does not correct all that is here done amifs, 'tis Book II.
mot powerful; or if it be able and is not wil-
ling, 'tis an evil Being; but if it be neither a-
ble nor willing, 'tis both weak and imperfect.
Whence this your new Power will not only be
liable to the fame blame, but to a worse; if be-
fides all this it must be believ'd to exift when it
does not. For he that created the World, 'tis
plain from what he has done in creating the
World, that he does really exift; as you your
felf cannot deny:.but this Power which you fay
you alone do know, gives no indication whereby
we can fo much as obferve that he is, or has any
fubfiftence at all..

LVI. What a strange thing is it then to leave. God, in whofe World we live, and enjoy all the ncceffaries of Life, and to follow we know not whom; from whom we not only do receive no benefits, but cannot indeed know that he has any existence; because in reality he does not exist? For if you call him Light, and fay he is brighter than the ordinary Light, you borrow a word from the Creator of the World: or if you call him a fuperexcellent Subftance, you mean an Understanding Being, with the addition of Speech: or if you make mention of a Mind, or of Goodnefs, or of Life, or of any thing elfe, you borrow your words from this World. While therefore you have not the least thing that is new to fay of this Power which you fpeak of, I do not mean as to your notions of it, but even as to the bare names you give it; how aukwardly do you introduce a new God, when you cannot fo much as invent a new name for him? For not only the Creator of the World is called a Power, but the very Ministers of his Glory alfo, and all the Hoft of Heaven are fo ftiled. Is it not therefore, even in your opinion, better to follow our

God

Book II. God that made us, as our Father, who inftructs and improves us as he knows to be beft for us? Nay if, as you fay, there be a God more benign than all Beings, 'tis certain that he will not be angry with us: and if he be angry, he is an evil Being. But as to our God, if he be angry and revenges, he is not evil, but juft: for he does but correct and amend his own Children. But for him that has nothing to do with us, if he be revengeful towards us, how can he be a good Being, while he punishes us, because we will not for fake our own Father to follow him, upon fome idle Sufpicions only? How then can fuch a Being be by you affirm'd to be good, who cannot be fuppos'd to be fo much as juft?

LVII. Then faid Simon, Are you Peter in fo great an error as not to know that our Souls are deriv'd from a good God, that is the best of Beings; but are pull'd away from him as Captives, and fent into this World? Then faid Peter, Therefore he is not unknown to all, as you faid a while ago. Yet if this Power was ftronger than all other Beings, how came it about that a good God permitted the Souls deriv'd from him to be carried away captive? Then Simon reply'd, He fent God the Creator to create the World: but he, when he had created the World, declar'd himself God. Then Peter faid, Therefore he is not unknown to him that created the World, as you faid above; nor is he unknown to the Souls themselves, fince they were pull'd away from him. Who is it then that is ignorant of him? If both the World's Creator knows him, being indeed fent by him, as you your felf fay; and all Souls know him alfo, as being themselves pull'd away from him, and fent hither by violence. But befides, I defire you would inform me, whether he that fent the Creator of the

World

World did not know that he whom he fent Book II.
would not be faithful to him, or not? If he did
not know this, he wanted Prefcience; but if he
did foreknow it, and yet fuffer'd it, he is him-
felf guilty of the fact, fince he did not hinder it :
and if he was not able to hinder it, he was not
all-powerful. But in cafe he did not hinder it,
as if he knew it was a good thing, he will be
found to be the better Being who ventur'd to do
that good thing, which he that fent him was
ignorant of.

LVIII. Then faid Simon, He receives those that are willing to come to him, and does good to them. Peter reply'd, This is no new thing; for the fame is done by him whom you own to be the Creator of the World. Simon anfwered, But this good God gives Salvation upon our bare acknowledgment of him; but the Creator of the World requires befides that the Law be fulfill'd. Peter faid, Then he faves Adulterers and Murderers, if they do but know him; while he does not fave the Good, the Sober, or the Merciful, if they are ignorant of him; tho they have receiv'd no indications of his Being. A mighty good Being this! who is not fo remarkable for faving the Bad, as for affording no mercy to the Good. Simon faid, 'Tis very difficult for a Man, while he is in the flesh, to know him. For this Body wherein the Soul is confin'd, is more horrible than the greatest Darkness; and heavier than the worft fort of Clay. Peter anfwered, Therefore this good God feeks what is difficult. But he that is truly God feeks what is easier. As he is good therefore, let him leave us to our Father, and our Creator; and when we are departed from the Body, and have left that Darkness you fpeak of, then we fhall know him with greater cafe; or rather the Soul will then understand

that

Book II. that her Creator was God, and will remain with him; nor will any longer be wearied with various Thoughts; nor will fly to any other Power, which is known to none but to Simon only; and which is, it feems, of fo great Goodness, that unless any one will be guilty of Impiety towards his own Parent, he cannot come to it. I cannot understand how this Power can be call'd either good or juft, when no one can please it, without behaving himself impiously towards him that made him.

LIX. Simon reply'd, 'Tis not any inftance of Impiety to fly to him that has a more diffufive Glory, for our advantage and greater gain. Peter anfwered, If it be as you fay, that 'tis not any inftance of Impiety to fly to a Stranger, 'tis however undoubtedly an inftance of Piety to continue with our own Father, altho he fhould be poor. Or if you do not allow it to be a piece of Impiety to leave our own Father, and to fly to another, as to a better Being; and if you do not believe our Creator will have any Indignation on this account, yet you must grant that much lefs will a good God be angry, that while we were Aliens from him we did not fly to him, but continued with our Creator. And I cannot but imagin that he will rather commend us, because we have preferv'd our Integrity to God our Creator, on this Confideration, that if we had been his, we fhould never have been feduc'd by the Inticements of others to forfake him. For if any one is intic'd by greater Promises to leave his own Parent, and fly to another, it may happen that he may again for fake him, and go ftill to another, who fhall promife greater things and this may the rather be expected, becaufe he was not the proper Son of this fecond Be

ing;

ing; and he had prevail'd with himself to for fake Book II.
him, who by Nature was his Father. Simon
faid, But what if Souls are deriv'd from him,
and are ignorant of him, tho he be really their
Father?

LX. Then Peter faid, You give us Proof enough of his Weakness; for if he be, as you fay, more powerful than all Beings, the weaker can never be believ'd to take the Spoils away from the Luke xi. Stronger: Or, if God the Creator could by force 22. pull away the Souls, and fend them into this World, How will a good God call thofe Souls to Punishment, when they are fent away from the Body, and loos'd from the Bonds of their Captivity, which were fuffer'd to be drawn down hither, and confin'd to a Body, as to the darknefs of Ignorance, through either his Sloth or his Weakness? You feem to me to be ignorant what a Father, and what a God is. I could indeed tell you whence Souls are deriv'd, when, and after what manner they were made; but 'tis not lawful for me to discover these things to you, while you are in fo great an Error as to the knowledg of God. Then Simon reply'd, There will be a time when you will repent that you did not attend to what I faid concerning the Ineffable Power. Peter faid, Bestow upon us then, as I have often faid already, you who pretend to be as it were a new God, or one that is come down from him, fome new Senfe, by which we may know this new God whom you speak of: for those five Senfes which God our Creator has given us, preferve their Fidelity to their Creator; nor are they fenfible of any other God; their very Nature fecuring that their Fidelity.

LXI. To this Simon anfwer'd: Attend to what I am going to fay, and guide your Thoughts into that invifible way of reafoning, whereby you

may