Roger Ascham Toxophilus 1545

144 (T0j:0j|tJ{lti& 36*

iii. or iiii. excellent Archers haue befide, were al ioyned
in one, I am fure all men woulde wonder at ye excellence
of it And this is one waye to learne to fhoote fayre.

plji. This is very wel truly, but I praye you teache
me fomewhat of ihootyng fayre youre felfe.

2Eax, I can teache you to Ihoote fayre, euen as
Socrates taught a man ones to knowe God, for when
he axed hym what was God: naye fayeth he I can tell
you better what God is not, as God is not yll, God is
vnfpeakeable, vnfearcheable and fo forth: Euen lyke-
wyfe can I faye of fayre ihootyng, it hath not this dif-
commodite with it nor that difcommoditie, and at lafl
a man maye fo Ihifte all the difcommodities from
fhootynge that there ihall be left no thynge behynde
but fayre fhootynge. And to do this the better you
muil remember howe that I toulde you when I de-
fcrybed generally the hole nature of ihootyng that
fayre ihotyng came of thefe thynges, of ilandynge,
nockynge, drawynge, howldynge and lowfynge, the
whych I wyll go ouer as ihortly as I can, defcribynge
the difcommodities that men commonly vfe in all
partes of theyr bodies, that you yf you faulte in any
fuch maye knowe it and fo go about to amend it.
Faultes in Archers do excede the number of Archers,
whyche come wyth vfe of ihootynge wythoute teach-
ynge. Vfe and cuilome feparated from knowlege
and learnynge, doth not onely hurt ihootynge, but the
mooil weyghtye thynges in the worlde befide: And
therfore I maruayle moche at thofe people whyche
be the mayneteners of vfes withoute knowlege hauynge
no other worde in theyr mouthe but thys vfe, vfe, cuil-
ome, cuilome. Suche men more wylful than wyfe,
befide other difcommodities, take all place and occafion
from al amendment. And thys I fpeake generally of
vfe and cuilome.

Whych thynge yf a learned man had it in hande
yat woulde applye it to anye one matter, he myght
handle it wonderfullye. But as for ihootyng, vfe is the
onely caufe of all fautes in it and therfore chylderne