grofsly conceive of thofe glorified creatures, whofe eyes fhall eafily out-fee the fun, and behold, without a perspective, the extremeft diftances for if there fhall be in our glorified eyes, the faculty of fight and reception of objects, I could think the visible species there to be in as unlimitable a way as now the intellectual. I grant that two bodies placed beyond the tenth sphere, or in a vacuity, according to Ariftotle's philofophy,could not behold each other; because their wants a body or medium to hand and tranfport the visibly rays of the object unto the fenfe; but when there shall be a general defect of either medium to convey, or light to prepare and difpofe that medium, and yet a perfect vision, we must fufpend the rules of our philosophy, and make all good by a more abfolute piece of opticks.

SECT.

SECT. L.

I cannot tell how to say that fire is the effence of hell; I know not what to make of purgatory, or conceive a flame that can either prey upon, or purify the substance × of a foul thofe flames of fulphur mentioned in the fcriptures I take not to be understood of this prefent hell, but of that to come, where fire fhall make up the complement of our tortures, and have a body or fubject wherein to manifest its tyranny. Some, who have had the honour to be textuary in divinity, are of opinion it fhall be the fame fpecifical fire with ours; this is hard to conceive, yet can I make good how even that may prey upon our bodies, and yet not confume us: for in this material world, there are bodies that perfift invincible in the powerfulleft flames, and tho' by the action of fire they fall into ignition and liquation, yet x Till the poul deeds done in this mor will: tal body, are bount & purged away

Hanilet

nof will they never fuffer a destruction. I would gladly know how Mofes, with an actual fire, calcined, or burnt the golden calf into powder: for that myftical mettle of gold, whofe folary and celestial nature I admire, expofed unto the violence of fire, grows only hot and liquifies, but confumeth not; fo when the confumable and volatile pieces of our bodies fhall be refined into a more impregnable and fixed temper like gold, tho' they fuffer from the action of flames, they fhall never perish, but lye immortal in the arms of fire. And furely if this frame must fuffer only by the action of this element, there will ma ny bodies escape, and not only heaven, but earth will not be at an end, but rather a beginning; for at prefent it is not earth, but a compofition of fire, water, earth and air; but at that time fpoiled of these ingredients, it shall appear in a substance

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潮

ftance more like itself, its afhes. Philofophers who maintained the world's deftruction by fire, did never dream of annihilation, which is beyond the power of fublunary causes; for the last and proper action of that element is but vitrification, or a reduction of a body into glafs; and therefore fome of our chymifts facetiously affirm, that at the last fire all fhall be cryftallized and reverberated into glass, which is the utmost action of that element. Nor need we fear this term [annihilation], or wonder that God will destroy the works of his creation for man fubfifting, who is, and will then truly appear a microfme, the world cannot be faid to be destroyed. For the eyes of God, and perhaps alfo of our glorified felves, fhall as really behold and contemplate the world in its epitome, or contracted effence, as now it doth at large and in its diS lated

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Seldo's Table Talk

lated fubftance. In the feed of a plant to the eyes of God, and to the understanding of man, there exifts, tho' in an invifible way, the perfect leaves, flowers, and fruit thereof for things that are in poffe to the fenfe, are actually existent to the understanding. Thus God beholds all things, who contemplates as fully his works in their epitome, as in their full volume, and beheld as amply the whole world in that little compendium of the fixth day, as in the fcattered and dilated pieces of thofe five before.

SECT. LI.

Men commonly fet forth the torments of hell by fire, and the extremity of corporal afflictions, and defcribe hell in the fame method that Mahomet doth heaven. This indeed makes a noife, and drums in popular ears: but if this be the terrible