubi facit intelligentiam essentiae , & est ubi facit intelligentiam hypostasis , & est ubi facit intelligentiam proprietatis ▪ Dist. 25. De Tr. l. 7. c. 6. Basil. Ep. 349. Ep. 391. Quae liguendi rati●nes indicent , Personat illas , — non unum & simpl●x hahere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , neque diversas solum c●●idem individui functiones & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , quibus appel ationes variae comp●●ant — s●d diversitatem illam & mul●iplicitatem in subjecto esse revera , ac tria emnino ex se distincta , & su●sistentibus proprietatibus separata consistere . Petav. l. 4. c. 2. p. 324. De Trin. l. 6. c. 22 , 23. See Dr. Payn ' s Letter to the Bishop of Rochester . See the Defence of Dr. Sherlock ' s notion of a Trinity in Unity , p. 19. &c. Adeo propter summam unitatem & simplicitatem excluditur omnis pluralitas absolutè dictorum , non autem pluralitas relationum Quae relationes praedicantur de aliquo ut ad alterum , & sic compositionem in ipso de quo dicuntur non important . Aquin. 1. q. 30. art . 1 , ad 3. Imago enim est similitudo non quaecunique , sed ex eo , cujus imago dicitur expressa ; respondent enim sibi invicem imago & exemplar . Proinde non quaecunque sibi mutuò sunt multum similia , ut ovum ovo , sunt ejusmodi , ut alterum sit imago alterius ; non enim in his omnibus , verbi gratia in ovis , alterum de altero expressam gerit figuram , sed quod ex re objecta resultat in speculo , & similitudo sigilli cerae impressa , & alia hujusmodi propriè imagines dicuntur . Estius dist 27. S. 8. & Aquin 1. q 35. in corpore . Has proprietates designant nomina personarum , scilicet Pater , Filius , & Spiritus Sanctus ; quae relativa sunt , & ad se invicem dicuntur . Quia notant relationes , quae non sunt Deo accidentales , sed in ipsis Personis ab aeterno sunt immutabiliter , ut non modo appellationes sunt relativae , sed etiam relationes , sive notiones in rebus ipsis , scilicet in Personis sint . Lomb. l. 1. dist . 26. Pater non dicitur nisi à Paternitate , & Filius à filiatione ; si igitur paternitas & filiatio non sunt in Deo realiter , sequitur , quòd Deus non sit realiter Pater aut Filius , sed secundum rationem intelligentiae tantum , quae est haeresis Sabelliana . Aqu. 1. q. 28. art . 1. Relationes in divinis , cùm sint secundum processiones in identitate naturae , reales quasdam in divinis esse relationes necessarium est . Ibid. Respectus in natura rerum sunt relationes reales , cùm aliquid procedit à principio ejusdem naturae , necesse est quod ambo , scilicet procedens , & id à quo procedit in eodem ordine conveniant , & sic oportet quod habeant reales respectus ad invicem . Ib. Relatio realiter in Deo existens , idem est essentiae secundum rem . Aq 1. q. 28. art . 2. Relationes personales nec à Personis , nec ab essentia reip●â distingui . Estius dist . 33. S. 2. l. 1. Aquinas & Estius , Ibid. Aqui. 1. q. 30. Ar. 2. Lomb. l 1. d. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Nyss. Orat. Cat. cap. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. Leontius de sectis Act. 1. B.P. Gr. L. T. 1. p. 493. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Theod. Abuc . Op. 2. B. P. Gr. L. p. 382. Athan. Decr. Syn. Nic. T. I. p. 269. Sed nec sicut Hierachas lucernam dixit de lucerna , vel lampadem in duas partes . Hilar. de Tr. c. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. Syn. Nic. decr . p. 271. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Dionys. Alex. ap . Athan. Syn. Nicen. decr . T. I. p. 275. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. cont . Arian . Or. 4. p. 456. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 437. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. Syn. Nic. decret p. 269. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. Or. 4. c. Ar. p. 456. Hil. C 7. de Tr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ath. Or. 4. c Ar. p. 454. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 456. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nyss. ad Abl. Vol. 2. p. 450. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . See the Defence of Dr. Sherlock 's Notion of a Trinity in Unity . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. p. 456. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Theophyl . in locum . Sed c●m na●ura Dei in natura Dei substi●●ss●● , id est , ex patre filius natus esser , per virtutis ac naturae in se paternae conscientiam , nihil ab se , ni●i quod patrem faci●ntem vidisset , fi●●●m fac●re poss● testatus est . Et cum unigenitus Deus pa●ern●e virtutis operationibus operaretur , tantum si●i a● fa●iendum praesumcret , quantum in Conscientia sua esfet , inseparabil●m à se Dei Patris , quam per l●gitimam nativitatem ob●in ▪ bat , posse naturam ; non enim corporalibus modis via●● , sed visus ei omnis in virtute Naturae est . Hil. de Trin. c. 7. Et demonstratio operum non ignorationis instructio , sed nostrae fidei , quae non silio scientiam ignoratorum , sed nobis confess●onem nativitatis invexit — ut demonstratio ipsa nativitatis esse substantia d●ceretur , cui per dile●●●●ne● patris op●rum paterno●●● — esset cognata cognitio . Ibid. Quod a●tem videt , conscia in se na●●●ae s●●nificatur aguitio , & in eo nunc . 〈◊〉 Dei cognosce naturam . Ibid. U●●genitus igitur Deus naturae in●e 〈◊〉 ●●nscius , &c. Di●eun● 〈◊〉 se per loquentem loqui , & per operantum operari , & per judicantem judica●e , & per visum vi●●r● , & per r●con●●●●tem reconci●●●ri , & manere se in ●o , qui in se ma●●ret , qu●ero quo alio a● intellig●nt●● nostrae sensum Expositionis sit●e 〈…〉 ap●rtio●i s●rmone , ut unum ●sse intellige●entur quam isio , quo p●r ●●●ivitatis verita●em , & naturae u●●tatem , qui●q●id filius ageret , & diceret , id in filio , pater & loqueretur & ageret ? Non est hoc itaque naturae à se alienae . — Sed perfecta nativitate in Deum perfectum genitae divinitatis , cujus haec naturalis conscientiae fi●ucia est , ut dicat , ego in Patre , & Pa●er in me , & omnia , quae Patres sant , mea sunt . Id. l. 8. Vide ci●m tacitus recum ipse congrederis , ratione hec ipsam agi intra te , e●cu●rente e●i tibi cum s●rmone , ad omnem cogitatûs tui motum , & omnem sensus tui pulsum . Tert. Cont. Prax. p 503. Paris . Tert. Contr. Prax. c. 13. p. 509. Cyr. l. 4. in Joan. Dion . de divin . nom . Fulg. 3. ad Mon. c. 7. Unigenitus qui est in gremio Patris , quod est esse Deum , in gremio enim & in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 substantiae ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , uterque , & substantia & divinitate consistens , uterque in utroque , & cognoscit uterque utrumque . Vict. Afer . Bl. Patr. Vol. 4. p. 190. Id enim quod ait , Ego & Pater Unum s●mus , tentant ad Unanimitatis referre consensum , ut voluntatis in his unitas sit , non naturae ; id est , ut non per id quod idem sunt , sed per id quod id●●m volunt , un●m sent . Hil. de Tr. l 8. Et quia dixit Unum , intel●igant haeretici quod non dixit Unus . Unum enim neutral●ter positum , societatis concordiam , non unitat●m personae sonat . Novat . de Trin. c. 22. Quod autem dictum est , ut sint quidem per substantiam tria , per consonantiam vero unum , non habet calummam , quia cognominato spiritu , id est , paracleto , consonantiae potius quam essentiae per similitudinem substantiae praedicare convenit unitatem . Hil. de Synod . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. Gr. N●ss . cont Eun. O● . 12. p 345. Nou alta natura , quàm quae sui conscia est , diceret , ego & Pater Unum sumus . Hil. de Trin. c. 7. Uterque hostis Ecclesiae res Ecclesiae agit ; dum Sabellius Deum ex natura in operibus praedicat ; hi verò ex sacramento fidei filium confitentur . Ibid. Quod si de nomine substantiae aut naturae Divinae voluerint dicere , facile revincuntur , quia Usiam Gracè & Latinè Substantiam frequenter Scriptura memoravit — quod si ex aliâ substantiâ filium dicunt , ipsi se revincunt , & verbum substantiae quod metuunt confitendo , & filium creaturis , quibus praeferre se simulant , conferendo . Ambr. de Fide , C. 1. Tom. 2. Bas. 1555. p. 51. Aut quid est Ousia , aut unde dicta , nisi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , quod semper maneat ; cui enim esse est semper , Deus est , & ideo maneus semper Ousia dicitur Divina . Ambr. Ibid. c. 3. Non igitur verbum , sed vim verbi fugiunt , quia nolunt , verum esse Dei filium . — sicut Autor ipsorum Eusebius Nicomediensis Epistola sua prodidit , dicens , siverum , inquit , Dei filium & increatum dicimus , Homousion cum patre incipimus confiteri . Haec cùm lecta esset Epistola in Concilio Nicaeno , hoc verbum in Tractatu fidei posuerunt Patres , quod id viderunt Adversariis esse formidini , ut tanquam evaginato ab ipsis gladio ipsorum nefandae caput haeresis amputarent . Ibid. p. 75. Certè ne quis posset errare , sequatur ea quibus scriptura sancta ut intelligere possimus Filium significat . Verbum dicitur , Filius dicitur , Dei virtus dicitur , dicitur Dei sapientia . Ib. c. 1. p. 40. De substantia autem , Imperator Auguste , quid loquar unius Filium cum Patre esse substantiae , cùm imaginem Paternae substantiae Filium legerimus , ut in nullo secundum Divinitatem à Patre intelligas discrepare ? Iuxta h●nc imaginem dixit , omnia quae Pater habet , mea sunt ; ergo nec substantiam in Deo possumus denegare . Ambr. de Fide. c. 3. p. 74. Mihi enim impossibile est generationis scire secretum . Mens deficit , vox silet , non mea tantum , sed & Angelorum . Id. c. 1. p. 45. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Damasc. Orth. Fid. l. 3. c. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Arist. Categ . cap. 5. T. 1. p. 23. Theor. Leg. ad Armen . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Damasc. Orth. Fid. l 3. c. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Damas. Orth. Fid. l. 1. c. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Damasc. O●th . Fid. l. 3. c. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . D●m . Orth. Fid. l. 3. c. 6. Damasc. Orth. Fid. l. 1. c. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Damasc. Ibid. l. 1. c. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. Damasc. Fid. Orth. l. 1. c. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Damasc . Orth. Fid. l. 1. c. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Damas● . Orth. Fid. l. 1. c. 10. & cap. 11. See Doctor Payn 's Letter to the B of R. Aqu. p. 1. Quaest. 31. Art. 1. The Distinction between Real and Nominal Trinitarians Exam. p. 24. Notes for div A59853-e49990 Reply to theSecond Defence of the Twenty eight Propositions , p. 16.