wherein all the reason and philosophy of atheism is confuted, and

57© The Genuine Cabala, of the Trinity Book I.hy fome fuch thing in us it is, that we are capable of touching God, and efbeing united to him, when u'e direSt our intention towards him. And in thenext chapter he adds, 'i'/ov''^^ "^^ roixZix. «V. av1iAa/x|3jtwju,E3-a;, sJaa' xpyxfAivTflii? rcixxircci; htfyiiMi to. ttuKKx' oi i s^ c Awj mo'y>sirm' iKUnxuAv £r iv iv tcu% iot;jjd\i [nc~yttcci ale], KKf St i^ TO TTf s v» £1/ ixjTu, &c. That though ive have tkefe things in us, yetdo lie not perceive them, being fcr the m oft part idle andajleep,as to thefe higherenergies ; as fome nezer at all exercife them. However, thofe do always a£i %Mind, and that which is before Mind, Unity ; but every thing, which is in ourfouls, is not perceived by us, unlefs come to the whole, when we difpofe our felvestowards it, &c. Where Plotinns feems to make the Noes, or Minds, to benothing elfe but fomerhing in fouls, whereby they partake of the firft IMind,And it is faid of Porphyrius, who was well acquainted with Plotinus his philofophy,that he quite difcarded and rejected thefe Noes or hitelkcfs, as fubfiancesreally diftind from the firft Mind, and feparate from fouls. And it iscertain, that fuch minds as thefe are nowhere plainly mentioned by Plato, heipeaking only of minds in fouls, but not of anyabftraft and feparate minds,faveonly one. And though fome might think him to have given an intimation ofthem in his J'sbrspou -s:i-^i -xoi h-Jn^x, (before mentioned) \i\% fecond about thefecond things, cr fecond things about the fecond ; yet by thefe may very wellbe underftood the ideas ; as by the third things about the third, all createdbeings. Wherefore we may conclude, that this Platonick, or rather Pfeudo-Platonick trinity, which confounds the differences betwixt God and thecreature, and that probably in favour of the Pagan poiytheifm and ido-Jatry, is nothing lb agreeable to reafon it felf, as that Chriftian Trinity beforedefcribed, which diftincftly declares, how far the Deity goes, and wherethe creature begins ; namely, that the Deity extends fo far as to this wholeTrinity of hypoftafes ; and that all other things whatfoever, this Trinity ofperfons only excepred, are truly and properly their creatures, produced bythejoint concurrence and influence of them all, they being really but one God.But it is already manifcft, that all the forementioned depravations and a-dulterations of that divine Cabala of the trinity, and that fpurious trinity,defcribed, (which, becaulb afferted by fome Platonifts, was called Platonical,in way of diftinftion from the Chriftian) cannot be juftly charged, neitherupon Plato himfelf, nor yet upon all his followers univerfally. But on thecontrary', we fhall now make it appear, that Plato and fome of the Platoniftsretained much of the ancient genuine Cabala, and made a very near approachto the true Chriftian Trinity ; forafmuch as their three hypoftafes,diftingui/hed from all their other gods, feem to have been none of them accountedcreatures, but all other things whatfoever the creatures of them.Firft therefore we affirm, that Plato himfelf does, in the beginning of hisTimcsus, very carefully diilinguilh betwixt God and the creature,he determiningthe bounds between them, after this manner' :"Ef-i? iv Jt xxr ifj.ni Si^dvir^are'jSta-iPPTiw tuSv ti'to u\i ^\v