Waterland has weakened his argument by seeming to admit that in all
these 300 texts the Father, 'distinctive', is meant.
Ib. p. 316-17.
The simplicity of God is another mystery. * * When we come to inquire
whether all extension, or all plurality, diversity, composition of
substance and accident, and the like, be consistent with it, then it
is we discover how confused and inadequate our ideas are. * * To this
head belongs that perplexing question (beset with difficulties on all
sides), whether the divine substance be extended or no.
Surely, the far larger part of these assumed difficulties rests on a
misapplication either of the senses to the sense, or of the sense to the
understanding, or of the understanding to the reason;--in short, on an
asking for images where only theorems can be, or requiring theorems for
thoughts, that is, conceptions or notions, or lastly, conceptions for
ideas.
Query XXIII. p. 351.
But taking advantage of the ambiguity of the word 'hypostasis',
sometimes used to signify substance, and sometimes person, you
contrive a fallacy.
And why did not Waterland lift up his voice against this mischievous
abuse of the term 'hypostasis', and the perversion of its Latin
rendering, 'substantia' as being equivalent to [Greek: ousia]? Why
[Greek: ousia] should not have been rendered by 'essentia', I cannot
conceive. 'Est' seems a contraction of 'esset', and 'ens' of 'essens':
[Greek: on, ousa, ousia] = 'essens, essentis, essentia'.
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