Premonitions concerning our proceeding jnthelirflpart ofMeditation, 'The Art of 'Divine Meditation. l Ch'l"• ~ ~necclfary. or Ofwbaunofl: exprdienr. Elefli#n, comely. " Depus•fpr#tudiwginthtnn• dtrflandirl!• 4 co111merJHrAtim,5 An a8:uall chinking upon the 2. mam:r eJeCl:ed. 5 c111 fttkr~io~.5A rc:doobJe~c;omcmoratiocof l the fame,ull Jt be fully known. A roo ob!curdy delivered, ar.d th<n di,crs of them fall into oth<r, not without fOme vaioc fupe1 fluide. For thts pare therefore which conccr- ·ncth the undcr!bndiog, I had rather to require enely a d<cpo and firmc Conjidcr.,ion of the thing propounded: which !hall be done ifwe fol· low it in our difcourfc , through all, or the principall of1hofc places which oaturall rcafon doth afford us : wherein, let no man pkadcigoorance, or feare difficulrie : we: arc all rhus fmc borne Logicians; neither is there, in this, fo much need of skill , as of induflric. In which courfc yet, we may not be too curious, in a pr<cifc fcarch of every place and argument, without omiffion of any (t)lough to be fetcht in with racking the invention.) For as the mind, ifir goc loofc andwith· out rule~ roves to no purpofe ; fo if it be too much f~nered, with the gicvcs of llrict rcgularitic, movcrh nothing ar all. 6 AttentioN 5 A fixed and earnell conftder2tion '2. whereby it i' fafincdinthemind. 7 £xp/NIIIIilll. 5 A clearin~_ofrhe thing contidered B l by fim1luudcs. 1 An cxrcndin~ rhc rhiog conlidcred 8 TrAlllllio,. to orhcrpomts, where all qucfli· ons ofdoubts are difl!ufiCd. 9 7liJ•JicAti•11 .5An eflim_arioa ofrhc wonbof ?. 1he 1h1ng1bw handled. 1 0 CAN{IIIi•n.J A confirmation of the c:Ahnation { rhwmadc. ~A fad and fcrioct Medication of 11 RNIIIirwi#,. all rbc former, _till it may work C npon rhc affcChons. From ben<t 10 tht degrees •f •/fefii~n. CHAp, XV r.r. ERe I entertherefore into any particular tractarioo,thore are three thingswhereofl would premonifh my Reader, concerning rhis firfl part, which is in the underflanding. Firfl,thor I defirc not to bindeevery man rothe fame uniforme proceeding in this pm: PractiCe and cuflomemay perhaps havcraught other courfes D more familiar, and not leffe direct, Ifthen we can, by any orher method, workcin our hearts fo deepe an apprehenfion ofrhe matter meditated,as it may duly flirre the affcd:ions, it is that oneJy we require. S<eondly, thlt whofoeverapplierh himfdfc to thisdircctioo,think him not oeccffarily tied to the profecution of all thefc Logicall places, which he findcthin the fc• quellofour Trcarifc, fo as his Meditation !hould.bc lame and impcrfcll without the whole number: for there are fome Themes will not bcarc all rhefe; as when we !)le· diratc ofGod, there is no roome for Caufis or C•mpaTifows, and others yecld them with fuch difficultie, that their fearch intcrrupreth the chiefe worke intended. It flull be fufficient, ifwe take themoll pregnant, and moll voluntary. · Thirdly, that when we flick in the difpofirion ofany the places following (as if, E meditating of Sin,l cannot readily meet with the MaetriaO and Fmn•ll Caups,or the v!ppentlanw of it) we rackc not our mindes too mpch with the inquiry thereof1 which were to flrive more for Logique, then devotion: but without too much diflurbaRce ofour thoughts, quietly paffe over to the next .If we breake our teeth with the !hell,we lhall find fmall plcafurein the kerndl, Now then for that my onlyfear<is,lefl this p1rrofmy difcourfc flJlll fcem over. perpkxcd unto the unlearned Reader; I will in this whole proceffc, fecond my rule wirh his examplc,rhat fo what might feeme obfcure in the one, may by the other be explained; and the fameftcps he fecth me take in this, he may accordingly tread in any other Theme. CHAP.
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