Page:Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy, 1655.djvu/160

 1 3 6 A Difcourfe,

and he perfwadeth us to meditate upon all thofe things which the devil doth devife and invent, to overthrow our integrity ; thac his falling may be proved the glory of our conftancy, and that we be willing conflantly to war againft all machinations, which are permuted by God for this end. And the Prophet Jeremiah teacheth the fame,in thefe words: The Lord of hojfs is the approver of the jufi.

D. Maximus, in his book de charitate, commandeth us to binde and lull the devils. Hefaithwe do then binde them, when by diligent obfervation of the Commandments of God, we do diminifh and quafh thofe affections that do boyl up in us : And we are faid to kill them, when we fo truely mor- tifie our lufts, thac we cue him oft" from all occafions of ac- cufing ; faying with the Propet, Depart., O homicide-, the Lord thefirong warriour is with me : thou (halt fall, andfhatt be van- quifhed from me for ever. Olympiadorni, I o cap. when he in- terpreted the Ecclefiaflical hiftory,faith, that all fctifual appe- tites are to be [hut out, and excluded , jo that the devil may not be admitted, neither by the allurements of the eyes , nor by itching ears , nor by the petulancie andfrowardnefi of a hurtful tongue: for this he accounteth to be the moll abfolute feal againft the v,Vc arc to p 0VV cr of the devils. Some do admonifh us , in our going efinftVhe f° rtn l0 war againft the devil, to ufe two forts of weapons: devil wiib the one is pure Prayer,which may raife up our affections un- two foru to heaven ; and true and perfect Knowledge , which may of armor, communicate and fill our underftandings with wholefome doctrines, and may fuggeft unto us what we are to pray for> that we may pray ardently, according to St. James, and not doubtingly. In the PropheFie of ffaiah, and Epiftles of St. Paul, wemayfinde the fame things ; /faj.59. Eph.6. and 1 Thef.<j. which may be as a remedy againft vain Ghofls,that they may be expelled.

Poll. For a remedy againft Ghofls ? Doft thou conceive that a Ghofl is diver/e and different from a fpirit ?

Cafl. T know not truely what I may think hereof: for flow ing in fofpaf ions afea of many opinions, Iamfoledin doubt, that I cannot eafily attain to a certain Port of judge- ment :

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