PREFACE.

their books, is very vividly depicted. This must be our hope and our comfort: but in the meantime, one must think of first becoming a child again, before one can be a grown man.

To be a Christian child is to be a great man, and a truly perfect man; not by nature or by reason, but through Graceoriginal: "Genade"; in Christian theology, the unmerited favor and divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification. and through Faithoriginal: "Geloove", which cause him to grow as much in stature and measure as they cause him to increase in childhood. For the more someone in Christianity is like a child, the greater and more perfect a man he is. This Treatiseoriginal: "Tractaet"; a formal written work on a specific subject., aiming to form the Christian, places him immediately in the cradle, nurtures him further, and does not leave him until after having made him a perfect man—that is, a good Christian.

For greater usefulness, it is divided into many small Articlesoriginal: "Articulen"; distinct sections or points of discussion., like so many proverbs and concise arguments, which are easily remembered due to their brevity. Just as they awaken the spirit and the understanding, they do not burden the memoryoriginal: "memorie", which remembers them as easily as it grasps them.