¶Incipit liber primus
De trinitate
he Father, the Sonne, the holy Ghoſt, be thrée perſons by perſonal properties, but the abſolute properties be common to all thrée perſons, but ſome of theſe properties be more appropried to one then to another: As thus, power is appropried to the Father, to the Sonne, wiſdome is attributed, & to the holy Ghoſt is attributed grace. The Father is God, ye Sonne is God, the holy Ghoſt is God: And theſe thrée perſons be not thrée Gods, but one verye God euerlaſting, one eſſence, or one béeing, euer perdurable, or during without meaſure, not chaungeable, almightie, one ſubſtaunce, and in one nature ſimple. The Father is of nothing precedent, the ſonne is of the Father, the holy Ghoſt is of the Father & of the ſonne proceeding; without beginning of time; & without end. The thrée perſons be one ſubſtance together, with one perdurabilitie together, and one is equall to the other in all manner of perfection, and each one is Omnipotent or Almightie, and one beginning of all things, created of nothing: or made of nothing: creatour of all creatures, viſebles or inuiſibles, ſpiritualls or corporalls. The which creatour by a mightie vertue, from the beginning of time; created together the creature angelike, and the worldly nature, of nothing, or of no matter precedent. This creatour then made man, & nature humane common to the firſt two natures: for man is of body corporal, & of ſoule he is made ſpirituall. From this holy trinitie, al confuſion & al mixtion of perſhifs is voided. For the Father is another, the Sonne is another, the holy Ghoſt is another: nor the father may not be the ſonne, nor the holye Ghoſt: nor the ſonne may not bee the Father, nor the holy Ghoſt: nor the holy Ghoſt may not be the Father, nor the ſonne; but to theſe thrée perſons is one eſſence or being, and one nature common, the which is the beginning of all things, and out of this beginning ther is no beginning: Theſe thrée perſons be one God, one eſſence indiuiſible or vnable to be diuided, one ſubſtaunce and one nature. The Father is no greater, nor of greater power then is the ſonne: nor then the holy Ghoſt is, for the vnitie of the diuine eſſence or béeing, is equall or like in power to the Father, to the ſonne, and to the holy Ghoſt, and this holy trinitie is one God, the firſt beginning, without beginning, not created nor begotten, not paſſible, nor mortall: mightie of power to make all things without number, and without end, fountaine of all goodneſſe, and of all vertue, which by his incomprehenſible knowledge knoweth all things preſent; and to bée, & may doe euery thing that he will, but he will not doe euery thing that he may, for hée might deſtroys all the world, and yet he will not doe it: howbeit that his diuine eſſence, or béeing, may not be perfectlye knowne or comprehended by any reaſonable and mortall creature, yet there is not any imortall perſon; hauing the vſe of diſcreation, but that he will confeſſe there is a God, which is the cauſe and beginning of all things, howbeit there is no man of ſuch wit, and humane vnderſtanding, that can ſufficiently ſearch
