But to what purpose, may some man say, is such subtlety in a work of this nature, where I pretend to nothing but what is necessary to the doctrine of government and obedience? It is to this purpose that men may no longer suffer themselves to be abused by them that by this doctrine of “separated essences,” built on the vain philosophy of Aristotle, would fright them from obeying the laws of their country, with empty names; as men fright birds from the corn with an empty doublet, a hat, and a crooked stick. For it is upon this ground that when a man is dead and buried, they say his soul, that is his life, can walk separated from his body, and is seen by night amongst the graves. Upon the same ground they say that the figure, and colour, and taste of a piece of bread has a being there where they say there is no bread. And upon the same ground they say that faith, and wisdom, and other virtues, are sometimes “poured” into a man, sometimes “blown” into him from heaven, as if the virtuous and their virtues could be asunder; and a great many other things that serve to lessen the dependence of subjects on the sovereign power of their country. For who will endeavour to obey the laws, if he expect obedience to be poured or blown into him? Or who will not obey a priest that can make God, rather than his sovereign, nay, than God himself? Or who, that is in fear of ghosts, will not bear great respect to those that can make the holy water that drives them from him? And this shall suffice for an example of the errors which are brought into the Church from the “entities” and “essences” of Aristotle, which it may be he knew to be false philosophy, but writ it as a thing consonant to and corroborative of their religion, and fearing the fate of Socrates.
Being once fallen into this error of “separated essences,” they are thereby necessarily involved in many other absurdities that follow it. For seeing