Of the Signification of Spirit, Angel, and Inspiration in the Books of Holy Scripture
Seeing the foundation of all true ratiocination is the constant signification of words; which in the doctrine following, dependeth not, as in natural science, on the will of the writer, nor, as in common conversation, on vulgar use, but on the sense they carry in the Scripture; it is necessary, before I proceed any further, to determine, out of the Bible, the meaning of such words, as by their ambiguity may render what I am to infer upon them, obscure or disputable. I will begin with the words “body” and “spirit,” which in the language of the schools are termed, “substances,” “corporeal,” and “incorporeal.”