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David H. Lipman

word of God concerning the
nature of grace, and to help them to apply it to themselves.

I have been much blamed and censured by many, that I should make it my
practice, when I have been satisfied concerning persons' good estate, to
signify it to them. This has been greatly misrepresented abroad, as
innumerable other things concerning us, to prejudice the country against
the whole affair. But let it be noted, that what I have undertaken to
judge of, has rather been qualifications, and declared experiences, than
persons. Not but that I have thought it my duty, as a pastor, to assist
and instruct persons in applying Scripture-rules and characters to their
own case (in which, I think, many greatly need a guide) and I have,
where the case appeared plain, used freedom in signifying my hope of
them to others. But I have been far from doing this concerning all that
I have had some hopes of and I believe have used much more caution than
many have supposed. Yet I should account it a great calamity to be
deprived of the comfort of rejoicing with those of my flock who have
been in great distress, whose circumstances I have been acquainted with,
when there seems to be good evidence that those who were dead are alive,
and that those who were lost ar
 
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David H. Lipman

the moment of
rest infinite without quantity, indivisible and infinite.

233. Infinite--nothing.--Our soul is cast into a body, where it finds
number, dimension. Thereupon it reasons, and calls this nature necessity,
and can believe nothing else.

Unity joined to infinity adds nothing to it, no more than one foot to an
infinite measure. The finite is annihilated in the presence of the infinite,
and becomes a pure nothing. So our spirit before God, so our justice before
divine justice. There is not so great a disproportion between our justice
and that of God as between unity and infinity.

The justice of God must be vast like His compassion. Now justice to the
outcast is less vast and ought less to offend our feelings than mercy
towards the elect.

We know that there is an infinite, and are ignorant of its nature. As we
know it to be false that numbers are finite, it is therefore true that there
is an infinity in number. But we do not know what it is. It is false that it
is even, it is false that it is odd for the addition of a unit can make no
change in its nature. Yet it is a number, and every number is odd or even
(this is certainly tru
 
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David H. Lipman

is the pure natural ignorance in which all men find themselves at
birth. The other extreme is that reached by great intellects, who, having
run through all that men can know, find they know nothing, and come back
again to that same ignorance from which they set out but this is a learned
ignorance which is conscious of itself. Those between the two, who have
departed from natural ignorance and not been able to reach the other, have
some smattering of this vain knowledge and pretend to be wise. These trouble
the world and are bad judges of everything. The people and the wise
constitute the world these despise it, and are despised. They judge badly
of everything, and the world judges rightly of them.

328. The reason of effects.--Continual alternation of pro and con.

We have, then, shown that man is foolish, by the estimation he makes of
things which are not essential and all these opinions are destroyed. We
have next shown that all these opinions are very sound and that thus, since
all these vanities are well founded, the people are not so foolish as is
said. And so we have destroyed the opinion which destroyed that of the
people.

But we must now destroy this last proposition and show that it remains
always true that the people are foolish, though their opinions are sound
because they do not perceive the truth where it is, and, as they place it
where it is not, their opinions are always very false and very unsound.

329. The reason of effects.--The weakness of man is the reason why so many
things are considered fine, as to be good at playing the lute. It is only an
evil because of our weakness.

330. The power of kings is founded on the reason and on the folly of the
people, and specially on their folly. The greatest and most important thing
in the
 
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Heirloom

came not for them whereas those who therein seek
God find Him, without any contradiction, with the command to love Him only,
and that the Messiah came in the time foretold, to give them the blessings
which they ask.

Thus the Jews had miracles and prophecies, which they saw fulfilled, and the
teaching of their law was to worship and love God only it was also
perpetual. Thus it had all the marks of the true religion and so it was.
But the Jewish teaching must be distinguished from the teaching of the
Jewish law. Now the Jewish teaching was not true, although it had miracles
and prophecy and perpetuity, because it had not this other point of
worshipping and loving God only.

676. The veil, which is upon these books for the Jews, is there also for
evil Christians and for all who do not hate themselves.

But how well disposed men are to understand them and to know Jesus Christ,
when they truly hate themselves!

677. A type conveys absence and presence, pleasure and pain.

A cipher has a double meaning, one clear and one in which it is said that
the meaning is hidden.

678. Types.--A portrait conveys absence and presence, pleasure and pain. The
reality excludes absence and pain.

To know if the law and the sacrifices are a reality or a type, we must see
if the prophets, in speaking of these things, confined their view and their
thought to them, so that they saw only the old covenant or if they saw
therein something else of which they
 
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John John

make a picture instead of a portrait.

27. Miscellaneous. Language.--Those who make antitheses by forcing words are
like those who make false windows for symmetry. Their rule is not to speak
accurately, but to make apt figures of speech.

28. Symmetry is what we see at a glance based on the fact that there is no
reason for any difference, and based also on the face of man whence it
happens that symmetry is only wanted in breadth, not in height or depth.

29. When we see a natural style, we are astonished and delighted for we
expected to see an author, and we find a man. Whereas those who have good
taste, and who, seeing a book, expect to find a man, are quite surprised to
find an author. Plus poetice quam humane locutus es.2 Those honour Nature
well who teach that she can speak on everything, even on theology.

30. We only consult the ear because the heart is wanting. The rule is
uprightness.

Beauty of omission, of judgement.

31. All the false beauties which we blame in Cicero have their admirers, and
in great number.

32. There is a certain standard of grace and beauty which consists in a
certain relation between our nature, such as it is, weak or strong, and the
thing which pleases us.

Whatever is formed according to this standard pleases us, be it house, song,
discourse, verse, prose, woman, birds, rivers, trees, rooms, dress, etc.
Whatever is not made according to this standard displeases those who have
good taste.

And as there is a perfect relation between a song and a house which are made
after a good model, becaus
 
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Mike M

Belief is so important! A hundred contradictions might be true. If antiquity
were the rule of belief, men of ancient time would then be without rule. If
general consent, if men had perished?

False humanity, pride.

Lift the curtain. You try in vain if you must either believe, or deny, or
doubt. Shall we then have no rule? We judge that animals do well what they
do. Is there no rule whereby to judge men?

To deny, to believe, and to doubt well, are to a man what the race is to a
horse.

Punishment of those who sin, error.

261. Those who do not love the truth take as a pretext that it is disputed,
and that a multitude deny it. And so their error arises only from this, that
they do not love either truth or charity. Thus they are without excuse.

262. Superstition and lust. Scruples, evil desires. Evil fear fear, not
such as comes from a belief in God, but such as comes from a doubt whether
He exists or not. True fear comes from faith false fear comes from doubt.
True fear is joined to hope, because it is born of faith, and because men
hope in the God in whom they believe. False fear is joined to despair,
because men fear the God in whom they have no belief. The former fear to
lose Him the latter fear to find Him.

263. "A miracle," says one, "would strengthen my faith." He says so when he
does not see one. Reasons, seen from afar, appear to limit our view but
when they are reached, we begin to see b
 
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