Perkins, William (1558-1602)

A Discourse of Conscience

Cambridge

Printed by John Legate

1596

"The manner of consciences determination, is to set downe his iudgement either with the creature or against it: I adde this clause, because conscience is of a diuine nature, and is a thing placed by God in the middest betweene him and man, as an arbitratour to giue sentence and to pronounce either with man or against man vnto God."

The manner of consciences determination, is to set downe his iudgement either with the creature or against it: I adde this clause, because conscience is of a diuine nature, and is a thing placed by God in the middest betweene him and man, as an arbitratour to giue sentence and to pronounce either with man or against man vnto God. For otherwhiles, it consents and speakes with God against the man in whome it is placed: other whiles againe it consents with him and speakes for him before the Lord. And hence comes one reason of the name of conscience. Scire, to know, is of one man alone by himselfe: and conscire is, when two at the least know some one secret thing; either of them knowing it togither with the other. Therefore the name [GREEK, illegible], or Conscientia conscience, is that thing that combines two togither, and makes them partners in the knowledge of one and the same secret. Now man and man, or man and Angel can not be combined; because they can not know the secret of any man vnlesse it be reucaled to them: it remaines therefore that this combination is onely betweene man and God. God knowes perfectly all the doings of man, though they be neuer so hid and concealed: and man by a gift giuen him of God, knows togither with God, the same things of himselfe: and this gift is named Conscience.
(pp. 4-5)

Population::Arbitrator

Reading Peter Goodrich's "The New Casuistry." Critical Inquiry Vol. 33, no. 4 (Summer 2007): 683. <Link to Critical Inquiry>

Perkins, William. A Discourse of Conscience. Cambridge: Printed by John Legate, 1596. <Link to EEBO>

01/11/2010