Celsus speaking of its vestments, sets downe, that being of its selfe incorporeall and invisible, in what corporall place soever it findes it selfe, it must have a body convenable to the nature of the place where it resides. As then when it is in this Elementary world, it must have also an elementary body, which it takes when it is incorporated in the belly of a woman, to grow there, and there to live this base life with the body, that it hath taken to the limited terme; which expired, it devests it selfe of this corruptible vestment, although necessary in the earth from whence it came (following that which God said to Adam in the third of Genesis, Thou art dust, and shalt returne to dust,) to be revested with an incorruptible, whose perpetuall abode is in Heaven. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortall must put on immortality. And so the soul putting off its first Terrestriall vestment, takes another more excellent above in the Æthereall Region, which is of the nature of Fire: hitherto Origen, to which nothing could be found more conformable, then that which Pythagoras puts towards the end of his golden verses: Thus forsaking this mortall body, thou passest into the free Æthereall Aire, you shall become an immortall God, incorruptible, and no more subject to death: as if he would say, that after this materiall corruptible body, shall put off the Terrestriall and impure vestment, the perfect portion of it shall shake off these filthinesses and impurities, and shall passe aloft to heaven and adhere to God, which it could not doe, but being pure and neat; nor effect this, but by fire. Zohar speakes to the same purpose, when the Elements destroy themselves, an æthereall body succeeds in their place which doth recloath them; or to speak better, the æthereall body which was reclad with them, devests it selfe; and this is represented to us in the 5 of Esther, where it is said, that on the third day shee tooke off her clothes that shee was wont to weare, and put on her royall apparell to appeare before the King; which signifies the holy Spirit, and Esther the reasonable soule, whose vestments are the garments of the kingdome of Heaven; of which he that Daniel 3. chap. was said to be like to the Son of God, that crowns the just, and adornes them with royall apparell, to bring them into the presence of the King of Kings, to the Paradise of pleasure, clensed with aire from above, which the holy Spirit breathed into it. Origen in his second Homily upon the 36 Psalme. It is the manner of holy Scripture to introduce two sorts of men, that is to say, the interiour and the exteriour, each of which, hath need as much as concernes him, of apparell, as well as nourishment; the external corporal man, maintaines himselfe with meats corruptible, proper and familiar to himselfe, having ever need of Salt, besides their own connaturall; but there is also meat for the inward, whereof it is said in the 8 of Deuteronomy, Man doth not live by bread onely, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And for matter of drinke, the Apostle in the 1 Cor. 10. Our fathers did eat the same spirituall meat, and did drinke the same spirituall drinke; for they did drinke of that spirituall rocke that followed them, and that rocke was Christ. Who speaking of this drinke in the 4. of Saint John, saith, that hee is the fountaine of living water, and who so drinketh of the water that he shall give them, shall never thirst. There are also two rayments in regard of the inner man. If he be a sinner, it is said Psalme 109. He hath put on malediction as a garment, which must be to him as his apparell, wherewith he is covered, and as a girdle wherewith he is girt. And on the contrary the Apostle Col. 3. Lie not one to another, having cast off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new, but be clothed with mercy, benignity, humility, and meeknesse of Spirit.

These are the vestments which Zohar said were the good works and the nuptiall accoustrements of the soule, which cannot bee washed or cleansed but by Fire, Every mans work shall bee made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every mans worke of what sort it is, 1 Cor. 3. 13. wherein they shall persist without impaire, or consumption, but shall be purified when the soule shall therewith be clothed; from this uncleane scumme, wherein there may remaine some spots that the fire goes on to purge, consuming and defacing them. But what is this fire? It is it which is said in the 4 and 9 of Deuteronomy, our God is a consuming fire: which as Irenæus interprets, was to strike feare and terror into the Israelites; and this afterwards in the 12 to the Hebrewes, 28, 29. Let us serve God acceptably with feare and reverence, for our God is a consuming fire. For they had sufficiently understood that the world once perished by the universall deluge, and that it may not incurre the like accident, but suffer its last extermination by fire. Adde that in the 33. of the Mosaicall Law, it is called The Law of fire, which is in the right hand of the Almighty, because of its austerity and rigour, all filled with menaces, with feares, with horrors; as much as the Christian is, with sweetnesse and mercy: in his right hand, there is a fiery Law: which the Chaldean Paraphrase interpreteth, for that it was given on Mount Horeb, through the middest of fire; according as it is said in the 4 to the purpose touching this feare. The Lord speake unto me saying, Assemble the people there below, that they may heare my words, and learne to feare me: Then came you neare to the foote that burned even to heaven, and the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of fire. And Exodus 3. the burning bush wherein God appeared unto Moses, and was not consumed. Of this consuming fire, further speaketh Zohar thus in conformity to that received Maxime in naturall Philosophy, that a great flame doth devoure and quench a lesse: as wee may sensibly perceive by a lighted Torch, which is extinguished by the Sunbeams, and by a kettle set neare a great fire that sucks and drawes all out to it selfe: Hee saith then upon this Text of the 35. of Exod. You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath: To which purpose, said Rabbi Simeon, was that ordained? and why was it not lawfull to kindle a fire on the seventh day? because that when men kindle fire, it goeth ever upwards according to its naturall, and moving above every thing, following that of the 7. of Sapience, where it is compared to fire. In Wisdome is the spirit of understanding, holy, one only, manifold, subtill, lively, cleare, undefiled, plaine, moveable above every thing, and overtops all by reason of its purity. The Fire hath two properties, to be moving, and pure, not participating of any uncleannesse; and all motion, is a kinde of action and operation, forbidden expresly on the Sabbath day. Fire then mounting aloft,