Of Free-will. A. " Imean only moral AEls, of Virtue andVice. B. All that a mandothby Reafon isAllue humanus, a moral All, either good or bad ; And a man at theufe of Reafon liveth among thoufands of intelligible Obje&s, neceffarily prefénted to his Intelle& by fenfe; and amongthoufandsof Obje&s, good for us, or bad forus, defireable or hateful ; And is it poffible for fuch a fenfitive, intelligent Creature, to live continually with intelligible, amiable or edible Obje&s , and to fufpend all rational apprehenfions, Volitions and Nolitions of them? A. " Inman it not of all moral A&ion in general, but of this or that "fingular AEl his& nunc. B. I will not entangle.youwith an enquiry ; whether he that can do everyparticular goodall, cannot do all univerfally ; and whetherhe that can forbear every (jugular evil (or good) a&cannot forbear all,when all is nothingbut allfngulars. Bui, 3. What mean you by [ requifitis ?] All things of meer neceffity to theAdfine quibus non ? Or alfo all things that canpotbly beput toafcertain the Act ? A. "of thefirllI `ammolt fully refolved :: Of the fecond there is much i° doubtfidnefs. If I include it Í know you will ask me , whether it be GO impoffibleforGodfo todetermine theWill, as to make the contraryall im- "poffible,without taking away its Liberty? Andwhether Chrifi could commit " every fin ? or el a wasnotfree ? Andwhether Heaven take away all Liber. " ty, if it make in impofble ? But briefly Ianfwer you, that the Libertas i° Viatoris differeth from that in Heaven; and that Ours Hill fuppofeth a " poffibility of the Contrary, but TheirsBoth not. B. But if it be their Liberty to be paft a poJfe peleare, why fhould it not be ours to come as near it asmay be ? efpecially when we have the fore.taftsand firft-fuits of.Heaven on Earth, and Grace is the feed of Glory. A. " it is our Liberty tobe asfarfromfin as maybe : But this is another " kindofLiberty, andnot to beconfoundedwith that whichis a weerpower "of doingor not doing. B. 4. But that a man can all pofitis omnibus adagendum reqnifitis is no wonder; fo can aStone, or Bruit : but how fay you potefi non agere, when non-agere is not aneffe& or exercife of Power? There needsno Poweradnon agendum. A. " Yes; whenNature, or Vice, and Temptation draw us to aforbidden "AEI, it is awork of Power to refill them andforbear it. B. ButPure Nature, Vice or Temptation donot fo drawus to love God perfeflly, to hate all Sinperfelllt, to be heavenly-minded, to confent to fufferDeath for Chrift, 6c. as that we fhould need any power to refill fuch drawings, orforbear fuchads. How then do youmakethisapart ofyourpower ? A. " But whenthe Spirit of God draweth us to love him, it is an all of " natural abufed power to refill him. And alfo in this andtheformer cafe " Ifay, that by [ poffumus] here, we do not mean a moral or phyfical t0poweralways, but in this inllance onlya logical power : And our mean- " ing only is, that we are not necef Jtated to All or not All ; to love God, or " to hate him, or not to love him. As Privations are reduced to Entities, " inDefcriptions, foare Impotencies to Powers. B. The word [Poffe ] then in yourdefinition is equivocal, and figni- fieth both Power and No-Power. What a definition is that? But, q. What maketh you call it by the name of Liberty tube impotent ? or, ifyou will, to be able not to love God ? notto live to God ? not to know God ? not to truft God ? not to repent ofSin ? not tobe heavenly - minded ?
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