The essays of Francis Bacon ... on civil, moral, literary and political subjects. Together with the life of that celebrated writer

Library

of the

University of Toronto

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2009 with funding from

University of Toronto

http://www.archive.org/details/essaysoffrancisb02baco

THE

ESSAYS

OF '

FRANCIS BACON,

BARON OF VERULAM,
VISCOUNT St. ALBAN,

AND

LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND;

COT^ T AI NING

THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING,

NATURAL AND HUMAN PHILOSOPHY,

MORAL KNOWLEDGE, THEOLOGY, &c.

TO WHICH IS ADDED

HIS CELEBRATED HISTORY OF

LIFE AND DEATH.

ANEW EDITION.
IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

L O N D O N:

^cinteti at tfie Holographic ^reC^,

XY J. WALTER, PRINTING-HOUSE-SQJJARE, BLACKFRIARSt
AND SOLD BY J. ROE30N, NEW BOND STREET : T. LONG-
MAN, AND R. BALDWIN, PATERNOSTER-ROW : AND W.
ilCHARDSON, UNDER THE ROYAL EXCHANGE,
V.BCC.LXXXVK.

"^^

T O

The king,

'TPHERE were under the law, excellent
King, both daily facrifices, and free-
will offerings : the one proceeding upon or-
dinary obfervance, the other upon a devout
cheerfulnefs : m like manner there belongeth
to kings from their fervants, both tribute of
duty, aiid prefents of affe£lion. In the former
of theie I hope I fhall not live to be wanting,
according to my mofl: humble duty, and the
good pleafure of your Majefty's employ-
ments: for the latter, I thought it more
refpedive to make choice of fome oblation,
which might rather refer to the propriety
A and

fi. DEDICATION.

and excellency of your individual perfon, than
to the bufinefs of your crown and ftate.

Wherefore reprefenting your Majefty
many tunes unto my mind, and beholding
you not with the inquifitive eye of perfump-
tion, to difcover that which the fcripture
tells me is infcrutable, but with the obfervant
eye of duty and admiration : leaving afide
the other parts of your virtue and fortune, I
have been touched, and poflefled with
an extreme wonder at thofe your virtues and
faculties, which the philofophers call intel-
ledual : the largenefs of your capacity, the
faithfulnefs of your memory, the fwiftnefs
of your apprehenfion, the penetration of your
judgment, and the facility and order of your
elocution: and I have often thought, that
of all the perfons living that I have known,
your Majefty were the beft inftance to make
a man of F/<:?/(5's opinion, that all knowledge
is but remembrance, and that the mind of
man by nature knows all things, and has

but

DEDICATION. HI.

but her own native and original notions
(whlcli by the ftrangenefs and darknefs of
this tabernacle of tlie body are fequeflered)
again revived and reftored : fuch a light of
nature I have obferved in your majefty, and
fuch a readinefs to take flame, and blaze
from the leaft occafion prefcnted, or the
leaft fpark of another's knowledge deliver-
ed. And as the Scripture fays of the wlfeft
king, that his heart was as- the fands of the
fta ; which though it be one of thelargeft
bodies, yet it confiileth of the fmalleft and
finefl portions : fo hath God given your
majefty a compofition of underftanding
admirable, being able to compafs and com-
prehend the greatefl matters, and never-
thelefs to touch and apprehend the leafl ;
whereas it fhould feem an impolfibility in
nature, for the fame inftrument to make it-
felf fit for great and fmall works. And for
your gift of fpeech, I call to mind what
Cornelius Tacitus faith of Auguflus Caefar ;
^ugujlo frqflums et qua principem deceret, elo-
A 3 quentia

IV. DEDICATION.

quent'iafult : For, if we note it well, fpeech
that is uttered with labour and difficiUty, or
rpeech that favoureth of the affedation of art
and precept?, or fpeech that is framed after
the imitation of fome pattern of eloquence,
though never fo excellent ; all this hath
fomewhat fervile, and holding of the rubje<fl.
But your majefty's manner of fpeech is in<^
deed prince-like, flowing as from a fountain,
and yet ftreaming and branching itfelf into
nature's order, full of facility and felicity,
imitating none, and inimitable by any. And
as in your civil eflate there appeareth to be
an emulation and contention of your Majef-
ty's virtue with your fortune ; a virtuous
difpolition with a fortunate regiment ; a vir-
tuous expe£tation, when time was, of your
gi'eater fortune, with a profperous poffeffion
thereof in the due time ; a virtuous obferv-
ation of the laws of marriage, with moft
blefled and happy fruit of marriage ; a vir-
tuous and mofl: chriftian defire of peace,
with a fortunate inclination in your neigh -
I bour

DEDICATION. V«

bour princes thereunto : fo likewife In thefe
intelleaual matters, there feemeth to be no
lefs contention between the excellency of
your Majefty's gifts of nature, andtheuni-
verfality and perfedion of your learning.
For I am well affured, that this which I Ihall
{xy is no ampUfication at all, but a pofitive
and meafured truth ; which is, that there
hath not been fmce Chrift's time any king
or temporal monarch, which hath been fo
learned in all literature and erudition, di-
vine and human. For let a man ferioufly
and diligently revolve and perufe the fuccef-
ibrs of the Emperors of Rome, of which
Citfar the didator, who lived fome years
liefore Chrifl, and Marcus Antoninus, were
the beft learned ; and fo defcend to the Em-
perors of Grsecia, or of the Weft ; and then
to the lines of France, Spain, England, Scot-
land, and the reft, and he ftiall find this judg-
ment is truly made. For it feemeth much in
a king, if, by the compendious extradions
of other men's wits and labours, he can

take

Vl. DEDICATION.

take hold of any fuperficial ornaments and
fhews of learning, or if he countenance and
prefer learning and learned men : but to
drink indeed of the true fountains of learn-
ing, nay, to have fach a fountain of learn-
ing in himfelf, in a king, and in a king
born, is almoft a miracle. And the more,
becaufe there is met in your majefty a rare
conjun^lion, as well of divine and facred
literature, as of profane and human ; fo as
your Majefty flandeth inverted of that tri-
plicity, which in great veneration was af-
cribed to the ancient Hermes ; the power
and fortune of a king, the knowledge and
illumination of a prieft, and the learning
and univerfaHty of a philofopher. This
propriety, inherent and individual attribute
in your Majefty, deferveth to be exprefled,
not only in the fame and admiration of the
prefent time, nor in the hiflory or tradition
of the ages fucceeding; but alfo in fome
folid work, fixed memorial, and immortal
monumentj bearing a character or fignature,

both

DEDICATION. Vll.

both of the power of a king, and the dif-
ference and perfedlion of fuch a king.

Therefore I did conclude with myfelf,
that I could not make unto your Majefty a
better oblation than, of fome treatife tend-
ing to that end, whereof the fum will con-
fifl of thefe two parts : the former, con-
cerning the excellency of learning and
knowledge, and the excellency of the me-
rit and true glory in the augmentation and
propagation thereof: the latter, what the
particular ads and works are, which have
' been embraced and undertaken for the ad-
vancement of learning; and again, what de-
feds and undervalues I find in fuch parti-
cular ads, to the end, that though I can-
not pofitively or affirmatively advife your
Majefty, or propound unto you framed par-
ticulars ; yet I may excite your princely co-
gitations to vifit the excellent treafure of
your own mind, and thence to extrad par-
ticulars for this purpofe, agreeable to your

magnanimity and wifdom.

THE

CONTENT S.

OX the Difcredits of Learning, Page i

Political Objeclions againft Learning, lO

Of the Poverty of the Learned, 24

From the Studies of the Learned, 40

Delicate Learning, 41

Contentious Learning, 46

Fantaftic Learning, ^i

Prejudices of the Learned, 57

On the Dignity of Learning, 69

Of Human Proofs and Arguments, 80

The Intiuence of Learning in ^Military Affairs 93

on Moral Virtue, 108

Of the Power and Sovereignty of Learning, 113

Of the Afts of Merit towards Learning 122

Defeats of Literary Eilablifhments, 125

On the Hiflory of Learning, 13^
On the Dignity and Difficulty of Civil Hiftory, 140

On the Partition of Civil Hiftory, 142

On Ecclefiallical Hiftory, i^g

On the Appendages of Hillory, 153

On Poetry, i^^

On the Triumphs of Man, 163

On Divine, Natural and Human Philofophy, 168

On Memory, 201

OnRhetorick, 206

On Critical and Pedantical Knowledge, 217

On Moral Knowledge, 227

On Civil Converfation, 285

On the Architeft of his Fortune, 290

On Infpired Divinity, 329

On the Matter of Divinity, /yj^ 4^ £,, 346

The Hillory of Life and Death, ' 353

Oa

ii. CONTENT S.

On the Durability of Nature, Page. 357

On the Longevity of Plants, 360

Of Drynefs, 363

On the Duration of Life in Animals 37 1

Of Nourifliment, 384

Of the Longevity of Man, 387

Medicines and Rules for Long Life 418

To continue and renew the vigour of the Spirits, 424

On the Exclufion of the Air, 446
The Operation on the Blood, and cooling its Heat, 453

Operation on the Moillure of the Body, 455

To promote Digeftion, 458
To prepare the Outward Parts for attratling

Nourifliment, 466

On Food and Diet, 468

The Operation on the laft Aft of Affimilation, 470

On making the Body Tender and Young 47

On Renewing the Moifture of the Body, 473

Caufes and Symptoms of Death, 474

ESS A Y S, &c.

O F

FRANCIS, LORD BACON,

VISCOUNT St. ALB AN.

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

De Jugmentls Scientlarum. Lib. Prim.

"^O clear the way, and command filence,
in order to have the teftimonies con-
cernhig the dignity of learning better heard,
without the interruption of tacit objeaions,
I have determined in the firft place, to deli-
ver learning from the difgrace and difcredit,
which ignorance has caft upon it ; igno-
rance, under feveral forms, appearing and dif.
covering itfelf fometimes in the zeal of di-
vines, fometimes in the arrogance of poli-
VoL. 11. B ticians,

2 ON TIIF DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

ticians, and fometimes in the errors of learn-
ed men themfelves.

I hear the firfl: fay, *' That knowledge is
*' of the number of thofe things, which are
** to be admitted witli liniiiation and cau-
" tion.'* *' That an over-great appetite of
*' knowledge was the firft fm, whereupon
*' enfucd the fall of man ; and that even to
*' this day it hath fomewhat of the lerpent
" in it ; for when it enters, it makes a man
*' fweU.'* Scientia infiat. " Tliat Solomon
*' is of opinion there is no end in mak-
*' ing books; and that much reading is
** wearinefs of the flefli." And in an-
other place. *' That in much wifdom
*' there is much grief!" Allb " He that
** encreafeth knowledge, encreafeth ar^x-
" iety." That St. Paul puts in a caveat,
*' That we be not fpoiled through vain
•* philolbphy.*' Further, *' That ex-
*' perience demonftrates, that the mod
" learned men have been arch-heretics ;
*' and the mofl learned times inclined to
" Atheifm." Finally, *' That the con-
" templatlon of fecond caufes derogates
" from the authority of the firft.*'

To

ON THE nrsCRF.DIT OF LEAKKIKG. 3

To dlfcover then tlie fiilfity of this opinion
and the weakncfs of its foundation, nnv man
may Ice plainly they do not coniider, that
the knowledge, which occafioned the fiill,
was not that pure and primitive knowledge
of nature, by the liglit of which man gave
hamcs toother creatures in Paradife, as they
were brought before him, according to their
properties; but that ^mbitious knowledge of
good and evil, by which he affe^^led to Ihake
otf God, and give law to himfclf. Neither
is it any quantity of knowledge, how great
foever, that can fwell the mind, fince no-
tl^.ingcan fill the foul, much lefs expand it,
but God, and the contemplation of him.
And therefore Solomon, fpeaking of the two
principal lenfes of inquiiltlon, (feeing and
hearing) iaith,** That the eye is never
*' fatistied with feeing, nor the ear with
•' hearing." Ecclef. i. 8. And if there be
no fulncfs, it follows, that the objeds of
ienfe are not adequate to their capacity.

In like manner, knowledge itfelf, and the

mind of man (to which the fenfes are emif-

faries) he defines in thefe words, which he

fubjoins to his calendar, or regifter of times,

B 2 » con-

4 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

concluding thus: *' God hath made all thingg
*' beautiful, or decent, in the true return of
*« their feafons." Ecclef. 3. ii. Alfo *' He
*' hath placed the world in man's heart,
** yet cannot man find out the work which
*' God worketh from the beginning to the
*« end." By which wordsheplainly intimates,
that God has framed the mind like a mirror,
capable of the image of the univerfal world,
and as delirous of receiving it, as the eye is
of light; and delighted to behold not only
the varieties and viciflitudes of times, but
ambitious likewife to fearch, and explore
the immoveable and inviolable laws and
decrees of nature. And although he feems to
infniuate, that the whole of that oeconomy
of nature, which he calls the work which
God works from the beginning to the end,
is not pofTible to be found out by man ; this
does not derogate from the capacity of men,
but fhould be cafl upon the impediments of
knowledge; fuch as the fhortnefs of life;
reparation in mens fludies ; a depraved and
unfaithful tradition of knowledge ; and a
number of other inconveniencies, to which
the Condition of man is fubjed ; for that no
part of the univerfe is improper for the dif-

quifitioa

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 5

quifition of man, he fhews clearly enough
in another place; where he lays," The fpirit
" of man is as the lamp of God, where-
*' with he fearcheth the moft hidden
" lecrets.'*

If then fuch be the capacity of the mind
of man, it is manifeft that there is no dan-
ger from the quantity of knowledge, how
large foever, left it (hould make it fwell ; but
merely in the quality of knowledge, which
though ever fo fmall, if it betaken without
its proper antidote, hath a kind of malignity
in it, full of flatulent fymptoms. This
antidote, the mixture of which tempers
knowledge, and renders it exceeding whole-
fome, is charity ; which alfo the Apoftle
fubjoins to the former claufe, faying,
*' Knowledge puffeth up, but charity build-
" eth up." Not unlike that which he delivers
in another place," Though I fpake with the
" tongues of men and of angels, and have
*' not charity, I am become as a founding
" brafs, or a tinkling cymbal," i Cor. 13.
Not but it is an excellent thing to fpeak with
the tongues of men and angels ; yet if it be
fevered from charity, and not referred to the
B 3 public

6 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

public good of mankind, it will rather ex-
hibit an empty glory, than any folid fruit.

As for Sclomons cenfure, touching the
excels of writing and reading books, and the
anxiety of fpirit redounding from knowledge
with that admonition of St. PW, " That
*^ we be not feduced by vain philofophy," let
thofc paflages be rightly explained, and they
clearly point out the true bounds and limits
within which human knowledge is confined
and circumfcribed, yet fo as Ihe may be at
liberty to comprehend and take in -he
univerfal nature of things. The limits are
three : firfl, that we do not fo place our
felicity in knowledge, as to forget our mor-
tality : iecond, that we do not fo ufe our
knowledge, as to be the occafion of anxiety,
not tranquillity of mind : the third, that we
do not think, by the contemplation of nature,
to be able to reach the divine myfteries.

The firft, Solomon excellently explains
in another place of the fame book, Ecclef. 2,
13. ^c. " I faw well," faith he, " that
*' wifdom recedeth as far from folly, as
^* light from darknefs. The wife man's

•' eyes

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 7

<' eyes keep watch i" his head, whereas the
«' fool roveth about in darkuefs ; but withal
" I learned that the fame mortality involves
" them both."

For the fecond, certain it is, that no
anxiety or perturbation of mind, refultsfrom
knowledge, but merely by accident ; for all
knowledge, and wonder, is in itfelf plea-
fant ; but when conclufions are drawn from
it, which being obliquely applied to our own
particular views, beget either weak fears,
or vafl defires ; then, and not till then, arifes
that vexation and trouble of mind of v^^hich
we are fpeaking: for then knowledge is no
longer a dry light, as Her^ciitus, the obfcure,
would have it : lumen fccum optima amtna ;
" dry light is the heft foul ;* ' but becomes
lumen madidum, atqiie himorihus affedium
maceratum ; '' Light fteeped and infufed in
*' the humours of the affedtions."

The third rule requires a more accurate
difquifition, and is not to be lightly paffed
over. For if any man thinks, by a view
and enquiry into fenfible and material things,
to attain fo much light, as will be fufficient
B 4 ^^

8 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

to difcover the nature or will ofGod, that man
indeed is fpoiled through vain philofophy :
for the contemplation of the creatures, with
regard to themfelves produces knowledge ;
but with regard to God, wonder only,
which is a kind of imperfedt knowledge.
And therefore it was mod aptly fald by one
of Plato's fchool; " That human fenfes
*' refemble the fun, which reveals indeed
*' the terreftrial globe, but feals up the
*' celeftial, and the ftars." So the fenfe
difcovers natural things, but darkens and
fhuts up divine. And hence it is that fome
of the learned have fallen into herefy,
while they laboured to fly up to the fecrets
of the Deity, upon the wings of the fenfes.

As to thofe who are of opinion that too
much knowledge inclines the mind to
atheifm, and that the ignorance of fecond
caules gives birth to our piety towards the
firft caufe, I would willingly ask thefe per-
fons Job^ queftion. Job 13. 7. " Whether
*« it be fit to lie for God, and for his fake to
<« fpeak deceitfully, that we may gratify
*' him ?" For it is plain, that God worketh
nothing in the ordinary courfe, of nature,

but

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. p

but by fecond caufes; and if they would
have it otherwife beheved, it would be mere
impofture, in favour to God; aiid nothing
elfe but to offer to the author of truth, the
unclean facrifice of a lie.

But further, it is an affured truth, and
warranted by experience, that a fmall, or
fuperficial tafte of philofophy, may per-
chance incline a man to atheifm, but that a
deeper refearch brings him back agahi to
religion. For, in the entrance to philofophy,
when the fecond caufes, which are neareft
to the fenfes, offer themfelves to the mind
of man, and its attention is fixed upon them,
an oblivion of the firft caufe may poffibly
creep in; but if a man proceeds further, and
views the dependance, continuation, and
confederacy of caufes, and the works of
providence, then, according to the allegory
of the poets, he will eafily believe that the
higheft link of Nature's chain, is faflened to
the foot oi Jupiter" s throne.

To conclude, let no man in purfuit of
ill-applied moderation, imagine that we
can go too far, or be too well-fludied in the
book of God's word, or in his works, in divi-
nity,

lO ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

iilty, or philofophy; but rather let men
awaken themfelves, and vigoroufly purfue
an endlefs proficiency in both ; only let them
beware, left they apply knowledge to feif-
admiration, not to charity; to oftentation,
not to ufe: And that they do not un(kilfully
confound thofe diftin6l doctrines, of theology
and philofophy, together.

POLITICAL OBJECTIONS

AGAINST

LEARNING.

"^TOW let us come to the difgrace where-
with the politicians afperfe learning,
which is of this nature: " That the Arts
*' foften mens minds, and render them
** unapt for military glory. Then, in
*' matter of politics, that they fpoil mens
*' difpofitions, making them either too
•' curious in refpedt to reading, too pe-
*^ remptory by the ftridnefs of rules, or too
I " in com-

OK THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. H

*' incompatible with the times, by reafon
'' of the diffimilitude of examples ; but at
*' leaft, that they divert and alienate mens
*' minds from bufniefs and a6lion, inftilling
^' into them a love of leifure and privacy :
" Next, that they bring into flates a relaxa.
*' tion of difcipline, while every man is
*' more ready to argue, than to obey.'' Up-
on which Cato, firnamed the Cenfor^ one of
the wift.il men that ever lived, when the
young men of Rome^ flocked from all
quarters about Carneades the philofopher,
who was come Ambaffador from Rome, ta-
ken with the fweetnefs and majefty of his
eloquence, gave counfel in full fenate,
*' That they fhould give him his difmif-
** (ion with all fpeed, left he fhould infe£t
*' and enchant the mitids of the citizens,
•' and infenfibly bring in an alteration of
*' the manners and cufl:oms of the ftate."
The fame reafon moved Virgil alfo, prefer-
ring the honour of his country, before his
own profefTion, to make a feparation between
the arts of policy, and the arts of literature;
claiming thofe to the Romans, ajid leaving

thefe

12 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

thefe to the Grecians^ in thofe celebrated
Verfes, Mn. 6. v. 847. ^c,

Excudent alii. Sec.

** Let others better mould the running mafi

•' Of metal, and enforni the breathing brafs,

*' And foften into flefli a marble face :

" Plead better at the bar ; defcribe the (kies,

*' And when the ftars defccnd, and when they rife.

** But Rome, 'tis thine alone with awful fway,

*' To rule mankind, and make the world obey ;

** Difpofing peace and war thy own majeflic way."

D R Y D E N-.

We fee likewife that j^nytas, the accufer
o^ Socrates, laid it as an article of accufation
againfl: him, that he did by the power and
variety of his dlfcourfes and difputationsde-
bafein the minds of young men, the author-
ity and reverence of the laws and cuftoms of
their country ; and that he did profefs a
dangerous art, with which, whoever was
furniflied, might make the worfe caufe the
better, and fupprefs truth itfelf by the
addrefs and fplendour of eloquence.

But thefe imputations, carry rather
an effe£led gravity, than any fnicerity of
truth. For experience witneffes, that both

perfons

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. J^

perfons and times have flourlfhed at once,
in the glory of arms and education : as for
men, we have inftances in that noble pair of
Emperors, Alexander the great, and JuUuS
Cccfar the dictator; the one, Anjiotle's
fcholar in philofoph v, the other, Cicero s rival
in eloquence. Or if any man lliould rather
call for learned men, who have proved great
generals, than generals that were great
fcholars, there is ready for him Epaminondas
the 'Theban, or Xenophon the Athenian ; the
former of which was the firft that paved the
way to the overthrow of the Perjian mon-
archy. x'\nd this union of arms and letters
is yet more vifible in times, than in perfons,
as an age is a greater objedl than a man. For
the very fame times with the Egyptians,
AJfyrians^ Perfans, Grecians, and Remans,
that are mod renowned for military virtue,
were like wife moil admired for learning too ;
fo that the graveft authors and philofophers,
and the moft celebrated captains and gover-
nors, have lived in the fame age. Nor
indeed can it be otherwife, for as in man the
vigour of body and mind grow to maturity
almoft together, except that the former is a
little more early than theotJier'; fo in flates,

the

14 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

the glory of arms and learning, the one
whereof correfponds to the body, the other"
to the foul, are either coeval, or follow one
another very clofe.

Now In matters of policy and government,
that learning (hould rather be an impediment^
than a help to it, is a thing very improbable 5
we all confefs it an unadvikd a£l:, to commit
a natural body, and the cure of health to
empiric phylicians, who boaft of a few
receipts, which feem to them univerfal
remedies, in confidence of which they ven-
ture to attempt any thing, when yet they
neither know the caufes of difeafes, the
conftitutioDS of patients, the dangerof fymp-
toms, nor the true method of cures. We
fee a like error in thofe, who for the dif-
patch of their caufes and fuits, make ufe of
little lawyers, verfed in pra<rtice, rather
than in the law-books ; who are eafily im*
pofed upon, if there fall out any thing new,
or out of the common road of their experi-
ence : fo it is a matter of great danger,
whenever affairs is intrufted chiefly to em-
piric flatefmen. On the countrary, there
is fcarce one inftance brought of a difaftrous

govern-

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. I^

government, where learned men have been
feated at the helm. For though it has been
ordhiary with politicians to vilify learned
men by the name of Pedants^ yet hiftory
bears record in abundance of particulars,
that the government of princes in minoritv,
notwithfianding the great difadvantage of
that kind of ftate, have neverthelefs excelled
the government of princes of mature age,
even for tlie realbn, which politicians tra-
duce, of the adminiiiration of affairs being
at that time in the hands of Peda?2ts, Who
does not know, that during thofe five years
of Ne7'o, fo much magnified, the burden of
affairs lay upon Seneca ^ a Pedant? So again,
Gordianus the younger, owed the ten years
applauded government to Miftheus^ a Pe-
dant. Nor did Alexander Sevcrus govern lefs
happily in his miniftry, in which ipace
women took care of all things, but, with
the advice of Preceptors,
> ol f[Tj:
Let us look into the government of the
bifhops of Rome-, that of Pius ^uintus, or
Sextus ^mtus, in our times, who were
efteemed at their entrance but as poor,
ignorant, and unexperienced friars ; and we

fhall

l6 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

fhall find that the a«fl:s of fuch popes are ge-
nerally more memorable, than of thofe who
have afcended to the papacy from an educa-
tion and breeding in affairs of ftate, and in
the courts of princes. For although men
that have fpent mofl of their life in letters,
are lefs quick in apprehending occafit)ns, in
points of convenience, and accommodating
things for the prefent, which the Italians
call ragwnl dl Jlato, *' Reafons of ftate.'*
(the very name whereof Fius ^intus could
not bear, being ufed to fay, that they were
the mere devices of wicked men, to opprefs
religion and the moral virtues) yet in this
there is made ample recompenfe, that they
are perfe<^ and ready in the fafe and plain
way of religion, juftice, honefly, and the
moral virtues ; and they that conflantly keep
in this path, will no more need thofe other
remedies, than a found body does phyfic.
Moreover, the fpace of one man's life can-
not furnifh precedents enough to dire£t the
events of it, for as it fometimes happens,
that the grandfon, or great grandfon, re-
fembles the grand-father, or great grand-
father more than the father, fo it frequently
happens that the occurrences of prefent times

fuit

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING I 7

fuit better with antient examples, than
with thofe of latter times. Lailly, the wit
of one riian is as much inferior to the extent
and latitude of learning, as the income of
a private man to a public treafury.

And though it were granted, that thofe de-
pravations, indifpofitions, and impediments,
which are imputed to learning by politicians,
are of validity, and have fome truth in them ;
yet it muft be remembered that learning in
each of thefe is more medicinal than it is
hurtful. For allowing, that learning by a
fecret influence renders the mind irrefolute
and perplexed, yet certainly it plainly
teaches how to unwind the thoughts, how
far to deliberate, and when at laft to refolve ;
nay, it (hews how thingc in the mean time
may be protradled and fafpended without
prejudice.

Let it be granted, that learning makes
mens minds too pofitive and flitF; yet
it teaches, what things are in their nature
demonflrative, and what conje6lural; and
has for its objeft, as well the ufe of dif-
tindions and exceptions, as the liability of

Vol. IL C ruks

l8 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

rules and principles : again, that it mifleads
and wrefts mens minds, either by the dii-
proportion or diffimilitade of examples; that
may be, but it unfolds, and lays open, as
well the force of circumflances, as the errors
of compnrifons, and teaches all the cautions
of application ; fo that in the whole, it
reiftifies mens minds more than it perverts
them. And thefe remedies learning infmu-
ates every where with great force and vari-
ety of examples. Let a man weigh well
the errors of Clement the Vllth, fo lively
defcribed by Guicciard'me, that was a kind
of domeftic to him ; or the waverings of
Cicero^ painted to the life by his own pencil,
in his epiftles to Atticus', and he will of all
things fhun inconftancy, and frequent
fhifting of refolutions. Let him look into
the errors of Phoc'wn^ and he will dread
obftinacy, and wilfulnefs. Let him rea<l
the fable oflxion, and it will difpel exceilive
hopes ; let him confider Cato the fecond,
and he will never infift on that perfedlion
in a ftate which human nature cannot attain.

Now for the opinion of thofe who think
learning a friend to floth, and that it over-

fp reads

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. I9

fp reads the mind with a fv/eet flumber
of repofe ; they will do a miracle if they can
prove, that what accuftoms the mind
to a perpetual motion, is the patronefs of
floth : whereas, on the contrary, it may be
truly affirmed, that no kind of men love
bufinefs.for bulinefs-fake, but the learned.
For other perfons love bufniefs, for the
profit, as hirelings the work for the wages :
others for honour; for while they are in
adlion, they live in the eyes of men, and
refrefh their reputation, which would
othervvife decay : others for the f^ike of
power, and the privileges of fortune, that
they maybe able to reward their friends, and
be revenged on their enemies : others, that
they may exercife fome peculiar faculty
they are fond of, and in that refpedl often
congratulate and pleafe themfelves : others,
laftly, to obtain different ends lb that as
it is faid of bravados, their valour is in
the eyes of the fpedators ; and fuch niens
diligence and a6livity feem to aim at this,
either that others may applaud them, or
that they may be delighted inwardly with
felfconceit and their own dellgns. Only
learned men love employment, as a6lions
C 2 agreeable

20 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

agreeable to nature, and no lefs healthful
to the mind, than exercife is to the body,
having an eye to the thing only, not the
profit : fo that of all naen, they are the
mofl: indefatigable, provided it is fiich
bufniefs that can fill and entertain the n^ind
according to its dignity.

And if any are found fometimes adive in
reading, but idle in a6lion, they have not
this from learning, but from fome weaknefs
and foftnefs of body, or fpirit ; fuch as
Seneca touches: " fome," fays he " are
*' fo much for fhade and obfcurity, that
" whatever is in the light, they take to be
*' in a florm." It may happen, that men
from a confcioufnefs of fuch a temper devote
themfelves to learning ; but learning itfelf
implants and breeds no fuch temper.

But if any man, notwithflanding, pe-
remptorily maintains, that learning fw^al-
lows up too much time, which might other-
wife be better employed ; I anfwer, that no
man is fo ftraitenedand oppreft with bufinefs,
but he has his intermiffions and vacations till
the returns and tides of bufmefs flow in

again.

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 21

again, unlefs he is either very dull, and of
no difpatch ; or ambitious (little to his credit
and reputation) in reaching after morp
than he can accomplifh.

It remains then to be enquired, with
what, and in what manner it may be con-
venient to fill up thofe fpare hours ; whether
with fludies or pleafures, with fenfuality,
or contemplation ; as was anfwered by
Demojihenes to JEfchines^ a man given to
pleafure, who when he told him by way
of reproach ; " That his orations fmelt
" of the lamp;" *' In troth," fays he,
*^ there is great difference between the things
" that I and you do by lamp-light:" where^
fore there is no fear left learning fhould expel
bufinefs ; nay, rather it refcues and defends
the mind from idlenefs and pleafure, which
otherwife by degrees are apt to fteal in,
to the prejudice of both bufmefs as well a?
Jearning.

As to the objedion that letters under-
mine the reverence of laws and government,
it is mere calumny, and has not the proba-
ble appearance of an accufation. For to fay,
C 3 that

22 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

that a blind obedience flioiild be a ftronger
obligation than a rational duty, is the fame
as to affirm, that a blind man with a guide
treads lurer than he that has the ufe of light
and eyes. Since without all controverfy,
the arts foften the manners, make them
tender, obfequious, pliable, and du£llle to
the commands of power ; but ignorance
makes them contumacious, refra6lory, and
mutinous: and this appears clearly by
hif{:ory,confideringthat the mofl unlearned,
rude, and barbarous times, have been mofl
fubjecl to tumults, feditions, and changes.

With refpeft to the judgment of Caio
the Cenfor, I ihall only fay, that he was
juflly punifhed for his blafphemy againft
learning; for when he was pail threefcore
years of age, he was taken with an extreme
defire to go to fchool again, to learn the
Greek Tongue, that he might underftand
the Greek authors ; which demonftrates, that
his form^er cenfure of the Grecian learning,
was rather an aife6led gravity, than the in-
ward fenfe of his own opinion.

Though VirgUm the above cited verfes took
51 fancy to infult the world,inafferting to the

Romans

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 73

Romani a fuperlority in the arts of empire ;
refignlng to Greece thofe of genius and tafle,
as popular and fervile ; yet it is manifeft,
that the Rotnans never afcended to the pin-
nacle of empire, till the time they had rifen
to the height of arts. For in the time of
the two firfl Ccefars, men of the greatefl
perfe6lion in the art of government, there
lived contemporaries ; the beil: poet, Firgilius
Maro\ the befl: hiftorian, 'Thus Lhius; the
befl antiquary, Marcus Varro ; and the
beft, or fecond beft orator, Marcus Cicero y
the greatefl men each in their faculties, in
the memory of man.

Lastly, for the accufation oi Socrates^
I fhall only fay, the time muft be remem-
bered, when it was profecuted ; namely,
under the thirty tyrants, of all mortals the
moft bloody, wicked, and unworthy of
government : which revolution of ftate
and times was no fooner over, but the fame
Socrates^ whom they had made a crimi-
nal, was now ranked among the Heroes ;
his memory illuftrated and crowned with
all honours divine and human; and thofe
difcourfes of his, before adeemed the
C 4. cor-

24 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

corrnption of morals, were celebrated by
all pofterlty for moil: , fovereigii medicines
ormiiid and manners, . Let this ferve for
an'fwer to politicians who in their fuperclli-
ous fe verity, or in their counterfeit gravity,
huye perfumed to throw their reproaches
and affronts upon learning.

OF THE POVERTY OF THE LEARNED, $cc.

TVrOW wc are come to the third fort of
difcredit, that refults to learning from
learned men themfelves, which adheres more
clofely than the reft, and derives its origin
either from their fortune, their manners, or
the nature of their ftudies. The firft of
which is out of their power; the fecond
accidental, and not to the purpofe; fothat
the third only feems properly to fall under
inquiry. Yet becanfe the debate in hand is
not fo much concerning the true weight of
things,, as of popular opinion, it will not be

amifs

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 25

amlfs to iniinuate fomewhat alfoofthe two
others.

The derogations therefore, and dlmuiu-
tions which learning futfers fi"om the for-
tune of learned men, are taken either from
their poverty of living, their obfcure courfc
of life, or from the meannefs of the employ-r
ments wherein they are converfant.

As to poverty which happens to learned
men, w^ho commonly begin wdth little, and
do i;iot grow rich lb faft as other men, who
mind nothing but intereft, it were advifable
to leave the theme in praife of it, to the
' Mendicant Friars to adorn ; to whom Machi"
/7t;^/ attributed much, when he faid ; " That
" the kingdom of the priefts had long fince
" been at an end, if reverence towards the
*' poverty of friars and monks, had not
" compenfated for the luxury and excefs of
f ' prelates*'* So may a man fay, that the
felicity and magnificence of princes and
great perfons had poflibly long ago funk into
barbarifm, if they had not been obliged to
thofe poor learned men, for the civility and
honour of life. But without any fuch hunt-
ing after encomiums, it is worthy obfervation

what

26 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

what a facred and venerable thing poverty it-
felf was efteemed, for fome ages, among
the Romans, which neverthelefs was a ftate
without paradoxes. For thus faith ^itus
Livms in his introdu£lion ; " Either my
*' affedion to the work I have undertaken
*' deceives me, or never was there Common-
." wealth either more mighty than the
*' Roma7i, more holy and devout, more rich-
" ly furnifhed with good precedents, or
'* which avarice and excefs fo late invaded ;
** and w^herein poverty and parfimony were
*' fo greatly and folong honoured. In fhort,
" the more their indigence, the lefs they
*« defired."

After the Rowan flate had degenerated,
we read, that when drfar the didator pro-
feiTeda reftoration of the ruined ftate, one of
his confidents told him, that the moft com-
pendious way to his defign would be to
take away the efleem of riches. " But," fiys
he, " thefe, and all other evils will ceafe,
" together with the reputation of money, if
" neither offices, nor any other things that
''• commonly appear fo defirable, be expofed
'' to fale."

To

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 27

To conclude, as it was truly laid, that blufli-
ing was the colour of virtue, though fome
times it comes from vice, fo you may truly
fay, that poverty is the fortune of virtue,
though fometimes it proceeds from luxury
and mifmanagement. Surely this is Solomon s
judgment ; " He that hafleth to be rich,
" fliall not be innocent ;" and his precept,
" Buy the truth, and fell it not; alfo
*' knowledge and prudence :" judging it
right and good, that riches fhould be em-
ployed to get learning, not learning applied
to hoard riches.

To what purpofe fhould we fpeak of the
obfcurity of hfe, which is objeded to learned
men ? It is a theme fo trite to extol leifure
and retirement, not accompanied with (loth
and luxury, before a civil and adllve life,
for fecurity, liberty, fweetnefs, dignity, or
at leaft freedom from indignities, that no
man handles this fubjedt, but handles it
well. Ifhallonly add, that learned men
lying clofe in ftates, and not living in the
eyes of men, are like the images of Qijius
and Brutus^ of which, not being carried as
many others were at the funeral of Julia,

Tacitus

25 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING,

I'acltus^ faith, Eo ipfo frafulgebant^ quod nan
vifebantur ; they out-fhone the reft, for this
very reafon, becaufe they did not appear.

With refped to the meannefs of em-
ployment afcribed to learned men, the
chief argument to prove it is, that the
education of children and youth is allotted
to them; thedifefleem of which age, becaufe
it is that of leafl authority, is caft upon the
mafte'rs themfelves. But how unjufl: this.
difparagementis,if it be weighed, not accord-
ing to popular opinion but found judgment ;
we may form an idea from hence, that men
are more careful what they put into a new
veflel, than into a veflel feafoned; and are
more curious what mould they lay about a
young plant, than one in maturity ; from
whence it is evident that the pri'ncipal care is
about the firft formation of things. Obferve
the following fentence of thePvabbies; " Your
•' young men fhall fee vifions, and your
^' old men fhall dream dreams." From this
text they gather, that youth is the worthier
age, as revelation is more clear by viiions,
than by dreams. And this is well v/orth
remarking, that however pedagogues have

run

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 29

run the derifion of theatres, as the apes of
tyranny, and that the modern times have
been negligent and afleep in the choice of
fchool-mafters and tutors; yet it has been
an antient complaint, delivered down even
fi-om the befl and wifefl: ages, that flates are
too diligent as to their laws, and too neg-
ligent in point of education. Which
mofl noted part of antient difcipllne, has in
ibme meafure been revived in the colleges
of the J^///j, whofeinduftry and acutenefs,
when I confider, as well in the culture of
learning, as in the formation of manners,
that of Agejilaus touching PharnabazuSy
comes into my mind, 'talis cum fis, utinam
nojier eps\ "• fmce thou art fo excellent, I
*' wifh thou wert one of us." And thus
much for the difcredit drawn from the for-
•tunes, and condition of learned men.

As to the manners of learned men, that
is a thing rather perfonal, than belonging
to their ftudies ; and no doubt there arefouad
amongfc them, as in all orders and pro fef-
fions of life, bad as well as good ; but yet it
is neverthelefs true what is afferted; Jbire
Jlud'ia in }vhres^ that fludies have an influence

upon

30 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

upon the manners ; and that letters, unlefs
they meet with very depraved difpofitions,
reform nature mtirely, and change it for the
better.

But upon an attentive, and impartial
review, I can't find any difgrace that adheres
to learning, from the manners of learned
men, unlefs it be imputed to them as a
fault, which Demojlhenes^ Cicero, Cato the
fecond, Seneca, and many more are accufed
of, that becaufe the times they read of are
commonly better thanthofe they live in; and
the duties taught better than the duties prac-
tifed, they contend beyond what is expedient,
to reduce the corruption of manners to moral
reditude and the recelvedopinions of the fage ;
orimpofe the laws of antient feverity upon
diflblute times, the bad policy of which they
have experienced in their own walks. For
Solon when he was asked, whether he had
given his citizens the beft laws; '* The beft,"
fays he, *' of fuch as they were difpofed to
«' receive.** So Plato, finding that the man-
ners of his country-men were too corrupt
for him to bear, abftained from all public
offices, faying; " That a man's country is

*' to

ON THE. DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. Ql

" to be dealt with as his parents ; that is,
*' by perliiaiion, not violence; by humbly
** entreating, not contelHng." And Cafar's
coiinfellor puts in the fame plea, faying,
Non ad Vetera InJIituta revocans, qu^ jam pri-
de in corrupt IS Mo rib us ludihrio Junt: " Not
*' reducing things to the antient cuftoms,
*' which have been long fmce laughed at from
'* the degeneracy of our manners." Cicero
to Atticus: " Cato;' fays he, " has mofl
'' excellent notions, but he fometimes hurts
" the ftate; for he fpeaks as in the com-
" mon-weaJth of Flato, and not as in the
" dregs of Romulusr The fame Cicero, by
a loft interpretation, excufes the rigid fay-
ings of the philofophers : '' Thofe very
" preceptors and teachers, fays he, feem to
" have ft retched out the line and limits of
" duties beyond what nature required; that
" when we had ft rained our foul to reach
" the higheft point of perfedion, we might
'* however reft and make a ftand, where it
" is meet." And yet he himfelf might have
faid, Monitisfum minor ipfe meis; '< I am not
" able to follow my own advice:" for he
ftumbled at the fame ftone, though not in fo
extreme a degree.

Another

3^ ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

Another fault which is perhaps deferv-
edly objeded to learned men, is this, that
they have iacrificed their own fortunes, or
fafeties to the honour and intereft of their
country ; for fo fiiid Demojlhenes to his
Athcniam\ " My counfels, fays he, if ye
"note it well, are nof fuch whereby' I
" may grow great amongft you, and your-
'' felves become littlfe amongft the Grecians ;
" but of that nature as are fometimes not
"fafe for me to give, but always good for
*' you to follow.'* So Seneca^ after he had
confccrated that ^'mquenniiim Neronis (five
years of A/Vo) to the eternal glory of learned
preceptors, held on his courfe of free and bold
counfelto his mafl:er, now grown extremely
corrupt by all manner of vice, to his own
great peril, and at laft ruin. Neither can it
beotherwife, for learning feafons mens minds
with a true fenfe of their own frailty, and
inftability of fortune, the dignity of their
foul, and of their own duty; which things
when they think of, they can by no means
perfuade themfelves, that any advancement
of their own fortunes can be fet down as a true
and worthy end of their being. Wherefore
they live, as perfons ready to give up their ac-
count toGod,andco their mafters underGod,

whether

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. ^3

whether kings or ftates, in this form of
words, Ecce tibl lucrifec'r, " Behold I have
'■* gained for thee; " and not in that, Ecce
mihi lucrifeci, " Behold I have gained for
myfelf." But the herd of politicians, that
have not their thoughts trained up and
eftablifhed in the dddlrine of duties, and the
contemplation of univerfal good, refer all
things to themfelves, carrying themfelves
as if they were the center of the world, and
that the concurrence of all interefls ought to
center in them, and their fortunes ; never
troubling: their heads what becomes of the
fhip of the republick, though toft by tem-
pefts, provided they can but retreat and fave
themfelves and their own fortune.

On the contrary, men who feel the weight
of duty, and underftand the limits of felf-
love, make good their places and ftations,
though with peril. And if they chance to
fland m feditions and alterations of govern-
ment, it is not to be attributed to any atts,
or verfatile temporifing difpolitions in them,
but to that reverence, which probity extorts
even from enemies. But as to conftancy of
faith, and tender fenfe and religious obferv-
VoL. /I. D ation

34 ON THE DISCREDIT QF LEARNING.

ation of duty, which erudition does certain-
ly plant in the minds of men, however for-
tune may fometimes tax them, or politi-
cians, from corrupt principles, condemn
them, yet they will certainly carry a pub-
lic commendation from all men ; fo that in
this point, there needs no long defence.

Another fault is common with learned
men, and which may fooner be excufed
than denied, that they do not eafily apply
and accommodate themfelves to perfons,
with whom they negotiate, or live : which
defeat arifes from two caufes : the firft is the
greatnefs of their foul, upon the account of
which they can hardly ftoop to the obferv-
ance of any one man. It is a fpeech for a lover,
not for a wife man, Satis magnum alter alterl
*Theatrumfimus, '' We are a theatre of plea-
" fure and entertainment, large enough,
*< the one to the other. " Neverthelefs I fhall
grant that he who cannot contrail the fight
of the mind, like that of the eye, as well as
dilate it, is deflitute of a notable faculty for
the management of bufmefs. But the fecond
caufe is the probity and fimplicity of their
manners ; which argues choice and judg-
ment,

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING 55

meiit, not defeat and inability in them. For
the true and juft bounds of obiervance to-
wards any perfon, extends no further, than
fo to underftand his temper, as to be able to
convQrfe with him without offence ; and to
affifl: him, with counfel, and in the mean
time to take care of ourfelves in all points :
but to fpeculate into another man's affe6l-
ions, to the end we may work him, wind
him, and turn him about at pleafure; is not
the part of an ingenuous nature, but of a
crafty man ; which, as in friendfhip, is
w^ant of integrity, fo towards princes or
fuperiors, is want of duty. In the Leva?it, it
is accounted a heinous offence to gaze and
fix their eyes upon their princes; which in the
outward ceremony indeed is barbarous,
but in the moral, good : for it becomes not
fubje6ls, by curious obfervation, to pierce
and penetrate into the hearts of Kings,
which the fcripture declares to be hifcrutable.

There is yet another fault (with which
I will conclude this part) often imputed to
learned men ; namely, that in fmall and out-
ward matters, as countenance, gefture, gait,
ordinary difcourfe, &c. they fail many times
D 2 in

^6 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

in obferving decency ; from whence ignorant
men make a judgment from thofe minute
and trivial mifcarriages, that their errors
mufl: be great in the management of more;
important matters. But this confequence
generaHy deceives them ; therefore let them
know, that l^hemiftocles has given their an-
fwer, who being asked to touch a lute,
anfwered arrogantly, but very appofitely, to
the purpofe in hand ; " That he could not
*' fiddle indeed, but he knew well enough,
** by what means a fmall town might be-
*' come a great ftate."

And there are, no doubt, many Angular-
ly fkilful in the arts of policy, who not-
withftanding are ftrangely at a lofs in com-
mon life and ordinary matters of no weight.
Such fcoffers alfo are to be referred to Plato's
eulogy of his mafter Socrates,, whom he com-
pared to the gally-pots of apothecaries on
the out-fides of which were drawn apes,
owls, and grotefque figures ; but contained
within, precious liquors, and noble medi-
cines ; acknowledging, that to vulgar capa-
city, and popular report, he was not without
fomefuperficial levities, and even deformities;

but

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 37

but was inwardly replenllhed with moft
excellent faculties and virtues. So much
for the manners of learned men.

In the mean time, I think it neceffary to
notice, that I intend nothing lefs than to
patronize certain abje£l and bafe pradioes of
profeffors of learning, whereby they have
dlfcredlted both themfelves and letters:
fuch as were, in the latter age of the Roman
flate, certain trencher-philofophers, in the
families of wealthy perfons, whom you
may not improperly C2\\ folemn Parafites:
one of them Luc'ian makes a humourous
defcription of; whom a noble matron would
have to carry her lap-dog in the coach
with her; which he doing officiouily, but
aukwardly, the page fneeringly faid, "^ i
" am afraid our philofopher, ofaftoic, will
«' turn cynic."

But above all the reft, nothing has fo
much prejudiced the dignity of letters, as
the grofs and fcandalous flattery, to which
many, and thofe not unlearned, have pro-
flituted their wits and pens, transforming
D ^ Hecuba

38 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

Hecuba into Helena, and Faufilnamto Lucretia,
as Du -Bart as lays.

Neither, do I much commend that re-
ceived cuftom of dedicating books to pat-
rons ; for books (fuch as are worthy of that
name) ought to have no patrons but truth and
reafon. The c uflomofthe an tients was better,
who were ufed to dedicate their writings to
none but friends and equals; or to title
their treatifes with the names of fuch
friends: if they dedicated to kings, or
great perfons, it was then only done when
the argument of the book was fit for fuch a
perfon. But thefe may dcferve rather
reprehenfion than defence.

Nor do I fay this, as if I condemned
learned men for applying themfelves fome-
times to men of fortune and power : for to
one that afked in mockery, " How it came
*' to pafs that philofophers were the fol-
*' lowers of rich men, and not rich men of
*' philolophers ; " the anfwer that Diogenes
made was right and iliarp; " That it was,
*' becaufe philofophers knew well what
<^ they had need of, but rich men did not."

Like

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. S9

Like this, is that of Arijlippus^ when having
a petition to Dionyjtus, and no ear given to
him, he threw himfelf at his feet in the man-
ner of an adorer, upon which, at laft, he
gave him the hearing, and granted his peti-
tion : but a httle after, fome perfon, tender
of the honour and credit of philofophy,
reproved Arijiippus for offering the pre-
feffion of philofophy fo great an indignity,
as to fall at a tyrant's feet for fuch an
inconfiderable matter : to whom he replied,
*' That it was not his fault, but Dionyjius^s,
" that had his ears in his feet." Neither
was it accounted weaknefs, but difcretion
in him, that fuffered himfelf to be worfled
in a certain difputation with Adr'ianus Cafar %
excufing the fa<ft ; " That it was but reafoii
*' to yield to one that commanded thirty
" legion?." Learned men, therefore, mufl
not be condemned, when upon occafion,
they abate fomewhat of their gravity, whe-
ther in point of neceffity, or convenience;
for though it may feem mean and fervile, at
,£rft fight; yet in a judgment truly made,
they will be found to fubmit to the occafion,
and not to the perfon.

D 4 FROM

4© ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

FROM THE STUDIES OF THE LEARNED.

T ET us now proceed to thofe errors and
vanities, which intervene in the (Indies
of the learned, and mix with them ; wherein
my defign is not to juftify the errors, but
by a cenfure and feparation of them, to fift
out that which is found and folid, and to
dehver them from calumny. For we fee
it is the cuflom, efpecially of envious men,
on account of what is corrupt and depraved,
to traduce alfo that which is untainted, and
has retained its flate ; as the heathens in the
primitive church ufed to blemifli the chrif-
tians with the faults and corruptions of the
heretics. Neverthelefs, I purpofe not to
make any exa6l animadverfion upon the er-
rors and impediments arifing from learning,
which are more fecret and remote from
vulgar capacity ; but only to fpeak to fuch
as fall under common and popular obferva-
tion, or at leafl do not recede far from it.

I find there are chiefly three vanities in
learning, which have principally given a

handle

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 4I

handle to the traducing of it ; for we efteem
thofe things vain which are either falfe or
frivolous, in which there is neither truth
nor ufe : thofe perfons alio we efteem vain
and light who are either credulous in things
falfe, or curious in thofe of little ufe. And
curiofity is either in matter or w^ords ; that
is, when either labour is fpent in vain mat-
ters, or too much pains taken about delicacy
of words ; wherefore it feems agreeable as
w^ell to right reafon, as to approved experi*
ence, to fet down three diflempers of learn-
ing: the firft is fantaftic learning; the
fecond, contentious learning; the third, or-
namental and delicate learning. Or thus •
vain imaginations, vain altercations, vain
afFedations; and with the laft I ihall begin.

DELICATE LEARNING.

The diftemper feated in fuperfiuity and
profufenefs of fpeech, which in different
periods of antiquity was held in fome efteem,
about Luther s time prevailed wonderfully.
The principal reafon was, the heat and effi-
cacy

42 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING,

cacy of preaching, to footh and entice the
people, which about that time flourifhed
greatly; and this required a popular kind of
expreffion. Another reafon was, the hatred
and contempt which grew up in thofe very
times towards the School-men, who ufcd a
very different ftile and form of exjpreffion,
taking an exceflive liberty to coin new and
harfli terms, without regard to the ornament
and elegancies of fpeech, to avoid circum-
locution, and deliver their fenfe and con-
ceptions with acutenefs ; after which greater
care began to be taken of words than matter ;
mofl affecting rather neatnefs of phrafe,
Toundnefs of period, the mufical cadence of
the claufes, and the fparkling of tropes and
figures, than the weight of matter, the
foundnefs of argument, the life of invention,
or exadtnefs of judgment. Then firft flou-
rifhed the luxuriant and watery vein of
Oforius, the Portugal Bifhop. Then did
Sturmius fpend fuch infinite and anxious
pains upon Cicero the Orator, and Hermo-
genes the Rhetorician. Thus did our Car
and Afcham, in their le£tures and writings,
€Xtol Cicero zn^DemoJlhenes even to the ikies,
and invite young men to this polite and

flourilh-

ON THE DISCREDIT OF '"LEARNING. 43

flourishing kind of learning. So did
Erafmus take occafion to bring in that fcoff-
ingeccho, Decern Annas, cy.fumpfi in legendo
Cicero?ie : *' I have fpent ten years in reading
" Cicero:" to which the eccho anfwered,
" One, afs." Then the learning of the
School-men began to be utterly defpifed, as
rough and barbarous. In fhort, the chief
inclination and bent of thofe times was ra-
ther to copioufnefs than weight.

Here then we fee the £rft corruption of
learning, when men fludy words, \nd not
matter; of which though I have brought
late examples only, ytt fuch falfe tafle pre-
vailed more or lefs in times pail, and will
again hereafter. Now, it is not poffible,
but this very circumflance fhould tend much
to the difcredit of learning, even with the
ignorant vulgar, when they fee learned
mens writings, like the firfl: letter of a patent,
which, though it be drawn out with various
turns and flouriflies of the pen, yet is but
a fingle letter. And to mc, indeed, Pig^
maHon's frenzy feems a very appofite repre-
fentation and emblem of this vanity; for
what elfe are words but the images of things :

fo

44 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

fo that unlefs they be animated with the
fpirit of reafon, to fall in love with them,
is like falling in love with a picture.

It is a thina: not haftilv to be condemned
for a man to illuftrate and fmooth the ob-
fcurities and roughnefs of philofophy, with
the fplendor of words ; of which we have
great examples in Xenophon^ Cicero, Seneca^
Plutarch, and even Flato himfelf; for the
utility of it is great: and although this
may be fome hindrance to a fevere inquifi-
tion of truth, and a deep fludy of philofophy,
becaufe it is too early fatisfadory to the
mind, and quenches the thirft and ardor of
further fearch ; yet, if a man applies his
learning to civil ufes, as conference, coun-
fel, perfuaiion, argument, and the like, he
will find all that hedefires, prepared and fet
out to his hand, in fuch authors. However
the excefs of this is fo juflly contemptible,
that as Hercules, when he faw in a temple
the image of Adonh, Fenus's minion, faid
in indignation, Nil facri es: " Thou art
** nothing facred :" fo all Herculean cham-
pions in learning, that is, the more labo-
rious

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 45

rious QPxd fleady enquii'ers into truth, will
naturally defpife luch delicacies and fop-
peries, as having nothing divine in them.

There is fomething more found in another
kindof llile, though not altogether exempt
from vanity, which near about the fame time
fucceeded this copioufnefs and fuperfluity of
fpeech. It confifts altogether in this: that
the words be pointed, the fentences concife,
the contexture of the fpeech, rather re-
turning into itfelf, than fpread and di-
lated; fo it comes to pafs by this artifice,
that every paffage feems more ingenious
than indeed it is. Such a flile as this w^e
find more extenfively in Seneca, more mo-
derately in Tacitus and PUmus Secimdus ; and
not long lince it began to be pleafing to the
ears of our own time. But this very ftile is
wont to find acceptance with ordinary ca-
pacities, fo as to be a kind of dignity and
ornament to learning : neverthelefs, by the
more exacl judgment it is defervedly de-
fpifed, and may be fet down as a diftemper
of learning, fince it is nothing elfe but a
hunting after words, and the finery and

quaint-

46 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

quaintnefs of them. Thus much of the firfl
diftemper of learning.

CONTENTIOUS LEARNING.

Now follows the diftemper m the matter
itfelf, which we placed fecond, and defigned
by the name of contentious fubtilty : and
this is rather worfe than that juft treated
of; for as fubflantial matter excels every
ornament of words, fo, on the contrary,
vanity of matter is more odious than vanity
of words. Wherein that reprehenfion of
St. Paul m^iy refer, as well to the following
times as to his own age; and feems to re-
fpe6l not only divinity, but fciences alfo :
*' Avoid profane novelties of words, and
'^ oppofition of fciences falfely fo called."
Tim. i. V. 20. For in thefe words he al-
ledges two marks and badges of fufpeded
fcience ? the firft is the novelty and ftrange-
nefs of terms ; the other, the rigour and
ftri^lnefs of pofitions, which mufh needs
occafion oppofition, and then altercations
and queflions,

Cer-

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 47

Certainly many natural fubftances,
which are folid and entire, lb long as they
are in a flate of perfect ion, do frequently
corrupt and pafs into worms; after the fame
manner, found and folid knowledge often-
times putrifies and diflblvcs into minute
fubtilties, like worms which, feem to have
a kind of motion and quicknefs in them,
but are infipid and of no ufe.

This kind of unfound and felf-corrupt-
Ing learning prevailed chiefly among the
School-men, who having abundance of lel-
fure, fharp and ftrong wits, but fmall vari-
ety of reading (their underftandings being
confined to the waitings of a few authors^
efpecially Anfiotle^ their diftator, as their
perfonswere to the cells of monafteries) and
for "the mofl part ignorant of the hiflory,
as well of nature, as time, did, out of no
great quantity of matter, but infinite agi-
tation of wit and fpirit, fpin out unto us
thofe moft laborious webs of learning which
are extant in their books. For the mind of
man, if it works upon matter, by contem-
plating the nature of things, and the works
of God, is limited in its operations by the

fubje£l ;

4? ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING*"

fubje6l; but if it turns inward, and works
upon itfelf, like the fpider weaving his web,
then is it endlefs, and brings forth indeed
cobwebs of learning, admirable for finenefs
of thread and work, but, astoufe, frivolous
and of no fubflance.

This unprofitable fubtilty, or curi-
ofity, is two-fold; and is feen either in
the fubjedl itfelf, fuch as is a fruitlefs fpe-
culation, or controverfy, of which kind
there are no fmall number, both in divinity
and philofophy, or in the manner and me-
thod of treating it ; which among the School-
men was generally this : upon every pofition
or aflertion they formed objedions, then
fol u lions of thofe objedtions; which, for the
moft part, were only diftindions : whereas,
indeed, the ftrength of all fciences, like the
old man's faggot, coniifts not in every flick
afunder, but in all together united in the
band; for the harmony of a fcience, that
is, when each part mutually fupports the
other, is, and ought to be, the true concife
way of confuting all the fmaller fort of ob-
jections; but, on the other fide, if you take
out every axiom, one by one feverally, you

may

OW THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 4^

may eafilj diiprove them, and bend and
break rhem at pleafure. So that what was
fald o( Seneca^ " He breaks the weight of
*« matter bv the little niceties of words,"
may truly be faid of the School-men ;
" They break the folidity of fclences by the
** little niceties of queftions." Would It not
be better in a fpacious hall to fet up one great
light, or to hang up a branch furnifhed with
divers lights, whereby all may be feen at
once, than to go up and down with a fmall
watch candle into every corner? And fuch
is their method, who do not fo much endea-
vour to llluflrate truth by clear arguments,
authorities, comparifons, and examples, as
labour to take out every minute fcruple,
to anfwer captious cavils, and to folve
doubts ; by this means breeding queftion
out of queftlon, even as in the comparlfon
above of the light, when you carry it into
one place, you forfake and darken all the
reft : fo that the fable of Scylla expreffes to
the life this kind of phllofophy, whofe face
and breaft refembled a beautiful virgin, but
below they fay fhe was,

Candida fuccindam latrant'ihus Ingu'na monjh'is.

Vol, IL E *' A beau-

50 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING,

" A beauteous maid above, but magic arts,

" With barking 4ogs deform'd her nether parts."

Dryden-.

So you will find certain general pofitions
amongft the School-men, that are hand-
fomely faid, and not invented amifs; but
when you defcend to their diftin£lions and
decifions, inftead of a fruitful womb, for
the benefit of human life, they end in mon-
ftrous and barking queflions.

Therefore it is no wonder if this kind
of learning falls under even the contempt of
the vulgar, who are generally ufed to de-
fpife truth on account of controverfies raifed
about it, and think they are all out of the
way who never meet : and when they fee
the altercations of learned men one with
another, about matters of no moment, they
eafily catch up that faying of Dionyjius of
Syracufe^ Verba ifta funt fenum otloforum :
•* This is nothing but the tattle of old men
*' and women that have nothing elfe to
*' do." Notwithflanding it is moll certain,

that

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. ff

that if the School-men, to their unquench^
able thirfl: of truth, and continual working
of their wit, had joined variety and multi-
plicity of reading with contemplation, they
would have doubtlefs proved diflinguifhing
lights, to the wonderful advancement of
all arts and fciences. And fo much for
the fecond difeafe of learning.

FANTASTIC LEARNING.

For the third difeafe, which relates to
fahhood and untruth, this is, of all others,
the mofl pernicious, as it deflroys the very
natufe and foul of knowledge, which is no-
thing elfe but the image of truth. For the
truth of being, and that of knowing,
are all one ; nor do they differ more from
one another, than the dire6t beam, and the
beam refle6led. This vice, therefore, branch-,
es itfelf into two forts ; impofture, and cre-
dulity : this is deceived, that deceives ;
which although they appear to be of a dif-
ferent nature, the one feeming to proceed
from craft, the other from* fimplicity, yet,
£ 2 for

52 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

for the moft part, they concur. For as the
verfe has it,

Poreontatorem fitgltOy nam garrulus idem eft.

Intimatnig, that an inqulfitive perfon is a
pratler alfo : fo, for the fame reafon, he
that is apt to heheve, is apt to deceive. As
we fee it alfo in fame and rumours, that he
who eafily believes them, will as eafily aug-
ment and add to them ; which Tacitus wifely
hints in thefe words : " They invent, and
** believe at once :" fo great an affinity is
there between a propenfity to deceive, and
a facihty to believe.

This facility of believing, and admitting
all things, though weakly authorized or
warranted, is of two kinds, according to the
nature of the fubje6l-matter; for we either
believe ftory, or matter of fa61:, as the law-
yers fpeak, or elfe matter of opinion and
pofition. As to the former kind, we fee
how much this error has difcredited, and
derogated from fome ecclefiaftical hlftories ;
which have been too eafy in regiflering and
tranfcribing miracles wrought by martyrs,
hermits, anchorites, and other holy men,

and

ON THE DISCREDIT OFLEARNING. ^^

and by their relics, fepulchres, chapels,
and images.

So in natural hiflory we may fee many
things rafhly and with little choice or judg-
ment, received and regiftered, as appears by
the writings of Pliny, Cardaftus, AlhertuSy
and divers of the Arabians, which are every
where fraught with forged and fabulous
ftories ; and thofe not only uncertain and
untried, but notorioufly falfe, and manifeflly.
convided, to the great difcredit of natu-
ral philofophy with grave and fober men.
In which the wifdom and integrity of Arlf-
totle fhines forth ; who having wrote a dili-
gent and exquliite hiftory of living creatures,
has not mingled it much with feigned
or fabulous matter ; but rather than do that,
he has caft all the prodigies which he thought
worthy recording, into one commentary;
excellently difcerning, that matter of mani-
feft truth, which, like a folld experimental
bafis, might ferve as a foundation for philo-
fophy and fciences to be built upon, was not
unadvifedly to be mingled with matter of
doubtful credit; and yet, that things rare
and ftrange, which to moil people feem in-
E 3 credible.

'54 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

credible, are not wholly to be fuppreffed,
or to be denied to the records of poflerity.

But that other credulity, which is yielded
not to hiflory or reports, but to arts and
opinions, is likewife of two forts : either
when we give too much credit to the arts
themfelves, or to the authors in any art.

The arts themfelves, which have had
more intelligence and confederacy with ima-
gination and belief, than with reafon and
demonftration, arc chiefly three ; aftrology,
natural magic, and alchymy ; the ends of
which are noble : for aflrology profefles to
difcover that correfpondence which is be-
tween the fuperior and the inferior globe :
natural magic pretends to reduce natural
philofophy, from variety of fpeculations, to
the magnitude of works : alchymy under-
takes to feparate and extra£l the heterogene-
ous parts of things, which are hid and in-
corporate in natural bodies, and to refine
bodies themfelves that are flained and foiled;
to fet at liberty fuch as are bound and im-
prifoned, and to bring to perfecftion fuCh as
are uaripe. But the methods which are

prefume^

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING SS

prefumed to lead to thefe ends, both In the
theory and pradice of thofe arts, are full of
error and triflmg; yet, furcly, to alchymy
this right is due, that it may truly be com-
pared to the huibandman In JEfop, who,
being about to depart this life, told his fons,
*' That he had left them a great quantity
*' of gold buried in his vineyard, but did
*' not remember the particular place :" who
when they had with fpades diligently turned
up all the vineyard, gold indeed they found
none; however, by ftirring and digging the
mould about the roots of their vines, they
had a very great vintage the year following :
fo the flrenuous pains of chymifts, about
making gold, have opened the way to a great
number of noble inventions and experiments,
fingularly adapted, as well to the difclofmg
of nature, as to the ufes of human life.

Now, as for the credulity which has in-
vefted certain authors of fciences with a kind
of didatorial power to give law, not fenato-
rial to give advice ; this has been of infinite
hurt to fciences, as the principal caufe which
has depreffed and kept them fo low, that
they have been without any remarkable
E 4 growth

56 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

growth or advancement. In mechanical
arts, the firft projectors have been fhort in
their inventions, and time has fuppHed and
perfected the reft ; but in fciences, the firft
authors have gone fartheft, and time has
impaired and corrupted them. So we fee
artillery, faiUng, printing, were in their be-
ginnings imperfect, in a manner without
form and badly managed; but, inprogrefsof
time, accommodated and refined. But, on
the contrary, the philofophy and fciences
of Ariftotle, Plato ^ Democritus, Hippocrates,
Euclid^ Arch'nnedeSy were of moft vigour
tinder thofe very authors; and in procefs of
time degenerated, and loft much of their
laftre; for this reafon, that in arts mechani-
cal, the wits of many have contributed and
met in one, but, in liberal arts and fciences,
the wits of many have yielded and fub-
mitted to one, wliomyethis followers many
times have rather depraved than illuftrated :
for as water will not afcend higher than the
fpring-head, from whence it flows, fo know-
ledge derived from Anjiotle^ and exempted
from liberty of examination, will never rife
higher than the knowledge oi AriJiotle\ and,
therefore, though I do not diflike the rule,

oportet

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNIN(j. 5^

oportet difcentem credere, " A learner ought
" to believe," yet it mufl be coupled with
this: oportet jam do^um judkiofuo utl: *' He
*' that is well informed, ought to make ufe
** of his own judgment." For difciples
owe their maflers only a temporary belief,
and a fufpenlion of their judgment, till they
have thoroughly learned the arts ; and not
an abfolute reiignation of their liberty, and
a perpetual bondage of their underftanding.
Therefore, to conclude this point, I will
fay no more than this: let great authors
have fuch honour, as that we do not dero-
gate from time, which is the author of au-*
thors, and parent of truth.

PREJUDICES OF THE LEARNED.

TXTE have at length laid open three dif-
tempers or difeafes of learning ; befides
which there are fome other, rather peccant
humours than confirmed difeafes; which,
neverthelefs, are not fo fecret, but that they
fall under a popular obfervation and cenfure;
and, therefore, are by no means to be pafled
over. The

5^ O^J rut DISCREDIT OF LEARNING,

The firfl of thefe is an afFedation of two
extremes, antiquity and novelty : where-
in the daughters of time take after the
nature and malice of the father ; for as
time devours his children, fo do thefe one
another, while antiquity envies new improve-
ments, and novelty cannot be content to add
things recent, unlefs it utterly rejedls the
old: furely the advice of the Prophet is the
true direction in this cafe: *' Stand ye upon
*' the old paths, and fee where is the good
*' and the right way, and walk therein.*'
Jerem. vi. 1 6. Antiquity deferves fo much
reverence, that men fhould make a flop, and
look about them on every fide, to difcover
which is the befl way; but when the dif-
covery is well taken, they fhould not reft
there, but advance cheerfully ; for in truth,
antiquity of time is the world's youth. Cer-
tainly ours are the ancient times, the world
being now grown old ; and not thofe which
are computed, orpine retrogadoy reckoning
backward from our own age.

Another error, fpringing from the form-
er, is a fufpicion and diffidence, which thinks
that it is not poffible to find out any thing

now

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. S9

now, which the world could have been fo
long without ; as if the fame obje6lion might
be made to time, with which Luclan attacks
yupiter^ and the reft of the heathen Gods ;
for he wonders they fhould beget fo many
children in old time, and none in his ; and
afks merrily, " Whether they were fuperan-
" nuated, or retrained by the Papian law
*' made againfl old mens marriages.'* So men
feem to be apprehenfive, that time is become
efete, and paft bearing children: whereas,
on the other hand, we may here eafily dif-
cover the levity and inconftancy of men,
who, till a thing is done, think it impoffible ;
but, at foon as it is done, wonder it had not
been done long before. Thus Alexander s
expedition into AJta was judged, at firfl, as
a vafl and exceeding difficult enterprize;
which, neverthelefs, after it fucceeded, Livy
made fo flight of, as to fay of Alexander^
^' He did but bravely venture to defpife idle
" opinions :" and the fame happened to
ColumbuSy in the weftern navigation : but, in
intelledlual matters, this is much more com-
mon, as may be feen in moft of the propoli-
tions in Euclid, which, before they are de-
paonflrated, feem flrange, and not eafily to

be

6a ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING

be afTentedto; but, after demon ftration, the
inind embraces them by a kind of recogni-
zance, as the lawyers terrti it, as if it had
underflood and known them before.

Another error, of affinity with the form-
er, is a fancy of thofe who think that of all
fe6ls and ancient opinions, after they had
been examined and fifted, the bed were eflab-
liftied,and the reft fupprefled; therefore they
conceive, if a man ihould begin his fearch
and examination a-new, he mull of courfe
light upon fome opinions which had been
rejeded, and, after rejedion, lofl and obli-
terated; as if the multitude, or even wife
men, to gratify the multitude, did not of-
tener approve that which is popular, than
that which is more folid. For time is of
the nature of a river, which carries down
to us things light and buoyant, but fmks
and drowns that which is folid and weighty*

Another error, different from the reft,
is, an over-early and peremptory redu(5lion
of knowledge into fyftems, which, when-
ever it happens, fciences receive little or no
augmentation : even as young men, when

they

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 6l

tliey are knit and perfectly fliaped, fcarce
grow any more : fo knowledge, as long as
it is difperfed into aphorifms and obferva-
tions, may grow and fhoot up ; but, when
once it is circumfcribed by fyftems, it may
by chance be polifhed and illuflrated, or
accommodated to human ufe ; but it will
increafe no more in bulk and fubftance.

Another error is, that after the diftri-
bution of particular arts and fciences into
their feveral clalies, moil men bave aban-
doned univerfality of knowledge, philofophia
■prima, which is a deadly enemy to the pro-
greflion of fciences ; for profpe(£ls are made
fi;om turrets, or very high places ; and it is
impoffible for a man to explore the more
remote and deeper parts of any fcience, if he
fl:and but upon the flat and level of it,
and afcend not the watch-tower of a fu-
perior fcience.

Another error flows from too great a
reverence and adoration of the mind and un-
derftanding of man ; by w^hich means men
have withdrawn themfelves from the con-
templatipn of nature, and the obfervations

of

62 ON THE DISCREDIT. OF LEARNING#

of experience, bewildered in their own fpe-
culations and fancies; but of thefe noble
fpeculators, and, if I may fo fpeak, intellec-
tualifts, who are, notwithflanding. common-
ly taken for the moft fublime and divine
philofophers, Heraclitus has fpoken thus :
" Men," fays he, " feek truth in their
*' own little worlds, but not in the great
" world." For did they not difdain the
alphabet of nature, and the primer of the
divine works, they might, perhaps, by fteps
and degrees, after the knowledge of fimple
letters, and then fy llables, come at laft to
read perfedlly the text and volume of the
creatures itfelf. But they, on the con-
trary, by continual meditation, and work-
ing of their wit, urge and invocate their
own fpirits to divine, and give out fanatical
predi6lions, by which they are defervedly,
though pleafmgly deluded.

Another error that has fome conne6lioii
with the latter is, that men often feafon and
infed their meditations and dodrines with
certain opinions and fancies of their own,
which they hold mofl in admiration ; or
with fome fciences, to which they are mofl

addicted

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 63

addii^ed and devoted ; tinduring all other
things with their favourite fludies, though
a paint very illufive and deceiving. So
Plato intermingled theology in his philofo-
phy ; Arijlotk^ logic ; the fecond fchool of
Plato^ Proclus and the refl, mathematics.
The chymifls forged a new philofophy out
of a few experiments, the fire, and furnace;
and Gilhertiis, our countryman, has drawn a
new philofophy out of the load-flone. So
Cicero^ when reciting the feveral opinions
concerning the natureof the foul, at lall: met
with a mufician, w^ho held the foul to be
harmony, and faid pleafantly, *' This mail
" was not for going out of his own profef-
" fion." But of thefe fort of errors, Aif-
totle aptly and wifely fays, " They that con-
*' fider but few things are apt to pronounce,
*' and be dogmatical."

Another error is, an impatience of doubt-
ing, and a blind hafle to aflent, without
mature fufpenfion of judgment; for the
two ways of contemplation are not unlike
the two ways of a6lion often mentioned by
the ancients : the one, plain and fmooth in
the beginning, but in the end impaffable ;

the

64 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

the Other, rough and craggy in the entrance,
but, when you have gone on a little, fair
and even; fo, in contemplation, if a man be-
gins with certainties, he fhall end in doubts ;
but, if he begins with doubts, and has the
patience to bear them, he fhall foon end
in certainties.

A LIKE error difcovers itfelf in the manner
of delivering knowledge, which, for the mofl
part, is imperious and magifterial, not in-
genuous and liberal; fo contrived as to
command affent, rather than fubmit to ex-
amination. I will not deny, but that in
compendious treatifes, defigned for pradice,
that form of writing is to be retained ; but,
in juil: and complete treatifes of fcience, both
extremes, in my judgment, are to be avoided,
as well that of Felleius, the Epicurean, Nil
tarn jnetuentis, quam ne duhitare de re aliqua
videretur^ *' Who fears nothing fo much, as
" left he fhould feem to doubt about any
<' thing," as that of Socrates, and the Aca-
demy, who leave all things in doubt and
uncertainty. Men fhould rather afFe6l can-
dour and fuicerity, and propound things with
more or lefs affeveration, according as they

are

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 05

nre more weakly or fully proved, by the
weight of argument and reafon.

Other errors there are in the fcope that
men propound to themfelves, and to which
they dire6t their endeavours and labours;
for, as the more diligent leaders, and noted
profefibrs of learning, ought chiefly to keep
in view the making fome confiderable
addition to the art they profefs; thefe men,
on the other fide, content themfelves to be
feconds only ; courting the name either of
a fubtle interpreter, an able antagonifl,
or of a methodical abrldtrer: from whence

o

the revenues and tributes of fciences come
to be augmented, but not the patrimony
and ground of knowledge itfelf.

But the greatefl error of all the reft con-
lifts in deviating from the ultimate end of
knowledge. For men defire and feek after
knowledge, fome from a natural and reftlefs
curiofity ; others for entertainment and de-
light; others for reputation; others for the
fake of contention and victory in difpute;
mofl for lucre and livelihood; very few to
employ the gift of reafon given by God for

Vol. II. F the

66 ON THE DISCREDIT 05 LEARNING.

the benefit and ufe of mankind : juft as if
they fought in learning a couch, on which
they might repofe a troubled and reftlefs
fpirit; or a terrace for a wandering and va-
riable mind to walk up and down upon at
liberty, with a fair profpe6l ; or fome high
and eminent tower, for a proud, ambitious
mind to raife itfelf on ; a citadel and fort for
contention and battle, or a fhlp for trade and
merchandife, rather than a rich armory, and
flore-houfe, for the glory of the Creator of
all things, and the relief of human life.
This is that which would indeed dignify
and exalt learning and the arts, if contem-
plation and a£lion were more nearly joined
and united than they have hitherto been:
which combination would be like the con-
jun6lion of the two higheil: planets, when
Saturn, the planet of quiet and contempla-
tion, confpires with Jupiter, the planet of
fociety and a<Stion. However, when I fpeak
of practice and adion, I do not in the leaft
mean profeflbrial and lucrative learning; for
1 am not ignorant how much that diverts
and interrupts the progreffion and advance-
ment of real knowledge ; like, indeed, the

Golden

ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING. 6^

Golden Apple thrown before Atalanfa, which,
while fhe ftoops to take up, the race in the
mean time is hindered.

Dt'Cilnas curfus aurumque, voUnhil toll'it.

Nor again is it my meaning, as was faid
of Socrates, to call down philofophy from
heaven to converfe upon earth only; that
natural philofophy fhould belaid afide, to the
end that moral and political philofophy only
might be in vogue : but as heaven and earth
confpire together for the fupport and delight
of the life of man, fo indeed fhould this be
the end of both philofophies, that vain fpe-
culations, and whatever is empty and barren,
being rejected, all that is folid and fruitful
may be preferved ; and knowledge not con-
fidered a courtezan for pkafure, or a hand-
maid to profit, but as a fpoufe for generation
and honed comfort.

And now, having explained, by a kind

of difledion, thofe peccant humours (the

principal of them at leaft) which have not

only been an impediment to the proficience

F 2 of

^8 ON THE DISCREDIT OF LEARNING.

of learning, but have alfo given occafion to
the traducing of it; if I have done it to the
quick, it muil: be remembered, '« Faithful
*« are the wounds of a friend ; but the kifles
" of an enemy are deceitful." Prov. xxvii.
6. However, this, at leaft, I feem to have
gained, to deferve belief in the following
encomium, fnice I have proceeded fo freely
in the preceding cenfure : and yet I have no
purpofe to write a panegyric on learning, or
-iing a hymn to the Mufes, though per-
haps it is long fuice their rites were duly
celebrated; but my intent is, without var-
nilh or amplification, to take the juft weight
of knowledge, to balance it with other things,
and to fearch out the true value thereof
from teflimonies, both divine and human.

ON?

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. 69

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

PIRST let us feek the dignity of know-
ledge in the archetype, that is, in the
attributes and a6ls of God, as far as they are
revealed to man, and may be fearched into
with fobriety ; in which the name of learn*
ing is improper, fnice all learning is know-
ledge acquired ; and no knowledge in God is
acquired, but original ; therefore we muft
look out for fome other name, that of
wifdom, as the holy fcriptures term it.

In the works of creation, we fee a double
emanation of divine virtue ; the one referring
to power, the other to wifdom : the former
is chiefly feen in creating the mafs of mat-
ter, the latter, in difpofing the beauty of the
form. This being laid down, it is to be ob-
ferved, that for any thing which appears in
the hiflory of the creation to the contrary,
the confufed mafs of heaven and earth was
made in a moment ; yet, the difpofition and
F 3 digeft-

70 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING,

dlgefting of the fame was the work of fix
days : fo remarkable a difference did it pleafe
God to put between the works of power, and
the works of wifdom. As to the creation of
matter, it is not recorded that God faid,
" Let there be heaven and earth," as was faid
of the works following ; but fimply and ac-
tually, " God made heaven and earth :" fo
that the matter feems to be as a manufac-
ture, but the introdudlion of form carries
the flyle of a law or decree.

Let us proceed from God to Angels,
whofe nature, in order of dignity, is next to
God. We fee in the order of Angels, fo-far
as credit is to be given to that cekftial hie-
rarchy, fet forth under the name o^DioftyJius
the Areopagite, that the Seraphim, that is,
the angels of love, have the firft place ; the
fecond, the Cherubim, angels of illumina-
tion ; and that the third and following places
are given to thrones, principalities, and the
reft of the angels of power and mimftry : fb
that from this very order and diftribution it
appears, that the angels of knowledge and
illumination are placed before the angels of
office and dominion.

To

ON THE DIGNITY OE LEARNING. ^l

To defcend from fpirits and intelle£lual
natures, to fenfible and material forms, we
read, that the firfl of created forms was light ;
which, in natural and corporeal things, has
a relation and correfpondence to things fpi-
ritual and incorporeal.

So in the diflribution of days we fee the
day wherein God refted, and contemplated
his own works, was bleffed above all the
days in which the fabric of the univerfe was
created and difpofed.

After the creation was finifhed, we read
that man was placed in Paradife, to work
there : which work could be no other than
what relates to contemplation ; that is, the
end of it could not refer to necefTity, but to
delight and exercife, without vexation or
trouble; for there being then no poffible re-
luctance of the creature, no " fweatofthe
<' brow,'* man's employment mufl of con-
fequence have been matter of pleafure and
contemplation, not of labour or work. The
firft ads which man performed in Paradife
confifted of the two fummary parts of know-
ledge, the view of creatures, and the impo-
F 4 fition

*12 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

fition of names. As for the knowledge which
introduced the fall, it was not the natural
knowledge of creatures, but the moral know-
ledge of good and evil, wherein the fuppo-
ikion was, that God's commandments or
prohibitions were not the origin of good and
evil, but that they had other fources which
man afpired to know, to make a total de-
fe6tion from God, and to depend wholly
upon himfelf.

Let us pafs to the things that happened
immediately after the fall. We fee (as the
facred fcriptures have infinite myfteries,
without ever violating the hilTorical and li-
teral truth) an image of the two eflates, the
contemplative ^nd active, delineated in the
perfons of Abel and Cain, and in their pro-
fefTions and primitive ways of life. The one
was a fhepherd, who, by reafoii of his lei-
fure, his quiet, and free view of heaven, is
a type of the contemplative life : the other,
a hufbandman, that is, a man fatigued with
labour, and his countenance fixed down
■Upon the earth : where we may fee that the
favour and eledion of God went to the fhep-
herd, and not to the tiller of the ground.

Sq

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. y^

So before the flood, the holy records,
among the very few occurrences regiftered of
that age, have delivered down to pofterity
the mventors of mufic, and works in metal.

In the next age after the flood, the great
judgment of God upon the pride of man was
the confufion of tongues, whereby the free
commerce of learning, and intercourfe of let^
ters, was chiefly cut off.

Let us defcend to Mofes, the law-giver,
and God's firft notary, whom the fcriptures
adorn with this eulogy, '' That he was feen
*' in all the learning of the Egyptians;'*
which nation was reckoned one of the mofl
antient fchools of the world : for fo Piato
brings in the Egyptian priefl faying to Solon ^
*' You Grecians are ever children, having
** no knowledge of antiquity, nor antiquity
" of knowledge." Take a view of the
ceremonial law of Mofes, and you fhall find,
befides the prefiguration of Chrift, the dif-
tinftion of the people of God from the Gen-
tiles, the exercife and impreffion of obedi-
ence, and other holy ufes of the fame law,
that fome of the mofl learned Rabbles have

tra-

74 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

travalled,proiitably and profoundly to difcover
a phy ileal and moral fenfe in many of the
ceremonies and ordinances : as in the law of
the leprofy, where it is faid, " If the white-
*' nefshave overfpread the flefh, the patient
*' may pafs abroad for clean ; but if there be
*« any whole flefh remaining, he is to be
" fhut up for unclean." From this law
one of them collects a principle of nature,
'* That piitrefadlion is more contagious be-
*' fore maturity than after." Another notes
apofition of moral philofophy, " That men
•' abandoned to vice do not fo much corrupt
*' manners, as thofe that are half good and
" half evil :" fo in this, and in many other
places in that law, there is to be found, be-
lides the theological fenfe, a great mixture
of philofophy.

So likewife If a man turn over with dili-
gence that excellent book of Job, he will find
it full of the mylleries of natural philofophy.
As for example, cofmography, and the round-
nefs of the. world : " He ftretcheth out the
" north over the empty place, and hangeth
<' the earth upon nothing." Job xxvi. 7.
Wherein the penfilenefs of the earth, the

pole

ON THE DIGNITY OFLEARNING 1$

pole of the north, and the finitenefs or con-
vexity of heaven, are manifefHy touched.
So in matters of aflronomy: '* By his fpirit
«' he hath garniihed the heavens; his hand
" hath formed the crooked ferpent." Ibid. 13.
And in another place, " Canft thou bind
" the fweet influences of Pleiades? or loofe
«' the bands of Orion r'* xxxviii. 31. Where
the immoveable configuration of the fixed
ftars, ever {landing at equal difbance one
from the other, is with great elegancy de-
fer ibed. So in another place, " Which
" maketh Ardurus, Orion, and Pleiades,
" and the fecrets of the fouth." ix. 9.
Where he points at the depi'eliion of the
Southern pole, calling it the fecrets of the
fouth, becaufe the fouthern flars are not
feen upon our hemiiphere. Likewife in
matter of generation : " Haft thou not
" poured me out like milk, and condenfed
•' me like curds?" x. 10. In matters of
minerals : " Surely there is a vein for filver,
*' and a place wherein gold is fined; iron is
** digged up out of compacted duft, and
" brafs extradled from ftone diffolved in the
«' furnace." See chap, xxviii. i. &c.

In

^6 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

In like manner alfo, in the perfon of Kiiig
Solomon^ we fee the gift of wifdom, both in
his own petition, and in the divine grant,
preferred before all earthly and temporal fe-
licity ; by virtue of which grant, Solomon^
being fingularly furnifhed, wrote not only
thofe excellent parables concerning divine
and moral philofophy, but alfo compiled a
natural hiftory of all vegetables, *' from
*' the cedar upon the mountain, to the mofs
*' upon the wall," (which is but the rudi-
ment of a plant, between putrefaction and
an herb ;) and of all things that breathe or
move. Nay, the fame King Solomon^ though
he excelled in wealth, in magnificence of
buildings, in fliipping, in fervice and at-
tendance, in fame and renown, and other
things relating to glory; yet he reaps or
aflumes to himfelf nothing at all, out of that
train of glories, befides that of enquiring
into, and finding out the truth : for fo he
fays exprefsly : " It is the glory of God to
" conceal a thing; but the honour of kings
*' is to fearch out a matter." Prov. xxv. 2.
As if, according to the innocent and fweet
play of children, the divine Majefly took
delight to hide his works, that he might

have

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. 77

hav^e them found out ; and as if kings could
not obtain a greater honour than to be af-
figned the province of difcovering them ;
efpeciallj confidering the great command
they have of wits and means, whereby no-
thing needeth to be hidden from them.

Nor was the difpenfation of God other-
wife, after our Saviour w^as come into the
world : for he fhewed his power, in putting
ignorance to flight, by his conference with
the do£lors and priefls in the temple, before
he fhewed it, in fubduing nature, by his
great and numerous miracles : and the com-
ing of the holy Spirit was chiefly figured
and expreflTed in the fimilitude and gift of
tongues, which are but the vehicles of know-
ledge.

So in the choice of thofe inftruments
which God made ufe of for the plantation
of the faith, at firft he called forth perfons
wholly unlearned and ignorant, otherwife
than by mfpiration of the Holy Ghoft; to
the end he might more evidently declare his
own immediate working and divine power
to be above human wifdom. Neverthelefs,

his

yS ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

his coimfel in this refpeft was no fooner ful-
filled, but in the next fucceflion of time he
fent his divine truth into the world. Ac-
cordingly the pen of St. Paul, the only
learned man of the apoftles, was chiefly em-
ployed by God, in the fcriptures of the New
Teflament.

We know that feveral of the ancient Bl-
fhops and fathers were excellently read in
all the learnuig of the heathens. Infomuch,
that the edi6l of Julian, which forbad Chrif-
tians to be admitted into fchools and acade-
mies, was efteemed a more pernicious engine
for the demolishing of the Chriftlan faith,
than the fanguinary perfecutions of the pre-
ceding emperors. Neither was the emula-
tion and invidloufnefs of Gregory the firfl,
Bifliop of Rome, (otherwife an excellent
man) who zealoufly endeavoured to oblite-
rate the memory of heathen authors and an-
tiquities, taken in good part, even among
pious men. Nay, it was rhe Chriftian church
alone, which, among the inundations of the
Scythians from the north, and of the Saracens
from the eaft, preferved in her facred bofom
the precious relics of heathen learning, which
I was

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNINCJ. *]()

was now upon the point of being utterly
extinguifhed.

There are two principal offices and fer-
vices, befides ornament and illuftration,
which philolophy and human learning per-
form to faith and reUgion. The one, that
thev are effectual incitements to the exalta-
tion and celebration of the glory of God ;
(for as the Pfalms, and other fcriptures,
often invite us to contemplate and magnify
the great and wonderful works of God ; fo,
if we fhould reft only in the exterior part of
them, as they firft offer themfelves to our
fenfes, we fliould do the fame injury to the
majefty of God, as if we fhould judge of the
wealth and ftore of a moft noted jeweller, by
what is expofed to view in the out-part of
the fhop towards the ftreet:) the other,
that they minifter a fmgular help and pre-
fervative againft unbelief and error ; for our
Saviour faith, " Ye err, not knowing the
" fcriptures, nor the power of God.'* Where
he lays before us two books toftudy, to pre-
vent our falling into error: firft, the volume
of the fcriptures, which reveal the will of
God; then, the volume of the creatures

that

8o ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING*

that exprefs his power : the latter of which
is a key to the former, opening not only our
intelleds, to conceive the genuine fenfe of"
the fcriptures, which is to be drawn out
by the general rules of reafon, and laws of
fpeech ; but, befides that, unfolding our
faith alfo, to enter into a ferious meditation
of the omnipotence of God, the chara£lers
whereof are chiefly engraven upon his works*
Thus much for divine teflimonies and judg-
ments, concerning the true dignity and value
of learning*

OF HUMAN PROOFS AND ARGUMENTS.

AS for human proofs and arguments, fa
"^ large a field opens, that it is convenient
to ufe choice rather than abundance.

First, therefore, the highefl degree of
honour among the heathens was, to obtain
divine veneration and worfhip ; which to
Chriflians is blafphemy ; but we fpeak now

fepa-

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. 8r

feparately concerning human judgments :
therefore among the heathens, that which
the Greeks call apotheojis^ and the Latins^ re-
iai'io inter DeDs, " canonizing,'* was the high-
ell: honour that man could poffibly attribute
to man; elpecially when it was given, not
by any degree or acl of ftate, as to the Ro'
jimn Emperors,, but freely and frankly from
the judgment and inward belief of men : of
which exalted honour there were two de-
grees, honours heroic, and divine; in the
diftribution of which, antiquity obferved this
order.

Founders of flates, legiflators, fathers of
their country, and other perfons of great
merit in civil affairs, were diflinguifhed by
the title of Heroes ; fuch as Thefeus, M'mos^
Romulus^ &c. On the other fide, the in-
ventors and authors of new arts, and fuch
as endowed human life with new conveni-
ences and acceffions, were ever confecrated
iamong the gfeater Gods themfelves ; fuch as
Ceres, Bacchus, Mercury, Apollo, and others ;
w^hich, doubtlefs, was done juflly, and upon
found judgment. For the merits of the
former are commonly confined within the

Vol. IL G circle

8Z ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

circle of one age, or nation ; and are not
unlike feafonable and favourable fhowers,
which, though they be profitable and de-
firable, yet ferve only for that feafon wherein
they fall, and for that latitude of ground
which they water : but the benefits of the
latter, like the bleflings of the fun, and of
the heavenly bodies, are for time perpetual,
for place, univerfal. Again : thofe are ufu-
ally accompanied with ftrife and perturba-
tion; but thefe have the true charadler of
the divine prefence, and come, in a gentle
gale, without tumult or noife. .

Nor indeed is the merit of learning in
civil affairs, and in reprefling the inconve-
niences which one man brings upon another,
much inferior to that other, in relieving
human neceffities, which aiife from nature
herfelf; and this kind of merit was excel-
lently fhadowed under that feigned relation,
concerning Orpheus' s theatre, where all beafts
and birds affembled, and, forgetful of their
natural appetites of prey, of game, of flight ;
flood fociably and lovingly together, taken
with the melodious fweetnefs of his harp;
the found whereof no fooner ceafed, or was

drowned

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. 83

drowned by feme louder nolfe, but every
bead returned to his own nature. In which
fhble the natures and manners of men are
elegantly dcfcribed, who are toffed with
fundry untamed defires of gain, of luft, of
revenge ; yet as long as they give ear to the
precepts and perfuafions of religion, of laws,
of inftruclors, eloquently and fweetly warb-
ling, in books, in fermons, and harangues;
fo long is peace and fociety maintained : but
if thole are filent, or feditions and tuTnults
difturb them with their clamour, all things
diflblvej and relapfe into anarchy and con-
fufion.

But this appears more manifeflly, when
kings themlelves, or perfons of great autho-
rity under them, or other governors of flates,
are endued w4th learning: for however par-
tial to his own profefTion he may be thought
who faid, " Then would flates be happy,
** when either philofophers were kings, or
*' kings philofophers ;'* yet fo much is ve-
rified by experience, that, under learned
princes and governors of ftate, there have
been ever the happiefl: times. For though
kings may have their errors and imperfec-
G 2 tions.

84 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING,

tions ; being liable to paffions, and depraved
cufloms, like other men ; yet, if they have
the illumination of learning, certain antici-
pated notions of religion, policy, and mo-
rality, hold them back, and reftrain them
from all ruinous and incurable excefs and
error; whifpering in their ear, even when
counfellors and fervants are filent. Senators
and counfellors, that are accompllihed with
learning, proceed upon more folid principles
than thofe that are only men of experience ;
the former feeing dangers afar off, and ward-
ing them in time ; whereas thefe are wife
only near at hand, feeing nothing but what
is imminent ; and then at laft truiling to the
agility of their wit to difentangle and refcue
thcmfelves, in the very inftant of danger.

The happieft times were under learned
princes, which beft appear in that age, from
the death of Domk/'an, the emperor, until
the reign of Commodus, comprehending a fuc-
ceffionoffix princes, who, learned themfelves,
or at leaft were fmgular patrons of learning;
and of all ages, if we regard temporal happi-
nefs, the.mofl flourifliing that Rome, then the
epitome of the world, ever faw ; a matter re-
I vealed

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. S^

vealed and prefigured to Domltian in a dream,
the night before he was ilain ; for he thought
he faw a golden head grown out of the
nape of his neck : which divination was in-
deed fulfilled in thofe golden times that
fucceeded : of which princes we will make
fome commemoration ; wherein although the
matter is vulgar, and may be thought fitter
for a declamation, than agreeable to a treatife
infolded as this ; yet, becaufe it is pertinent
to the point in hand, neque fetnper arcum ten-
dit Apollo, and to name them only were too
naked and curfory, I will not omit it alto-
gether.

The firft was Nerva; the excellent temper
of whofe government, is by a glance of C<?r«
nelius Tacitus, touched to the life," afterwards
*' Nerva united two things before incompati-*
" ble, empire and liberty;'* and in proof of
his learning he was a difciple of j^polloniusy
the f^imous Pythagorean: the lafl a£l of his
fhort reign left to memory was, a miffive to
his adopted {onTrajan, proceeding from fome
inward difcontent at the ingratitude of the
times, comprehended in averfe of Homer ^

*' Revenge my tears, O Phaebus, with thy (hafts.'*

G 3 'Jrajan

86 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

'Trajan^ who fucceeded, was not learned
indeed in himfelf ; but if we hearken to the
fpeech of our Saviour that faith, <* He that
<* recelveth a prophet, in the name of a
" prophet, {hall have a prophet's reward,"
he deferves to be placed amongft the moft
learned princes; for he was an admirer of
learning, a benefactor to learned men, a
founder of libraries; and in whofe court,
though a warlike prince, preceptors and pro-
feffors are recorded to have been in the high-
eft requeft. On the other fide, how much
Tt/^Ws virtue and government w^as admired
and renowned, furely no teftimony of grave
and faithful hiftory doth more lively fet
forth, than that legendary tale of Gregorius
MagnuSy Bifliop of Kome^ who was noted for
the extreme envy he bore towards all heathen
excellency; and yet he is reported, out of
the love and efteem of fr^jans moral vir-
tues, to have made unto God paflionate and
fervent prayers, for the delivery of his foul
out of hell ; and to have obtained it with a
caveat that he fliould make no more petitions.
In this prince's time, alfo, the perfecutions
againft the Chriftians received intermiflion,
upon the certificate of Plinius Secundus^ a

man

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. 87

man of excellent learning, and advanced by

Trajan.

Adrian, his fucceffor, was the moft cu-
rious man that lived, and themoft univerfal
enquirer; infomuch, it was noted for an
error in his mind, that he defired to compre-
hend all things, and not to referve himfelf
for things more worthy ; falling into the like
humour that was long before noted in Fhilip
of Macedon^ who, when he wifhed to over-
rule and convince an excellent mufician in
an argument touching mufic, was anfwered
by him again, *' God forbid, fir," faith he,
*' that your fortune fhould be fo bad as to
*' know thofe things better than me." It
pleafed God likewife to ufe the curiofity of
.£his emperor, as an inducement to the peace
of his church in thofe days ; for having
Chrift in veneration, not as a God or Savi-
our, but as a wonder or novelty ; and having
his picture in his gallery, matched with
AprAlonius^ with whom, in his vain imagina-
tion, he thought he had fome conformity ;
yet it ferved to allay the bitter hatred of thofe
times againftthe Chriftian name; fo that the
church had peace during his time. And for
G4 his

8S ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

his civil government, although he did not
attain to that of 'Trajan %^ in glory of arms,
or perfection of juflice ; yet, in deferving the
good will of the fubje6l, he did exceed him ;
for Trujan creeled many famous monuments
and buildings, infomuch that Conjiantke the
Great, in emulation, was wont to call him
Parietaria, "Wall-flower," becaufehis namQ
was upon fo many walls : but his buildings
and works were more of glory and triumph,
than ufe and neceffity. But Adrian fpent
his whole reign, which v^as peaceable, in a
furvey of the Roman empire ; giving orders,
wherever he went, for re-edifying of cities,
towns, and decayed forts; for cutting of
rivers and ftreams ; for making bridges and
paffes; for improving the police of cities
and commonalties with new ordinances and
conftitutions, and granting new franchifes
and incorporations : fo that his whole reign
was a perfect reftoration of all the decays of
former times.

Antoninus Pius, who fucceeded him,
was a learned prince, and had the patient and
fubtle wit of a fchool-man ; infomuch as in
common fpeech, which leaves no virtue un-

tsixeda

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING, 89

taxed, he was cd.lhd CumimSe^or, " a diffecler
*« of a cumin feed :" fuch patience he had,
and fettled fpirit, to enter into the leaft and
mofl preclfe differences of caufes ; a fruit, no
doubt, of the exceeding tranquillity and fere-
nityofhismind; which (being no ways charg-
ed or incumbered either with fear, remorfe,
or fcruple, but having been noted for a man
of the pureft goodnefs, without all affecla-
tion, that has reigned) made his underfland-
ing continually prefent and colle6led: he like-
wife approached a degree nearer unto Chrifli-
anity, and became, as Jgrippa fald unto St.
Paul, *' half a Chriftian;" holding their
religion and law in good opinion ; and not
only ceafmg perfecution, but giving way to
the advancement of Chriflians.

There fucceeded him the firfl divifratres^
the two adoptive brethren, Lucius Commodus
Verus, fon to 'ETius Verus^ who delighted
much in the fofter kind of learning, and was
wont to call the poet Martial his Virgil, and
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, who long furviv-
ed and obfcured his colleague, was named
the Phllofopher ; and as he excelled all the
xefl in learning, fo he excelled them likewlfe

in

pO ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

in perfedion of all royal virtues ; fo that
'Julian the emperor, in his book intitled,
*' Casfares,'* which was a kind of fatire, to
deride all his predeceflbrs, feigned that they
were all invited to a banquet of the Gods ;
and S'lkniiSy the Jefter, fat at the lower end of
the table, and beftowed a fcofF upon every
one as they came in; but \Y\\^n Marcus Phi-
hfophus came in, Silenus was troubled and
out of countenance, having nothing to ob-
ject, except his patience towards the hu-
mours of his wife. And the virtue of this
prince continuing with that of his predecef-
for, made the name of Antoninus fo facred in
the world, that though it was extremely
diflionoured in Comjnodus, Caracalla and He-
Uogabalus, who all bore that name, yet when
Alexander Severus refufed the name, becaufe
he was a ftranger to the family, the Senate
with one acclamation faid, Sluotnodo Augujius
Jic et Antoninus. In fuch renown and venera-
tion was the name of thefe two princes in
thofe days, that they would have had it as
a perpetual addition hi all the emperor's
titles. In this emperor's time, alfo, the
church, for the mofl part, was in peace : fo
that in this feries of fix princes, we fee the

blefTed

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. 9I

blefled efFe£ls of learning in fovereignty,
painted forth in the great table of the world.

But for a tablet or pi dure of fmaller vo-
lume, in my judgment the mofl: excellent
is that of Queen Elizabeth ; a princefs that,
hzdiPlutarch been alive to write lives by paral-
lels, would have troubled him, I think, to
find out for her a parallel among women.
This lady was endued with learning fingular
in her fex, and grace even among mafculine
princes ; whether we fpeak of learned lan-
guages, or of fclence, modern or ancient,
divinity or humanity : and to the very laft
year of her life fhe was accuflomed to ap-
point fet hours for reading, as regularly as
any young ftudent in a Univerfity. As for
her government, I affirm, that this part of
the ifland never had forty-five years of better
times; and jtt not through the calmnefs
of the feafon, but through the wifdom of her
government; for if there is confidered on one
fide, the truth of religion eftablifhed ; the
conftant peace and fecurity ; the good admi-
niflration of juflice ; the temperate ufe of the
prerogative neither flackened, nor too much

flrained ;

9^ ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

flralned the flourifhing ftate of learning;
fuiting with fo excellent a patronefs; the
convenient eftate of wealth and means, both
of crown and fubject ; the habit of obedi-
ence, and the moderation of difcontents;
and when it is conlidered on the other fide,
the differences of religion ; the troubles of
neighbouring flates ; the ambition of Spa'in^
and oppoiition of Rome ; and that fhe was
without alliances ; thefe things, I fay, con-
lidered, as I could not have chofen an in-
flance fo recent and fo proper, fo, I fuppofe,
I could not have chofen one more remark-
able or eminent to the purpofe now in hand ;
which is concerning the conjun£lion of learn-
ing in the prince, with the felicity of the
people.

THE

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

n

The INFLUENCE of LEARNING

I N

MILITARY AFFAIRS.

1" ^EARNING has not only an influence
upon civil affairs, and the arts of peace^
but it exercifes its power and efficacy alfo in
martial virtue; as appears manifeftly in the
examples of Alexander the Great, and Cce/ar
the Didator; whofe mihtary virtues and
atchievements in war, it would be needlefs
to note or recite, fuice they were the wonders
of the world : but on their affecllon and zeal
to learning, as alfo their peculiar perfedioii
in the fame, it will not be impertinent to
enlarge.

Alexander was bred and taught under
Anftotle, who dedicated divers of his philo-
fophical books to him. He was never with-
out Cdlijlhenes, and feveral other great fcho-
lars, who followed his camp, and were his
perpetual aflbciates in all his marches and

expe*

94 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNINiS.

expeditions : and in what efteem he held
learning, is plainly demonftrated by many
particulars ; as the envy which he thought
j^chille5*s fortune worthy of, in having fo
good a recorder of his acls and praifes as
Homer, His judgment touching the precious
cabinet of Darius^ found amongft the refl of
the fpoils ; of which, when a queflion was
moved, " What thing was mofl worthy to
" be kept in it?" One faid one thing ; and
another, another ; he gave fentence for Ho*
mers works. His chiding letter to Arijlotle^
after he had publiflied his books of nature,
wherein he expoflulates with him for pub-
lifliing the myfleries of philofophy; and
fends him word : " That he had rather ex-
*' eel all men in learning and knowledge,
*' than in power and empire." There are
other particulars alfo to this purpofe: but as
to himfelf, how excellently he had improved
his mind with learning appears, or rather
Ihrnes, in all his fayings and anfwers, which
are full of learning; wherein, though the
remaiiis are few, you may find deeply im«
preffed the footfteps of all fciences.

Though

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. 95

Though it may appear needlefs to recite
things that every man knows, yet, fince the
argument I handle leads me to it, I am glad
that men will perceive I am as willing to
flatter an Alexander^ a drfar, or an Antoninus^
that lived many hundred years fince, as any
that are now living ; for it is dilplaying the
glory of learning in fovereigns that I propofe,
and not a humour of declaiming in any man's
praife.

As to morals, let the apothegm of Alex-
ander, touching Diogenes^ be obferved firfl: ;
and fee if it tends not to the fettling of one
of the greateft queftions in moral philofo-
phy : " Whether he that enjoys outward
" things, or defpifes them, is the happier
*' man ?" For when he faw Diogenes con-
tented with fo little, turning to thofe that
flood about him, and mocked at his condi-
tion, " Were I not," fays he, " Alexander ^
" I could wilh to be 'Diogenes.^'' But Se7teca,
in thiscomparifon, preferred Diogenes, when
he faid, *' There was more that Diogenes
*' would have refufed, than Alexander could
*' have given."

In

96 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

In natural knowledge, let that fpeecli be
obferved which was ufual with him, *' That
" he felt his mortality chiefly in two things,
*' deep and lufl: :" which fpeech, in truth,
is drawn from the depth of natural philo-
fophy, and more likely to have come out of
the mouth of an Arijlotle, or a Democntus,
than an jdlexmder ; feeing as well the indi-
gence, as redundance of nature, reprefented
by thofe two a<fls, are indications of death.

As to poetry, let this fpeech be obferved,
when upon the bleeding of his wounds, he
called one of his flatterers, that was wont to
afcribe to him divine honour; " Look/*
fays he, " this is the blood of a man, not
*' fuch liquor as Homer faid ran from Venuis
*' hand, when It was wounded by Diomede :'*''
with this faying making merry both with
the poets, his flatterers, and himfelf.

In logic, take his reprehenfion of dialectic
fubtilties, as to the repelling and retorting
of arguments, in the touch he gave Cajfander,
who was confuting the informers againft his
father Antipater : when Alexander happened
to fay, " Do you think thefe men would

*' have

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING, ^J

*' have taken fo long a journey, if they had
*' not juft can fe for complamt?" Cajfafider
anfwered, " Nay, this was the very thing
" that gave them encouragement, being iii
*' hopes that their calumny at fuch a dif-
*^ tance could not be difproved ;" *' See,
fays the king, *' the quirks of Arijlotky
" to turn a thing both pro and coru''
Neverthelefs, this very art, which he re-
prehended in another, he knew well how to
ufe himfelf, when occalion required, to ferve
his own turn ; for it happened that CalUJlhe*
nes^ whom Alexander inwardly hated, for
being againft his new canonization, being a
very eloquent man, was defired at a ban-
quet, by the company at the table, to chufe
fome fubjeft, for entertainment fake, to
difcourfe upon extempore^ he confented ; and
pitching upon the praifes of the Macedonian
nation, harangued with great applaufe :
whereupon Alexander, being difpleafed, faid,
" Upon a good fubject it is eafy for any
*' body to be eloquent : but turn," fays he,
" your flyle, and let us hear what you can
" fay againfl us." Call'ifthenes undertook it,
and performed it with fuch virulence, that
Alexander interrupted him, and faid, " Ma-
VoL. IT. H ' " lice

98 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

" lice alfo, as well as a good caufe, infufes
*' eloquence."

For rhetoric, to which tropes and orna-
ments belong — behold a mofl elegant ufe of
a metaphor, with which he galled Antipater^
an imperious, tyrannical governor; when
one of Antlpaters friends was praifmg him
to Alexander for his great moderation, in not
degenerating, as other lieutenants did, into
the P erf an luxury, the ufe of purple,
and throwing off the ancient Macedonian
habit: " True," fays Alexander^ " but An-
" tipater is all over purple within." That
other metaphor was alfo fine : when Par-
inenio came to him in the plains of Arbela^
and fhewed him the vaft army of his ene-
mies, which lying under their view by night,
reprefented, by the infinite number of fires,
another ftarry firmament, and thereupon ad-
vlfed him to attack them by night ; " I will
" not," fays Alexander^ " fteal a vi£lory."

In matters of policy, mark that mofl fig-
hlficant and wife diftin^lion, which all pof-
terlty has embraced, that he made between
two of his fingular friends, Hephejiion and

Craterus,

%r^-

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. ^9

Craterus, when he fa'id, " That the one
" loved Alexander^ and the other loved the
" king ;" makmg an hnportant dlftuidion
between even the moft faithful fervants of
princes, *' That fome bear a true affection
'* to the perfons of their mafters, others to
" their crown ^nd government."

Let us confider, likewife, how notably he
taxed an error, common with the counfellors
of princes, who generally fuggeft counfel ac-
cording to the model of their own mind and
fortune, not that of their maflers ; for when
'Darius made great offers to Alexander ; '' I,"
fays Farmenlo^ '' would accept them, if I
«' was Alexander-.'' to which Alexander re-
plied, '-'- And fo would I, if I were Far*
" memo'''

Lastly; examine that quick and acute
reply to his friends, when they alked him,
" What he referved for himfelf, upon his
" giving fo many and fuch large gifts to
*' others?" "Hope," fays he : as one who
well knew, that, when all accounts are caft
up right, hope is the true portion, and, as
it were, inheritance of thofe that afpire to
H 2 gi-eat

100 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING,

great things' This was yullus Co'fars por-
tion, when upon going into Gaid he had
exhaufted all his eftate by profufe largefles.
This was likewife the portion oi Henry Duke
of Guife, that moft noble prince, though too
ambitious ; of whom it was ufually faid,
*' That he was the greateft ufurer in all
<^ France ; becaufe all his wealth was in
*« notes, and he had turned his whole pa-
** trimony into obligation."

To conclude, therefore, as certain critics
areufed to fay hyperbolically, *« That if all
*« fciences were loft, they might be found
*' in Virgil 'y'^ fo it may be truly faid, there
are the prints and footfteps of learning in
thofe few fpeeches which are reported of
this prince : the admiration of whom, when
1 coniider him, not as Alexander the Great,
but as Arijioile's fcholar, has perhaps carried
me too far.

As iox Julius Cajar ^ the excellency of his
learning need not be conjedured, either
from his education, his acquaintance, or his
anfwers; for this appears eminently in his
writings and books, fome of which are ex-
tant.

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. lOI

tant, others are unfortunately lofl. We have
to this day that famous hiftory of his own
wars, which he named and entitled " Com-
*' mentaries" only; in which all fucceeding
ages have admired the folid weight of matter
and lively images, as well of adtions as per-
fons, joined with the greateft purity of lan-
guage, and perfpicuity of narration that ever
was: that it was not the eftect of a natural
gift, but of learning and precept, is well
witnefled by his work, intitled " De Ana-
*' logia :" being a grammatical philofophy,
wherein he labours to make this fame vox ad
placitum^ to become vox ad Uclium ; and to
reduce cuflom of fpeech to corre£lnefs of
judgment, and affigned to words their ge-
nuine meaning.

By the book which he entitled *' Anti-
" Cato," it eafily appears, that he afpired
as much to vi£lory of genius, as vidory of
war and arms ; undertaking therein a con-
fli£l with the pen, againfl the greateft cham-
pion of that age, Cicero the Orator.

As a monument of his learning, no lefs

ihan of his power, we have the computation

H3 of

102 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

of the year reformed by an edi6l of his : a
plain evidence that he took it to be as great
a glory to himfelf to underftand well the
laws of theftars in heaven, as to give laws
to men upon earth.

In his book of Apophthegms, which he
colle6led, we fee he efteemed it more honour
to make himfelf a kind of regifter-book, for
enterhig the wife and remarkable fayings
of others, than to have his own fayings re-
vered as oracles, as fome vain princes, cor-
rupted by flattery, delighted in doing: and
yet, if I were to enumerate his fayings, as
Alexander\^ they are truly fuch as Solomon
notes: *' The words of the wife are as
" flings, and like nails driven deep :" of
which I will recite three only, not fo won-
derful for their elegance, as for their force
and efficacy.

First, then, he muft be confidered as
a mafler of fpeech who could, with one word,
appeafe a mutiny in his army. The occafioii
was this : it was a cuflom with the Romans^
when their Generals fpoke to their army, to
ufe the word Milites \ but when the Magis-
trates

ON THE PIGNITY OF LEARNING. IO3

flrates fpoke to the people to ufe the word
^uirites. C^f^^rs foldlersmuthiied, and fe-
ditloufly demanded a difmiffion : not that
they really defired this, but by fuch demand
to force Co'far to other conditions : unfhaken,
when filence was made, he thus addreffed
them, Ite^irites: by which word he inti-
mated, " That they were already dlfmlffed."
The foldiers ftruck, and utterly confounded
at this, never left Interrupting him as he
went on with his fpeech ; and, relinquifhmg
their former demand of difmiffion, made it
their earned fuit on the other fide, that the
name of Milites might be again reftored
them.

The fecond was thus : C^far extremely.
afFeaed the name of King; fome therefore
were hired, as he paffed by, in popular ac^
clamatlon to falute him King. He, findmg
the cry weak and thin, put off the matter
with a left, as if they had miflaken his fur-
name : - I am,'' fays he, - not King, but
•' C^farr a fpeech, certainly, ihould it
be exaaiy fearched, the force and extent of
its meaning can fcarcely be expreffed. Firft,
it pretended a refufal of that name, but not
H4 ^^'

J04 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

ferioufly. Next it fliewed an infinite confi-
dence and magnanimity ; as if the appella-
tion of Ctefar were a greater title than that
of King; which came to pafs accordingly,
and has obtained even to this day. But what
made mofl for his purpofe, this fpeech, by
an admirable artifice, purfued clofely its own
end ; for this infinuated, that the fenate and
people of Rome contended with him about a
trifle, a name only, (for he had long fince
the power of a King) and fuch a name as
many, even of mean families bore; for Rex
was a furname of the Romans, as King is
with us.

The lafl fpeech I think fit to mention here
was this : when Co'far, after the war began,
had poffefled himfelf of Rome^ and broken
open the inner treafury, to take money out
for the fervice of the war, Metellus, as being
then tribune, refifted him ; to whom
Co'far replied, " If thou doft perfift, thou
** art a dead man.'* Then, checking him-
felf a little, he added, " Young man, it is
*' harder for me to fay this, than to do it.'*
A fpeech compounded of fuch wonderful
I terror

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING IO5

terror and clemency, that nothing pofTiblj
could be more.

But to difmifs C^far ; it is evident, that
he was fully fenfible of his own perfedion
in learning ; as appears by this, that when
fome were wondering at Syllas refolution
in refigning the didatorfhip, he fcorn fully
faid, " Sylla knew not letters, and could not
diaate."

I fhould now put an end to this difcourfc
concerning the near alliance of military vir-
tue and learning, (for what in this kind can
come after Alexander and C^far^ were I not
charmed with an example of fmgular mag-
nanimity in the propofal, and (kill in the ex-
ecution, becaufe it io fuddenly pafled from
fcorn to wonder. It is of Xenophon, the
philofopher, who went from Socrates' s fchool
into A/ta, with Cyrus the younger, in his
expedition againfh King Artaxerxes. This
■Xenophoriy at that time was a youth, and
never had feen army or camp ; nor had he
then any command in the army, but went
only as a volunteer, to enjoy the converfa-

tion

I06 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING^

tion of his friend Proxenus, He was by
chance prefent, when Falinus came with an
cmbaffy from the great king to the Grecians,
after Cyrus was (lain in the field, and the
Grecians, but an handful of men, having loft
their general in the heart of the provinces
of Perjia, cut off from their own coun-
try, by the great diflance, and very great and
deep rivers; the embaffy imported, that
they fhould deliver up their arms, and fub-
mit themfelves to the king's mercy ; to
which embafly, before anfwer was publicly
made, feveral of the army conferred fami-
liarly with Falinus: and amongft the reft
X^«o^y?ro« happened to fay, *' Why, Falinus,
*' we have now but thefe two things left
*' us, our arms, and our courage: and if
" we yield up our arms, what ufe, pray,
*' will our courage be to us ?" Here Fali-
nus, fmiling, faid, " If I be not deceived,
*' young gentleman, you are an Athenian,
*' and ftudy philofophy ; and thefe are pret-
** ty things that you fay, but you are very
*' much miftaken if you think your courage
" a match for the king's forces." Here was
the fcorn : the wonder follows. This fchool-

novice

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. I07

novice and philofopher, after all the cap-
tains and commanders were murdered by
treachery, conduded back ten thoufand
foot, from Babylon into Greece, through the
midtt of the king's provinces, m defpite of
all his forces, to the aftonilhment of the
world, and the no fmall encouragement of
the Greclam, from that time, to an mvafioii
and fubverfion of the Perfan monarchy:
which, indeed, foon after, Jafon the Thefa-
Uan defigned; Agefiausth^ Spartan M^m^t-
ed- and at laft Alexander the Macedonian
atchieved; all ftirred up by this brave lead-
ing aa of that young fcholar.

THE

I08 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

THE INFLUENCE OF LEARNING

O N

MORAL VIRTUE.

T ET us proceed from imperial and mili-
tary, to moral virtue, and that which is
the virtue of private men. Firft, that of the
poet Is a moft certain truth :

-' Scilicet Ingenuas didicijje fidcUtcr Aries,
Emollit mores, }iec Jinit ejfc fcros.

For learning frees mens minds from hru-
talitj and barbarifm ; but yet the emphafis
had need be upon the word JiJeliter, " tho-
*' roughly;" for a fuperficial knowledge
turns rather to the contrary. Learning, I
fay, takes away levity, rafhnefs, and in-
folence, whilfl it fuggefts all dangers and
doubts, together with the thing itfelf, ba-
lances the weight of reafons and arguments
on both fides : turns back the firfl offers and
pleafing conceits of the mind as fufpeded,

and

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. lO^

and teaches us not to tread a Rep without
fearching and examining our way.

The fame extirpates vain and excefTive
admiration, which is the very root of all
weaknefs. For we admire things, either
becaufe they are new, or becaufe they are
great. As to novelty, there is no man that
is thoroughly learned and contemplative, but
hath this imprinted upon his heart : Nil novl
fiiper terrain : " There is nothing new under
" the fun.'* Neither will any man much won-
der at the play of puppets, who puts his head
behind the curtain, and fees the inftruments
and wires that caufe the motion. For great-
nefs ; as Alexander the Great, after he had
been ufed to mighty battles and conquefts
in JJla, receiving fometimes letters out of
Greece, of fome expeditions and fkirmiflies,
w4iich were commonly for a bridge, or caflle,
or for the taking fome town at the mofl,
was wont to fay, *' It feemed to him that
*' news was brought him of the battle of
" the frogs and the mice that Homer talks
*' of:" fo, certainly,to a man, that contem-
plates the univerfal frame of nature, the
globe of the earth, with the men upon it^

fetling

no ON THE DIGNITY OT LEARNING.

fetting afide the divinity of their fouls, will
feem nothing greater than a hillock of ants,
fome of which creep and run up and down
with grains of corn, others with their eggs,
fome empty, all here and there about a little
heap of duft.

Again, learning takes away, or at leaft
mitigates the fear of death, and of adverfc
fortunes ; which is one of the greatefl impe-
diments to virtue and manners : for if a
man's mind be feafoned and deeply afFedled
with the contemplation of mortality, and
the corruptible nature of things, he will be
of Ept^etus'^ fentiment; who going out
one day, and feeing a woman weeping for
her pitcher that was broke ; and going out
the next day, and feeing another woman la-
menting the death of her fon, faid, Heri,
*vidi fragilem frangi ; Hodie, vidi mortalem
mori: " Yefterday I faw a little thing broke ;
« to-day I faw a mortal thing die." Where-
fore Virgil did very wifely to couple the
knowledge of caufes, and the conquefl of all
fear together, as concomitants :

Felix

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. Ill

Felix qui potu'it rerum cognofcere caufas,
^xique metus omnes et inexorah'ilefatum
Subjecit pcdibusy Jireptumque Acherontis avar'i.

** Happy the man, who, fludylng nature's laws,
" Through knowxi efFeds can trace the fecret caufe :
" His mind pofleffing in a quiet flate,
'• Fearlefs of fortune, and refigned to fate."

Dryden.

It would be too tedious to run over the
particular remedies which learning admi-
niflers to all the difeafes of the mind; fome-
times purging out the ill humours ; Ibme-
times opening obftruftions ; fometimes help-
ing digeftions : fometimes exciting appetite ;
and often healing its wounds and ulcers :
therefore I will conclude with what feems
to be the fum of all, which is, that learn-
ing difpofes and inclines the mind, never
to acquiefce wholly, and to continue fix-
ed and benumbed, as it were, in its own
defers, but to be ftill roufing itfelf, and
breathing after growth and advancement.
The illiterate man knows not what it is to
defcend into himfelf, or to call himfelf to
account, or the pleafure of that life which
is fenfible of its growing every day better.
If he chance to have any virtue, he will be

boaft.

112 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

boafting of it to be fure, expofe it every
where to full view, and perhaps ufe it to
his own advantage, but negle6l to improve
andincreafe it. Again, if he labours under
any imperfection, he will ufe art and induflry
to conceal and colour it, but very little to
amend it ; like an ill mower that mows on
flill, and never whets his fcythe. On the
other fide, a learned man does not only em-
ploy his mind, and exercife his virtues, but
is continually reforming himfelf, and making
progrefs in virtue. Nay, to fum up the
whole, certain it is, that truth andgoodnefs
differ but as the feal and the impreffion ; for
goodnefs is truth's impreffion; and, on the
contrary, the ftorms of vice and paffion
break from the clouds of error and falfliood.

OF

tJN THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. II3

Of the power and SOVEREIGNTY
b F
LEARNING.

FROM virtue let us pafs to power and em-
pire, and confider, whether there be any
where found fo much power and fovereignty,
as that wherewith learning invefts and
crowns man's nature. We fee the dignity
of commanding is according to that of
the comm.anded. The authority over beads
and cattle, as herdfmen and fhepherds have,
is a thing contemptible: command over
children, as fchool-m.iftershave, is a matter
of fmall honour : authority over galley-flaVes
is a difparagement rather than an honour:
neither is the command of tyrants much
better over a fervlle people, ftripped of all
fplrit and generofity of mind : therefore it
has ever been held, that honours in free mo-
narchies, or common wealths, have more
fweetnefs than under tyrants: becaufe a
Vol. II. ' I com*

114 ON THE DIGNITY Ol? LEARNING.

command over the willing is more honourable,
than over the forced and compelled. And
therefore Virgil^ when he exerts himfelf to
draw forth, from the depth of art, the very
beft of human honours, he afligned that to
Augujlm Cafar, in thefe very words :

V'i£iorque volentes
Per popuks dat jurat viamque a^eHat Olympo.

Georg. IV.

•* Thus have I fung of fields, and flacks, and trees,
•* And of the waxen work of lab'ring bees ;
•' While mighty Ccefar^ thund'ring from afar,
•* Seeks on Euphrates banks the fpoils of war :
•* With conqu'ring arts aflerts his country's caufc,
*' With arts of peace the willing people draws :
•' On the glad earth the golden age renews,
** And his great father's path to heav'a purfues,"

Drydekt.

But the empire of knowledge is far high-
er than the empire over the will, though
free and unfettered ; for that has a dominion
over reafon, belief, and even the underfland*
ing, which is the higheil part of the foul,
and gives law to the will itfelf. Without
queflion, there is no power on earth which
fets up its throng in the fpirit and fouls of

men.

O^ THE tUGNiTY OF LEARNIN(5. II5

men, and in their thoughts and imaginations,
their affentalfo and belief, equal to learning
and knowledge ; and therefore we fee the
deteftable and extreme pleafure that Arch-
heretics, falfe prophets, and great impofliors
are raviflied and tranfported with, when
once they find that they have begun to reign
in the faith and confclences of men : indeed,
fo great, that he who has once tafted it, can
hardly be brought by any perfecution or
torment, to relinquifh his fovereignty. And
as this is what is called in the Revelations,
*' The depth or profoundnefs of Satan ;'* fo,
on the contrary, a jufl: and lawful fovereignty
over mens minds^ eftablifhed by the mere
evidence and moft delightful recommenda*
tions of truth, approaches certainly, as near
as poffible, to the fimilitude of divine power*

As to fortunes and honours, the munifi-
cence of learning is not fo confined to the
enriching and adorning of whole kingdoms
and commonwealths, as not like wife to ad-
vance the fortunes and eflates of private
perfons t for it is an ancient obfervation ;
*' That Homer has given more men their
*' living than Sylla, Ccefar^ or Augujlm\*
I 2 not-

Il6 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

notwithftanding their numerous largefle&,
donatives, and diftributions of lands. Cer-
tainly, it is hard fo hy, whether arms or
letters have advanced greater numbers ;
and in the cafe of fovereignty we fee, that
if arms or right of inheritance, have carried
away the kingdom ; yet learning has gene-
rally carried the priefthood, which has ever
flood in competition with empire.

If we conflder the delight and pleafure
of knowledge, affuredly it far furpafles all
other pleafures. Shall the pleafures of the
afFe6lions as far exceed the delights of the
fenfes, as the happy obtaining of a defire,
does a fong, or a fupper? And fhall not, by
the fame gradation, the pleafures of the in-
tellect tranfcend thofe of the affeClions ? All
other pleafures bring fatiety ; and after they
have been ufed, and are grown familiar,
their verdure and beauty fades: whereby
we are intruded, that they were not truly
pure and fincere pleafures, but fhadows only ;
and that it was the novelty which pleafed,
rather than the quality : whence voluptuous
men often turn monks ; and the declining
age of ambitious princes is commonly fad,

and

ON THE'DIGNITY OF LEARNING. JtJ

and befieged with melancholy ; but in know-
ledge there is no fatiety, but enjoyment and
appetite are perpetually interchangeable : fo
that this delight mufl: needs be good in itfelf
(imply, without accident or fallacy.

Neither does that pleafure which Lu-
cretius defcribes hold the loweft place in the
mind of man :

Suave marl magno turhanubus ^quora ven-
tis, &c.

*' It is a delightful view," fays he, '* to
** fland or walk upon the fhore, and to fee
'* a (hip tofled upon the fea in a tempeft. A
** pleafure likewife to behold from a lofty
** turret two armies joining battle upon a
•* plain : but nothing is pleafanter to a man
*' than a mind planted by learning, in the
*' citadel of truth, from whence it may de-
** fcry the errors and wanderings, the per-
*' turbations and labours of other men."

Lastly: omitting thafe vulgar argu-
ments, that by learning only man excels his
own fpecies, and that by the help of learn-
I3 ing

Il8 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

ing he afcends in his underftanding, even to
the heavens, to which in body he cannot :
let us conclude this differtation concerning
the excellency of learning, with that good,
whereunto man's nature mofl: afpires, which
is immortality and eternity. For to this
tends generation, the ennobling of families,
buildings, foundations, monuments, fame,
and, in fhort, the fum of human defires.
But we fee how much more durable the mo-
numents of genius and learning are, than
thofe of works and manufa61:ures. Have
not the verfes of Homer continued above
twenty- five centuries, without the lofs
of a fyllable or letter? During which
time an infinite number of palaces, tem-
ples, caftles and cities, have decayed and
fallen, or been demolifhed. The true
pidures or flatues oi Cyrus ^ Alexander^ Ccefar,
nay, of khigs and princes of much later,
years, cannot poflibly now be had ; for the
originals, worn away long fince with age,
are perifhed; and the copies daily lofe of
thsir primitive refemblance; but the images
of mens genius remain entire in books for
ever, exempt from the injuries of time, be-
caufe capable of perpetual renovation ; tho'

they

ON THE DIGNITY OP LEARNING. 1 1^

they cannot properly be called images nei-
ther, becaufe they are perpetually generat-
ing, as it were, and fcattering their feed in
the minds of men, and railing and procreating
infinite actions and opinions in fucceeding
ages. Now, if the invention of the Ihip
was thought fo noble and wonderful a thing,
which tranfports riches and merchandife
from place to place, and confociates the moil
remote regions, by a participation of their
produdions and commodities : how much
more are letters to be magnified, which, as
ihips furrowing the ocean of time, conne(!l
the moft diftant ages, by a commerce and
corefpondence in genius and invention ?

Nay, further, we fee fome of the philo-r
fophers that were mofl funk in matter and
fenfuality, and leafl divine, and who pe-
remptorily denied the immortality of the
foul, yet, driven to it by the force of truth,
granted, that whatfoever motions and ac-
tions the foul of man could perform without
the organs of the body, theie might pro-
bably remain after death : that is, fuch as
were the motions in the underflanding, but
1 4 not

I20 ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING.

not of the afFe6lions. So immortal and in-
corruptible a thing did knowledge feem to
them. But we, upon whom divine revela-
tion has fhone, defpifing thefe rudiments,
thftfe cheats and delufions of the fenfes,
know that not only the underflanding,- but
alfo the affe6lions purified; not only the
foul, but the body too fhall be advanced in
due time to immortality; but it mufl: be
remembered, that in the proofs of the dig-
nity of knowledge, I did, from, the very
beginning, feparate divine from human tef-
timony, which method I have conflantly
purfued, and fo handled them both apart.

But although this be true, neverthelefs,
I by no means take upon me, nor do I think
it poffible, by any plending of mine, in the
caufe of learning, to reverfe the judgment,
either of M,fop\ cock, who preferred the
barley-corn b fore the gem ; or of Midas^
who being chofe judge between Apollo^ pre-
fident of the Mufes, and Fan^ God of the
flocks, judged for plenty; or of Pans, who
judged for beauty and pleafure, defpifing
wifdom and power ; or of Agrippinas choice :

Occidat

ON THE DIGNITY OF LEARNING. 121

OccUat matrem^ modo hnperet: *' Let him
<* kill his mother, provided he rule:'* pre-
ferring empire with conditions, be they ever
fo deteflable : or ofUfyJfes ; ^i vettdamjuam
pr^tuUt immortalitati ; " Who preferred his
old woman to immortality: being indeed a type
of thofe who prefer cuftom be fore all excel len-
cy; and a number of the like popular judg-
ments ; for thefe things will continue as they
have been; but fo will that alfo continue
upon which learning has ever relied, as upon
a mofl firm foundation that can never be
{haken: Jujiijicata eft Japientta a filh Juts:
*^ Wifdom is juflified by her children."
Matt. xi.

OF

122 ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS,

OF THE ACTS OF MERIT

TOWARDS

LEARNING,

'T^HE a£ls and works, pertaining to the
advancement of learning, are conver-
fant about three obje-^s : the feats of learn-
ing; the books of learning; and about the
perfons of learned nien. For as water, whe-
ther falling from the dew of heaven, or
rifing from the fprings of the earth, eafily
fcatters and lofes itfclf in the ground, except
it be colleded into fome receptacle, where
it may by union, comfort and fuftain itfelf;
for which purpofe the ingenuity of man has
invented fpring-heads, conduits, cifterns, and
pools; and beautified them alfo with divers
ornaments, ferving for magnificence and
flate, as well as for ufe and necefiity ; fo this
moft precious liquor of knowledge, whether
it diflils from divine infpiration, or fprings
from human fenfe, would foon all perifh and

vanifli,

I

ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS. 123

vanifli, if it were not preferved in books,
traditions and conferences ; efpecially in par-
ticular places defigned to that end, as Uni-
verfities, Colleges, and Schools ; where it
may both have fixed flations, and power and
ability to unite and colled itfelf into a body.

First, the works which concern the
feats of the Mufes are four : foundations of
Houfes; endowments of revenues ; grant of
privileges ; inftitutions and ftatutes for go-
vernment: all tending to privatenefs and
quietnefs of life, and a difcharge from cares
and troubles; much like FirgiPs requifites
for the building of hives, in order to mak^
honey :

Prlnclplo fedes ap'ibus, Jlatioque petenda
^uo nequejic ventis aditusy ^c.

ViRG. Georg. IV.

** Firft ; for thy bees a quiet ftation find,
<' And lodge them under covert of the wind."

Dryden,

But the^ works touching books are prin-
cipally two: firfl, libraries, wherein, as in
flately monuments, the relics of the ancient

faints.

124 ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS.

faints, full of true virtue, and that without
delufion or impoflure, are preferved and re-
pofed. Secondly, new editions of authors,
furnifhed with naore correal impreffions,
more faithful tranflations, more ufeful com-
ments, more diligent annotations, and the
like train.

Again, the works which regard the per-
fons of learned men, befides the advancing
and countenancing of them in general, are
likewifetwo: the reward and defignation of
readers in fciences already invented and
known; and of writers and enquirers, con-
cerning any parts of learning not hitherto
fufficiently laboured and improved.

These are briefly the works and a6t:s,
wherein the merits of renowned princes, and
other illuftrious perfonages, towards the flate
of learning, have Ihone.

As for any particular commemorations of
perfons that h-ave deferved well of learning,
when I think thereupon, I call to mind that
of Cicero, which, after his return, put him
upon giving general thanks : '' It is diificult

«' not

ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS. 125

*' not to pafs by fome one, and ungrateful
*' to pafs by any one." Let us rather, ac-
cording to the advice of the fcripture, " look
"• unto that part of the race which is fet
" before us, than look back unto thofe
'' things which are behind us."

DEFECTS

O F

LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS.

pIRST, therefore, amongfl: fo many noble
foundations of colleges throughout Eu-
rope, I wonder they (hould be all deftined
to particular profeifions, and none dedicated
to the free and univerfal ftudies of arts and
fciences : for if men judge that all learning
fhould be referred to ufe and adion, they
judge right ; but yet it is eafy this way to
fall into the error cenfured in the ancient
fable ; in which the other parts of the body

entered

126 ON LitERARY ESTABLISHMENTS*

entered an action againfl the ftomach, be«
caufe it neither performed the office of mo-
tion ; as the limbs do, nor of fenfe, as the
head does ; though it was the flomach that
conco£led) digefted, and diftributed nourifli-
ment to the reft of the body: juft fo, the
man that thinks philofophy and univerfal
contemplation a vain and idle ftudy, does not
confider that all profeffions and arts are
fupplied with materials and ftrength from
thence : and I am verily perfuaded, that this
very thing has been a great caufe that hath
retarded the progreffion of learning hitherto ;
becaufe thefe fundamental fciences have been
ftudied fuperficially, and deeper draughts
have not been taken of them. For if^you
will have a tree bear more fruit than ufual,
it is in vain to think of applying to the
boughs; you muft ftir the earth about the
rooty and apply richer mould, or you do
nothing. Nor again is it to be pafled over
in filence, that this dedication of colleges
and focieties, only to the ufe of profeffory
learning, has not only been an enemy to
the growth of fciences, but has contributed
likewife to the prejudice of kingdoms and
ftates. Hence it is that princes, when they
I would

I

ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS. 127

would make choice of miniflers fit for the
affairs of flate, find about them a marvellous
folitude of fuch men; for this reafon, be-
caufe there is no collegiate education defigned
to this end, where fuch as are framed and
fitted by nature for that office, may, befides
other arts, fludy chiefly hiftory, modera
languages, books, and treatifes of policy;
that fo they may thence come m.ore able and
better furnifhed to the offices offtate.

^ND becaufe founders of colleges do plant,
but founders of le6lures water; it follows
now in order to fpeak of the defeS: which
is in public kaures. I difapprove then ex-
ceedhigly of the fmallnefs and meannefs of
falaries, efpecially with us, affigned to lec-
turers, whether of arts or profeffions. For
it is of mighty importance to advancement
in fciences, that profefTors in every kind, be
chofen out of the ableft and mofl fufficient
men ; as thofe whofe labour is not for tran-
fitory ufe, but to propagate and fupply ofF-
fpring to fcience for future ages. This can-
not be, unlefs the reward and conditions be
appointed fuch, as may fully fatisfy the mofl
eminent men in that art; fo as he may not

think

128 ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS*

think It a hardfhip to fpend his whole life In
that fun£lion, and never defire to pra6lrfe*
Wherefore that fclences may flourifh, Da^
r/Ws military lawfhould be obferved: "That
" he who flaid with the carriage fliould have
" an equal part with him that went down to
*' the battle." I. Sam. xxx. Elfe will the
carriages be ill attended. So profeffors in
fciences are, as it were, the prefervers and
guardians of the ftores and proviiions of
learning, from whence men in adion may
be furnifhed. Wherefore it is but reafon,
that their falaries be equal to the gain of
pra£litioners. Otherwife, if the allowances
appointed to the fathers of fciences are not
ample and handfome, it will come to pafs,

lit patrum invalid! refcrant Jejunia natit

ViRG. Georg. IIL

' *' If the fire be faint, or out of cafe,

*' He will be copied in his familh'd race."

Dryden".

I will note another defecfb, wherein I fball
have need to call in fome alchymift to my
aid ; fince this fe6l of men advife ftudents to
fell their books, and build furnaces, quitting

and

ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS. I 29

and forfaking Minerva, and the Mufes, as
barren virgins, and applying themfelves to
Vulcan. Yet, certainly, it mufl be coiW
feffed, that to the depths of contemplative,
as well as the fruits of operative fludy, in.
fome fciences, efpecially natural philofophy
and phyfic, books are not the only inftru-
mentals : the munificence of men has not
been altogether wanting; for we fee fpheres,
globes, maps, &c. have been provided as
appurtenances to aftronomy and cofmogra-
phy," as well as books. We fee, likewife,
that fome places dedicated to theftudy of
phyfic have gardens for the infpeclion and
knowledge of fimples of all forts; and do
likewife command the ufe of dead bodies for
anatomical obfervations : but thefe refpe6t
very few things. In general, be it fet down
for a truth, that there can hardly be made
any great proficiency in the difclofing and
unlocking the fecrets of nature, unlefs there
is a plentiful allowance for experiments,
whether of Vulcan or D^^dahis : " Furnace
" or engine :'* or any other kind whatfoever.
And, therefore, as fecretaries and emiffarles
of princes are allowed to bring in bills of
charges, for their diligence in the enquiry
Vol. II. K and

130 ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS.

and difcovery of new occurrences and ftate
fecrets; fo the refearchers of nature mufl
J)e paid their expences, or elfe we fhall never
be advert ifed of many things moft worthy
to be known. For if Alexander fupplied
Arijioih with a vafl: fum of money to hire
hunters, fowlers, fifliers, and others, that
he might come the better appointed to com-
pile a hiflory of Hying creatures ; greater
certainly is their merit who wander not in
the forefts of nature, but open themfelves a
way in the labyrinths of the art5.

Another thing which I find fault with
is this: it is aii ufual pradice, though in
my opinion an abfurd one, for fcholars in
the Univerfities to be entered too foon in
logic and rhetoric ; arts furely fitter for gra-
duates, than children and novices. For thefe
two, if the matter be rightly taken, are in
the number of the graveft fciences; being
the art of arts, the one for judgment, the
other for ornament. They contain likewife
rules and diredions, either for difpofing or
illuftrating of matter ; and therefore for raw
and empty minds, which have not yet ga?
thered that which Cicero calls ^/w ^\^fupelf

ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS. 13I

kxy " fluff and variety," to begin with
thofe arts ; as if a man having a mind to
weigh, meafure, or paint the wind^ doth
but work this effe6l, that the virtue and
ftrength of thefe arts, which are very great
and extenfive, are almoil made contemptible,
and have degenerated either into childifh fo-
phiftry, and ridiculous affe£lation ; or at
leaft have fuffered much in their reputation.
And, further, the too early and untimely
acceffion to thefe arts, has, of necelTity,
drawn along with it a puerile delivery and
handling of it, fuch as is fitted indeed to the
capacity of children. Another inftance that
I fhall bring of an error grown long fince in-
veterate in the Univerfities, is this : that in
the exercifes of the fchools there ufed to be
a divorce, very prejudicial, between inven-
tion and memory ; for there, moil: of their
fpeeches are either altogether premeditated, fo
that they are uttered iii the very precife form
of words they were conceived in, and no-
thing left to invention, or merely extern^
pore: fo that very little is left to memory :
though in life and pradice there is rarely
any ufe of either of thefe apart, but rather
of their intermixture ; that is, of notes or
K % jnemq-

I3'2 ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS.

memorials, and of extempore fpeech together.
So that by this courfe the exercifes do not
fit the practice, nor does the image anfvver
the life. And it is a rule ever to be obferved
in exercifes, that all, as near as may be,
reprefent thofe things which in common
courfe of life ufed to be pra6lifed ; otherwife
they will pervert the motions and faculties
of the mind, and not prepare them : the truth
of which is not obfcurely feen, when Uni-
veriity-men fet to the pradice of their pro-
feffions, or other adlions of civil life; which
when they do, this want, whereof we fpeak,
is foon found out by themfelves, though
fooner by others. But this part, touching
the amendment of the inftitutions and or-
ders of the Univerfities, I will conclude,
with the claufe of C^far\ letter to Opptus
and Balbus: Hoc quemadmoduin fieri poffit, non-
nulla m'lhl in jneniem venlunt^ et multa reperlrl
foJ[funt\ de lis rebus rogo vos, ut cogltaiionem
fufcipiatis.

Another defect which I note afcends a
little higher than the former : for as the pro-
ficlence of learning confifts much in the wife
government and inftitution of Univerfities

in

ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS. I53

in particular; fo it would be yet more ad-
vanced, if the univerfities in general, difperfed
throughout all Europe, were united in a
nearer conjunction and correfpondence by
mutual intelligence. For there are, we fee,
many orders and commonalties, which, tho'
they are divided under diflindt fovereignties
and territories widely diftant, yet they con-
trail and maintain a fociety and kind of bro-
therhood one with the other : infomuch as
they have their prefe6ls, fome provincial,
others general, to whom they all yield obe-
dience ; and furely, as nature creates a bro-
therhood in families, and mechanical arts
contract a brotherhood in companies, the
anointment of God fuperinduces a brother-
hood in kings and bifhops ; vows and rules
unite a brotherhood in orders : fo in like
manner, there cannot but intervene a noble
and generous fraternity amongft men by
learning and illumination, relating to that
paternity which is attributed to God, who
is called the " Father of illuminations," or
" lights."

Lastly: this I complain of, which I

touched on before, that there has not been,

K3 or

154 ON LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS.

or very rarely, any public defignation of able
men who might either write, or make en-
quiry concerning fuch parts of learning as
have not hitherto been fufficiently explored.
In which point it would be of great ufe, if
there were eredled a kind of vifitation of
learning ; and eftimate taken, what parts of
learning are rich and well improved; what
poor and deftitute. For the opinion of plenty
is amongft the caufes of want; and great
quantity of books makes a {hew rather of
luxury than want: which, fuperfluity, ne-
verthelefs, is not to be remedied by making
no more books, but by making more good
books ; which may be of fuch a kind, that,
like Mofes's ferpent, they may devour the
ferpents of the enchanters.

The removing of all thefe defeats now
enumerated, except the laft, and of the ac-
tive part of the laft two, which is the de-
fignation of writers, are works truly BafiUcal;
towards which the endeavours and induftry
of a private man may be but as an image in
a crofs way, that can point the way, but can-
not go it. But the fpeculative part, which be-
longs

ON THE HISTORY OF LEARNING. I^^

longs to the furvey and examination of learn-
ing, namely, what is deficient in every par-
ticular fcience, is open to the induftry even
of a private man.

ON THE HISTORY OF LEARNlNa

CURELY the hiftory of the., world, without
•^ this part, may be thought not unlike the
{}i2itut of Polyphemus wkh his eye out; that
part of the image being wanting, which mofl
reprefents the nature and fpirit of the perfon*
And though we fet down this as deficient,
yet we are not ignorant, that in divers par-
ticular fciences, as of the jurifconfults, the
mathematicians, the rhetoricians, and the
philofophers, there are fet down fome (light
memorials, or certain dry relations, of the
feds, fchools, books, authors, and fuccef-
fions of fuch like fciences: that there are
likewife fome thin, barren treatifes touching
K4 the

136 ON THE HISTORY OF LEARNING.

the inventors of things and arts ; but for a
juft and univerfal hiflory of learning, we
aflert, that none hitherto has been publifhed :
wherefore we will propound both the argu-
ment, the manner of contriving, and the
ufe thereof.

The argument is no other than a recital
from all times of what fciences and arts have
flourifhed in any ages and climates of the
world. Let there be made a rehearfal of
their antiquities, their advances, alfo of their
progrefs through divers parts of the world ;
for fciences fhift and remove no lefs than
people. Again, of their declenfions, obli-
vions, inftaurations. Let there likewife be
obfervations made through every particular
art, of the occafion and original of their in-
vention; of their manner of delivery; of
their feveral adminiflrations and manage-
ment. Let there alfo be added, the feds
and controverfies mofl famous, which have
taken up and exercifed learned men; the
fcandals and reproaches to which they lay
open ; and the praifes and honours beftowed
oathem. Let there be noted, the chief au-
thors.

ON THE HISTORY OF LEARNING. I37

thors, the befl books, fchools, fucceffions,
academies, focieties, colleges, orders; and,
in iliort, whatfoever belongs to the ftate of
learning: but, above all, we would have
this obferved, which is the ornament and
foul of civil hiftorj, that the caufes be com-
bined with the events : which is, that the
natures of countries and people be recorded;
and the difpofitions apt and able, or unapt
and unable for various difciplines ; the acci-
dents of times adverfe or propitious to fci-
ences; the Zealand mixtures of religion;
the difcountenance and favour of laws ; and,
kftly, the eminent virtues and influence of
certain perfons for the promoting of learn-
ing, and the like. But our advice is, that
♦11 thefe points may be fo handled, that time
be not wafted in praife and cenfure, after the
manner of the critics, but that the things be
barely related in a manner perfedly hiftori-
cal, and our own judgment fparingly inter-
pofed.

As to the manner of compiling fuch a
hiftory, we do efpecialfy advife, that the
materials be drawn, not only from hiftories

and

138 ON THE HISTORY Of LEARinNG*

and critics; but, alfo, that through every
century of years, or even lefler intervals,
by a continued fequence of time, beginning
from the highefl antiquity, the beft books
written within thofe fpaces of time be con-
fulted, to the end that not from a thorough
perufal of them, which would be an endlefs
work, but from tafte and obfcrvation of the
argument, ftile, and method, the learned
genius of that time, as by a kind of charm,
may be called up from the dead.

As to the ufe of this work, it is not de-
figned that the honour and pomp of learning
may be celebrated by fo many Images every
way lurrounding her; nor that for the ar-
dent affedlion we bear to learning we defire^
even to curiofity, to enquire and know, and
preferve whatfoever to the ftate of learning
may any way belong; but chiefly for a more
grave and ferious purpofe. It is in few words
this: that by means of fuch a relation as
we have defcribed, we conceive a very great
a^ldition may be made, to the wifdom and fkilt
of learned men, in the ufe and management
of learning; and that the motions, pertur*

bationsj,

ON THE HISTORY OF LEARNING. 139

bations, vices, and virtues of intellectual
matters, as w^ell as civil, may be noted, and
the beft regimen from thence drawn and.
praClifed ; for we do not fuppofe that St.
Aujlhi^ or St. Amhrofe^ works will make fo
wife a bifhop or a divine as ecclefiaftical
hiftory thoroughly read and obferved ; which
we make no queftion would be the cafe of
learned men alfo from the hiflory of learn-
ing ; for what is not fuftained and propt up
with examples and records, is very apt to
fall, and is expofed to rafhnefs. Thus much
of the hiitory of learning.

ON

140 ON CIVIL HISTORY.

ON THE DIGNITY AND DIFFICULTY

O F

CIVIL HISTORY.

'TPHE dignity and authority of civil hiflory
is eminent among human writings ; for
upon the credit of this, the examples of
our anceftors, the viciffitudes of affairs, the
grounds of civil prudence, and laflly, the
name and fame of men depend: but the dif-
ficulty is as great as the dignity : for to draw
back the mind in writing to things paft, and
to make it as it were aged, to fearch out
with diligence, to relate with fidelity and
freedom; finally, to reprefent to the eye,
with beauty and clearnefs of expreflion, the
changes of times, the charaders of perfons,
the waverings of counfels, the turns and
windings of adbions, as of waters, the fub-
tilties and depths of pretences, and the fe-
crets of government, is a talk of great pains
and judgment; efpecially fince ancient mat-
ters

ON CIVIL HISTORY. 14I

ters are fiibjed to uncertainty ; modern, li-
able to danger. Wherefore the errors alfo
are many which attend civil hiftory : while
the greatefl part write poor and vulgar nar-
ratives, the very reproach of hiftory ; others
patch up, in a rafh hafte, and unequal con-
texture, particular relations, and brief me-
morials ; others run over the heads only of
actions done ; others, on the contrary, purfue
every trivial circumftance, nothing belong-
ing to the fum and ilTue of things : fome,
out of too much indulgence to their own
genius, have the confidence to feign man/
things : while others add and imprint upon
affairs the image, not fo much of their own
wit as of their affedions, mindful of their
own fides and parties, but unfaithful depo-
nents of fad; fome every where interfperfe
fuch politic obfervations as they mofl fancy;
and feeking occafion of digreffion for often-
tation, too flightly break off the narrative :
others are injudicioufly prolix in their fpeech-
es and harrangues, or even of the very fads ;
fothat it is fufficiently manifeff, that in the
writings of men there is nothing found more
rare than a juft hiftory, and in all parts com-
plete and perfed.

ON

142 ON CIVIL HISTORY.

ON THE PARTITION

O F

CIVIL HISTORY.

/^IVIL hiftoiy is of three kinds, not un-
like the three forts of pidures or images :
for of pictures and images we fee fome im-
perfect and unfmifhed, as wanting the lafl
hand; others perfedl and finilhed; others
again decayed and defaced with age. In like
manner we will divide civil hiflory, which
is a fort of image of actions and times, into
three kinds, agreeable to thofe of pidtures;
namely, memorials, perfedl hiftory, and an*
tiquities. Memorials are hiftories unfinlfhed,
or the firft and rude draughts of hiftory ; and
antiquities are hiftory defaced, or fome rem-
nants of hiftory which have cafuallyefcaped
the fliipwreck of time.

Memorials, or preparatory hiftory, are
of two forts : one of which I think good
to term commentaries, the other regifters.
Commentaries fet down a naked feries and
connexion of adions and events, omitting
I the

ON CIVIL HISTORY, 145

the caufes and pretexts of things, their be-
ginning alfo and the occaiion, the counfels
likewife and fpeeches, with other pailages
of a£tion ; for this is the true nature of com-
mentaries ; though Gr/tzr, in modelly mixed
with greatnefs, was pleafed to give the name
of commentary to the heft hiilory in the
world. But regifters are of a two- fold na-
ture; for they comprehend either the titles
of matter and perfons, in a continuation of
time, fuch as we call calendars and chrono-
logies ; or the folemnities of acls, as the
edids of princes, the decrees of councils,
judicial proceedings, pubhc orations, letters
of ftate, &c. without a contexture, or con*
tinued thread of narration.

Antiquities, or remnants of hiftory,
are, tanquam tabula fiaufragii: *•■ like the
*' fcattered planks of a fliipwreck." When
the memory of things failing, and being al-
moft drowned, neverthelefs, induftrious and
fagacious men, by an obftinate and fcru-
pulous diligence and obfervation, out of
genealogies, calendars, infcriptions, monu-
ments, coins, proper names and ftiles, ety-
paolpgies of words, proverbs, ti-aditions, ar-
chives.

144 O^' CIVIL HISTORY.

chives and records, as well public as pri-
vate, fragments of flories, fcattered pa£ages
of books not hiftorical ; out of all thefe they
refcue fomething from the deluge of time.

Just, or perfect hiilory is of three kinds,
according to the nature of the obje;^ which
it propofes to reprefent ; for it either repre-
fents fome portion of time, fome memorable
perfon,or fome more illuftrious adion. The
iirfl we call chronicles, or annals ; the fe-
cond, lives ; the third, relations. Of thefe;
chronicles feem to excel in glory and name;
lives in profit and ufe ; relations in fincerity
and truth : for chronicles exhibit the magni-
tude of adions, and the face and deportments
of public perfons, and pafs over in filence
the fmaller paffages and motions of men and
matters. And it being the peculiar work-
manfhipofGod to '* hang the greateft weight
*' upon the fmalleft wires," it comes fre-
quently to pafs, that this fort of hiftory,
purfuing only the greater occurrences, rather
fets forth the pomp and folemnities of af-
fairs, than their true fprings, and more fub-
tle contextures. Further, though it add and
intermix the counfels themfelves, yet, de-
lighting

ON CIVIL HISTORY. I4J

lighting in grandeur, it inverts mens a(^ionS
with more gravity and prudence than indeed
is in them : fo that a fatire may be a truer
pi6lure of human life than fuchkind of hif-
tories.

Lives, on the other hand, if they are
written with dihgence and judgment, for I
fpeak not of eulogies, and fuch like dry re*
hearfais, propounding to themlelves a fingle
perfon for their fubjedl:, in whom, afliohs both
light and weighty, frnall and great, public
and private, are neceffarily compounded and
mixed together, do certainly exhibit more
lively and faithful narratives of things, which
a man may fafeiy and happily transfer into
exarnple.

So again, fpecial relations of actions, as
the war of Peloponnefus^ the expedition of
Cyrus ^ the confpiracy of Cat aline, and the
like, cannot but be more purely and exactly
true, than the hiflories of times ; becaufe in
them may be chofen an argument that is
manageable and limited, and of fuch a quality,
that exad: knowledge, certainty, and full in-
formation may be had of it: whereas he

Vol, IL L who

146 ON CIVir. HISTORY.

who undertakes an hlftory of an extenfive
period, mufl: meet with many blank fpaces,
which he mufl be forced to fill up out of his
own genius and conjedure ; yet, what we
have faid touching the fincerity of relations,
is to be underftood with fome referve ; for it
mufl be confelTed, fnice all human things
labour under imperfections, and conveniences
are almofl always accompanied with incon-
veniences, fuch kind of relations, efpecially
if they are publifhed about the times of the
a£lr> done, fmce they are many times written
either with favour or hatred, of all other
narrations are defervedly mofl fufpeded.
But then again, to this inconvenience a re-
medy alfo arifes : that thefe relations, as they
are not fet out by one fide only, but through
faction and partiality, are generally pub-
lifhed on both fides, do by this means open
and prepare away, as between extremes, to
truth ; and, after the heat of paflion is over,
to a good and wife hiftorian, they become
none of the worfl materials of a more perfed
hiflory.

As for lives, when I think on the fubjeCt
I am feized with a kind of admiration, that

thefe

ON CIVIL KISTORY. I47

thefe our times fhould not know their own
virtue, fince there is fo feldom any memoriai
or record of the lives of thofe who have been
eminent in our times ; for although kings,
and fuch as have abfolute fovereignty, may
be few; and princes in free common-wealths,
fo many ftates being converted into monar-
chies, are not many; yet, however, there
have not been wanting excellent men, though
living under kings, that deferve better than
Jin uncertain and wandering fame of their
memories, or dry eulogies. For to this point
the invention of one of the modern poets,
whereby he has enriched the ancient fidlion,
is not inelegant. He feigns, that at the end
of the thread of every man's life there hangs
a medal or tablet, whereon the name of
the deceafed is ftamped ; that time waits
upon the fheers of the fatal fifter ; and, aS
foon as the thread is cut, immediately takes
up the medals, carries them away, and a
little after throws them out of his bofom into
the river Lethe : and that about the river
there are a world of birds flying up and down
that fnatch the medals; who, after they
have carried them about in their beaks
a little while, through negligence, fufFer
L 2 them

14^ ON CIVIL HISTORY.

them to fall into the river. Among thefe
birds there are a few fvvans found, which
if they get a medal, are wont immediately
to carry it to a certain temple confecrated to
immortality ; now fuch fwans have almoil:
failed in our age; and although moft men,
abundantly more mortal in their purfuits and
ftudies than in their bodies, defpife the me-
mory of their name, as fmoke or air : Animl
nil magna laudis egentes : " Degenerate fouls,
*' not ambitious of fame and glory :" fuch
whofe philofophy and feverity fprings from
that root: Non prius laudes contempjimus^ quam
laudanda facer e defivlmus : *' We did not be-
*' gin to defpife praife till we had left off do-
ling praife- worthy things :" yet that with
us ihall not prejudice Solomon\ judgment:
*' The memory of the juft is blefled, but the
*' name of the wicked fhall rot." The one
perpetually flourifhes; the other either in-*
flantly paffes into oblivion, or putrifies into
an ill odour; and, therefore, in that very
ftyle or form of fpeech, which by received
cuftom and with great reafon is attributed
to the deceafed, " of happy memory ;*' " of
*' pious memory;'* " of bleffed memory ;"
we feem to acknowledge that which Cicero^

borrow-

ON ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY

149

borrowing it o^DemoJlhenes^ alledged : "That
*' good fame is the proper pofle^Iion of the
*' dead :" which poffeffion I caanot but ob-
ferve in our age lies generally wafle and
neglected.

ON ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.

rpCCLESTASTICAL hiftory in general
falls under the fame divifion in a man-
ner with civil hiflory; for there are ecclefi-
aftical chronicles, lives of fathers, relations
of fynods, and of the like things belonging
to the church. But in propriety of fpeech
it is rightly divided into the hiflory of the
church, keeping the general name; the hif-
tory of prophecy ; and thehiHory of Provi-
dence. The firfl delcribes the times, ?.nd
different ftates of the church miHtant; whe-
ther ihe be fluduant, as the ark in the
deluge; or moveable as the ark in the wil-
dernefs; or at reft as the ark in the temple :
L3 that

150 ON ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.

that is, the flate of the church ui perfecu-
tion, in remove, and in peace. In this part
I find no deficiency ; there is rather fuper-
fluity here than want : only this I could
wifh, that the virtue and fincerity of the
narrations anfwered to the mafs and quan-
tity.

The fecond part, which is the hiflory of
prophecy, confifls of two relatives, the pro-
phecy, and the accomplifhment ; and, there-
fore, the nature of fuch a work fhould be,
that every pi-ophecy of fcripture be forted
with the event fulfilling it, and this through-
out all the ages of the world, both for the
better confirmation of faith, and for the
cflablifliing a kind of art and fklU in the in-
terpretation of thofe prophecies which are yet
unfulfilled : allowing, neverthelefs, that la-
titude which is proper and familiar unto
divine prophecies, that their accomplifh-
ments may be both perpetual and pundual ;
for they are of the nature of their author,
" with whom one day is as a thoufand years,
*^ and a thoufand years but as one day :" and
though the fulnefs and height of their com-
pletiou may be afligned to fpme one age, or

evea

i

ON ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. I5I

even moment, yet they have in the mean
time many degrees and feals of accomplifh-
ment, throughout many ages of the world.
This work I fet down as deficient; but it is
of that nature as muft be handled with great
wiidom, fobriety, and reverence, or not
at all.

The third part, which is the hiftory of
Providence, has fallen indeed under the pens
of many pious men, but not without the
difference of parties. It is employed ui ob-
ferving that divine correfpondence which is
between God's revealed and fecret will ; for
although the counfels and judgments of God
are fo obfcure that they are, for the mofl
part, infcrutable to the natural man ; nay,
many times withdraw themfelves from their
eyes that look out of the tabernacle; yet, at
fome times it pleafes the divine wifdom, for
the confirmation of his own, and the confu-
tation of thofe who are " as without God in
*' the world," to write them in capital let-
ters, and offer them to fight fo vifibly, that,
as the Prophet faith, " he that runs may
♦^ read them :'* which is, that mere fenfual
L 4 and

l^Z ON ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.

and carnal men, who haften by God's judg-r
ments, and never fix down their thoughts
upon them ; yet, though they are upon the
fpeed, anduitend nothing lefs, are urged to
acknowledge them. Such are late and un-
locked for vengeances ; fudden and unex-
pected deliverances; the divine counfel paff-
ing through crooked mazes and ftnpendous
windings, and at length manifeftly difen-
tangling and clearing themfelves: which
ferve not only for the confolation of the
minds of the faithful, but for the aftonifh-
ment and conviclion of the confciences of the
wicked*

ON

ON THE APPENDAGES OF HISTORY. I53

ON THE APPENDAGES of HISTORY.

npHERE ought to be records kept, not
only of the deeds of mankind, but of
their words alfo ; yet it is true, that fome-^
times words are inferted in the hiftory itfelf
fo far as they conduce to a perfpicuous and
grave delivery of deeds. But books of ora-
tions, epiftles, and apothegms, are appro-
priated to the cuftodyof the fayings of men;
and, certainly, the orations of wife men
touching bufinefs, and matters of grave and
high importance, conduce much both to the
knowledge of the things themfelves, and to
eloquence.

But yet greater helps for the furnifhing
civil prudence are from the letters of great
perfonages, touching affairs of ftate ; for of
all the words of men, there is nothing, in
my judgment, more found and excellent
than thefe letters; for they are more na-
tural than orations, and more advifed than

extern"

154 ON THE APPENDAGES OF HISTORY.

extempore conference. The fame, when
they are continued according to the feries of
tim^e, as in thofe from ambaffadors, gover-
nors of provinces, and other minifters of
ftate, to kings or fenates, or from them to
their minifters, are without queftion, of all
others, the beft proviiion for hiftory ; and,
to a diligent reader, the befl hiftories them^
felves.

Neither are even apothegms only far
delight and ornament, but for bulinels, alfo,
and civil ufe. For they are, according to
Cicero, Secures, or Mucrones verborum ;
which, by their fharp edge, cut and pene-
trate the knots of affairs and bufinefs ; and
for occafions they run round in a ring ; and
what was formerly proper may be applicable
and of ufe again, whether a man produce
them as his own, or as ancient. It is a great
pity Cue far s book of apothegms is lofl ; for
as his hiftory, and thofe few letters of his
which we have, and thofe apothegms which
were his own, excel all others ; fo I
fuppofe would his collection of apothegms
have done. As for thofe which are coUeCled

hy

ON POETRY, 155

by other writers, either I have no tafte in
fuch matters, or elfe their choice has not
been happy.

And fo much for hiflory, or that part of
learning which anfwers to one of the cells or
domicils of the underftanding, which may
be properly called memory.

ON POETRY.

pOETRY is a part of learning, in meafure
of words for the moft part reftrained ;
in matter, loofe and licenfed ; and truly
refers to the imagination, which, not bring
tied to the laws of matter, may at plea lure
join what nature hath fevered, fever uhac
which nature has joined, and fo make un=
lawful matches and divorces of things : Pic-
toribus atque poetis^ &c. It is taken in two
fenfes, both in refped of words, or matter.
In the firft fenfe it is but a charader of ftyle,
and belongs to the arts of fpeech : in the
latter it is a principal portion of learning,
^nd is nothing elfe but feigned hiflory.

The

15^ ON POETRY*

The trueft and mofl proper partition of
poetry is narrarive, repreicntative, and al-
lufive. The narrative is a mere imiiiation of
hiftory, with the excefies before mentioned ;
chufmg for fubje6l commonly war and love,
rarely flate, andfometimes pleafure or mirth.
Reprefentative is, as it were, a vifible hif-
tory ; for it gives an image of actions as if
they were prefent, as hiftory does of actions
in nature as they are, which are pafl. Allu-
five, parabolical, or typical hiftory, which
brings down the intelledluals to fenfe.

As for narrative Poetry, or if you pleafe to
call it heroical, fo you underftand it of the
matter, not of the verfc, feems to be raifed
from a noble foundation, which makes
much for the dignity of man's nature*. For
the fenfible world being inferior in dignity
to the rational foul, this poetry feems to
give to human nature, what hiftory denies
it; and to fatisfy the mind with the ftiadows
at leaft of things, where the fubftance can-
not be had. For if the m.atter be thoroughly
conddered, a ftrong argument maybe drawn
from poetry, that a more illuftrious magni-
tude of things, a more perfedl goodnefs, and

a more

ON POETRY. 157^

a more beautiful variety pleafes the foul of
man, than what it can any way find in mere,
nature fmce the Fall : wherefore feeing the
a6ls and events which are the fubjeds af
true hiftory, are not of that magnitude to
content the foul of man, poetry is ready at
hand to feign a(^s greater and more heroicah.
Seeing true hiftory relates the fuccelTes of
adlions, in no wife proportionable to the merit
of vu'tue and vice, poetry corre£ls it, and
exhibits ilTues and fortunes more agreeable
to defert, and more according to the law of
Providence. Seeing true hiftory, by repre-
fenting actions and events more ordinary and
lefs diverfified, fatiates the mind of man,
poetry cheers and refreflies it ; chanting
things rare and unexpected, and full of al-
ternate variations. So that Poetry ferves
and contributes not only to dehght, but
alfo to magnanimity and morality: where-
fore it may very reafonabiy feem to partake
of a kind of divinity, becaufe it ere£ls and
exalts the fpirit with high raptures, by pro-
portioning the images of things to the defires
of the mind, not by confining and bending
the mind to the nature of things, as reafon
and .hillory do. And by thefe allurements

and

fjS ON POETRY.

and congrukles wkereby it foothes the foul
of man, joined alfo with concerts of muficj
whereby it may more fweetly infinuate itfelf ;
it hath made a way to efteem, even in very
rude times, and with barbarous nations,
where other learning has ftood wholly ex-
cluded.

Dramatic Poetry, whofe theatre is the
world, is of excellent ufe, if it were not
abufed. For both the inftrudion and cor-
ruption of the theatre may be great ; but the
corruptions in this kind abound : the difci-
pline is altogether negle£led in our times,
although in modern common- wealths the
adlion of the theatre be efleemed but as a
matter wholly ludicrous, unlefs it draws too
much from fatire; yet, the care of the an-
cients was, that it fhould inftrudl the minds
of men to virtue. Nay, wife men and great
philofophers, have looked upon it as a kind
of mufical quill of the mind ; and certainly
it is proved from fome fecret fympathy of
nature, that the minds of men are more open
to afFe£lions and impreffions, congregate,
than fohtary.

Bur

1

ON POETRY. 159

But parabolical Poetry excels the reft,
raid leems to be a facred and venerable thing ;
efpeciallj as religion itfelf makes ufe of its
lervice, and by its miniflry holds a divine
commerce with men. Yet even this alfo is
found to have been adulterated by the levity
and indulgence of mens minds about alle-
gories ; and it is of ambiguous ufe, and ap-
plied to contrary ends ; for it ferves to ob-
fcure, and it ferves alfo to illuftrate : in this,
there feems to be fought a way to teach : in
that, an art to conceal. And this way of
teaching which tends to illuflration, was
very much in ufe in ancient times; for
the inventions and conclufions of human
reafon, even thofe which are now trite and
common, were then flrange and unufual, and
the underftandings of men were not capable
of fuch fubtilty, unlefs thofe points were,
by fuch refemblanoes and examples, brought
down nearer to fenfe. Wherefore all things
in thofe ages were full of fables, parables,
asnigmas, and fimilitudes. Hence were the
fy mbols of Pythagoras^ the senigmas of
Sphinx, the fables oiMfcp, and the like. Fur-
ther, the apothegms of the ancient fages
exprefled a thing generally by fimilitudes.

Hence

l6o- O N P O E T R Y.

Hence Menenius Agr'ippa amongfl: the Romans i^
(a nation in that age by no means learned,)
repreiTed a fedition by a fable. And as hiero-
glyphics were before letters, fo parables were
before arguments : and even now there isj
as in times paft, much life and vigour in
parable; becaufe arguments cannot be fo
clear, nor even examples fo well applied.

But there remains yet another ufe of
parabolical Poetry, oppofite in a manner to
the former; tcndhig as we faid, to obfcure
fuch thingS) namely, the dignity whereof
deferves to be retired, and feparated^ as it
were, by a curtain : that is, when the fecrets
and myfteries of religion, policy, and philo°
fophyj are involved in fables and parables.

But whether there be any myftical fenfe
couched under the ancient fables of the poets^
may admit fome doubt: and indeed 1 con-
fel^, for my part, that I incline to this opi-
nion, that many of the fables of the ancient
poets had a myflery infufed into them; Nor
is it any argument with me, to pafs judg-
ment upon them contemptuouily, becaufe
they are left commonly to fchool-boys and
I gram-^

b . N Poetry. 161

gfammnrians, and are therefore little noted ;
but, on the contrary, fnice it is mantfeflly
clear, that the writings which recite thefe
fables, of ail the writings of men, next to
facred writ, are the moft ancient* and that
the fables themfelves are far more ancient
than they ; being recited by thofe w^riters,
as. credited and received before, not as in-
Vented by them, they feem to be like a fine
rarified air, which, from the traditions of
more ancient nations, fell into the flutes of
the G?'ecia?is: becaufe whatfoever has been
hitherto attempted for the interpretation
of thefe parables, by unfkilful men, gives us
no fatisfaction.

SuHELY of thofe poets which are now ex-*
tant, even Homer himfelf, notwithftandihg
he was made a kind of fcripture by the lat-
ter fchools of the Grecians^ yet I fliould with-
out any difficulty pronounce, that his fables
had no fuch inwardnefs in his own mean-
ing ; but what they might have upon a more
original tradition, is not eafy to affirm, for
he was not the inventor of many of them.

' Vol. IL M In

^6Z ON ? O E T R Y.

In this third part of learning, which is
poefy, I can report no deficiency. For being
as a plant that comes of the luft of the
earth, without a formal feed, it has fprung
up, and fpread abroad more than any other
kind : but to afcribe unto it that which is
due, for the expreffion of affe6lioiis, paflions,
corruptions, and cuftoms, we are beholden
to poets more than to the philofophers works ;
and for wit and eloquence, not much lefs
than to orators harangues. But it is not
good to flay too long in the theatre. Let
us now pafs to the judicial place or palace
of the mind, which we are to approach and
view with more reverence and attention.

ON

ON THE TRIUMPHS OF MAN. l6^

ON THE TRIUMPHS OF MAN.

'T^HE knowledge concerning the nature o£
man comprehends two things efpeci-
ally; namely, the contemplation of the mi-
fei-'ies of mankind, and of his prerogatives
or excellencies. But the bewailing of man's
miferies hath been elegantly and copioufly
fet forth by feveral in the writings, of
philofophers, as well as divines; and it is
both a pleafant and a wholefome contem-
plation.

But that touching man's prerogatives has
feemed to me a point that may well be fet
down among the deficiencies of learning.
Pindar, in extolling Hiero, fays moft ele-
gantly, " That he cropt oft the tops or
" fummits of all virtues." And truly, I
ihould think it would much conduce to the
magnanimity and honour of man, if a col-
ledtion were made of the ultimates in the
M 2 fcho-

J 64 ON THE TRIUMPHS OT MAN.

fcholaflic, or fummits in the pindaric phrafe,
of human nature, principally out of the faith-
ful reports of hiflory ; that is, " What is
*' the laft and higheft pitch to which hu-
** man nature in itfelf ever afcended, in all
*' the perfedlions both of body and mind ?"
What a ftrange ability was that which is re-
ported of Cafar, " That he could dicflate at
*' once to five amanuenfes !" So alfo the
exercitations of the ancient rhetoricians,
Protagoras, GorgJas; likewife of philofo-
phers, CalUJihenes, PoJJidonius, Carneades ;
who were able to difcourfe extempore upon
any fubje6l, pro or con, with fluency and
elegance, do much ennoble the power of mans
wit, and natural endowments. And that
which Cicero reports of his mafter Archias is
little for ufe, but admirable for ftrength of
faculty : " That he was able to recite extern-
^^ pore a great number of verfes, pertinent
*« to the difcourfe in hand whatever it was."
That Cyrus ov Sclpio could call fo many thou-
fands of men by their particular names, is a
lingular commendation to that faculty of the
mind, memory.

But

ON THE TRIUMPHS OF MAN. 165

But the trophies of moral vhtues are no
lefs famous than thofe of intelkaual. What
a mighty example of patience does that com-
mon ftory of Anaxarchus prefent unto our
thoughts, who, being put to the rack and
torture, bit out his own tongue, the hoped
inftrument of difcovery, and fpit it in the
tyrant's face ! Nor is that inferior for to-
lerance, though much in the dignity of the
caufe, of a certain Burgundian^ who had com-
mitted a murder upon the Prince o^ Orange:
this fellow being fcourged with iron rods,
and his flefti torn with burning pincers, gave
not fo much as a groan ; and, when a broken
piece of the fcaftold fell by chance upon the
head of one that ftood by, the fniged flig-
matized wretch, in the midft of his tor-
tures, laughed ; who, but a little before,
had wept at the cutting oft his curled head
of hair.

In like manner a wonderful ferenlty and
fecurity of mind has fhonein many at the
very inftant of death, as was that of a cen-
turion in Tacitus: he, being ordered by the
foldier that had commands to execute him,
M 3 to

t66 ON THE TRIUMPHS OF MAN".

to flretch forth his neck valiantly: ** I
*' wlfh," fays he, " thou wouldft flrike as
*' valiantly." But Jom Duke of Saxony,
when the commiffion vv^as brought him, as
he was playing at chefs, wherein his death
was commanded the next day, called to
one that flood by him, and fmiling, "Look,'*
fays he, *' if I have not the better hand
*' of the game. For he (pointing to him
** with whom he played) will boafl when I
*' am dead, that himfelf was the better of
« the fet,"

Chancellor More, of England, when
a barber came to him the day before he was
to die, fent, it feems, for this end, left
the fight of his long hair might more than
ordinary move compafllon in the people at
his execution, and alked, if he would not
pleafe to have his hair cut ? He refufed, and
turning to the barber, *' The King," fays
he, " is at fuit with me for my head; and
*' till that controverfy be ended, I mean to
*' beftow no cofl upon it.'* And the fame
perfon, at the very point of death, after he
had laid his head upon the fatal block,

railed

ON THE TRIUMPHS OF MAN. 167

Mifed himfelf up again a little, and having
a fair large beard, gently removed it, fay-
ing, " Yet, I hope, this hath not offended
" thy King." But not to dwell too long
upon this point, it is plain enough what we
mean: namely, that the wonders of human
nature, and its ultimate powers and virtues,
as well of mind as body, Ihould be colle6led
into, a volume ; which might ferve as a Ka-
lendar of human triumphs. For this purpofe
we approve the defign of Falerius Maximus,
and C. Plinius ; but w^ifh they had ufed more
diligence and judgment.

M4 On

j68 ON PHILOSOPHY,

On P I V I N E, NATURAL^

AND

HUMAN PHILOSOPHY.

'T^HE iinowledge of man is as the watera*
feme defcen ding from above, and fome
fprlnging from beneath ; the one informe4
by the light of nature, the other infpired by-
divine revelation.

The light of nature confifls in the notions
of the mind, and the reports of the fenfes ;
as for knowledge which man receiveth
by teaching, it is accumulated and not ori-
ginal, as in a water, that, bcfides its own
fpring-head, is fed with other fprings and
flreams. So then, according to thefe two
different illuminations or originals, know-
ledge is firft of all divided into divinity and
philofophy,

I In

ON PHILOSOPHY. 169

In philofophy, the contemplations of rtian
do neither penetrate unto God, nor are cir-
cumferred to nature, nor reflefted or re-
verted upon hhnfelf. Out of which feveral
inquiries there arife three fubjeds, di-
vine philofophy, natural philofophv, and
human philofophy, or humanity. For all
things are marked and ftamped with this
triple charader, of the power of God, the
difference of nature, and the ufe of man.
But becaufe the diftributions and partitions
of knowledge are not like feveral lines that
meet in one angle, and fo touch but in a
point; but are like branches of a tree, that
meet in a ftem, which has a dimenfion and
quantity of intirenefs and continuance before
it comes to difcontinue and break itfelf into
arms and boughs; therefore it is good, be-
fore we enter into the former diftribution,
toeredl and conftitute one univerfal fcience,
by the name oiPhllofofhia prirna^ " primitive
^' or fummary philofophy," as the main
and common way, before we come where
the ways part and divide themfelves; which
fcience, whether I fhould report as deficient
pr not, I ftaud doubtful.

For

I^O ON PHILOSOPHY.

For I find a certain rhapfody of natural
theology, and of divers parts of logic ; of
that part of natural philofophy which
concerns the principles ; and of the
other part of natural philofophy which
concernes the foul or fpirit: all thefe
ftrangely commixed and confufed : but being
examined, it feems to me rather a depre-
dation of other fciences, advanced and ex-
alted unto fome height of terms, than any
thing folidor fubftantial of itfelf.

Nevertheless, I cannot be ignorant of
the diftindlion which is current, that the
fame things are handled but in feveral re-
fpe£ls. As for example, that logic confi-
ders of many things as they are in notion ;
and this philofophy, as they are in nature;
the one in appearance, the other in exiilence :
but I find this difference better made than
purfued. For if they had confidered quan-
tity, fimilitude, diverfity, and the reft of
thofe external chara6lers of things, as philo-
fophers, and in nature ; their enquiries mull
of courfe have been of a very different kind
than they are.

For

- J

1

ON DIVINE PHILOSOPHY. I7I

For does any of them, in handling quan-
tity, fpeak of the force of union, how, and
how fiir it multiplies virtue ? Does any
give the reafon, why fome things in nature
are lo common, and in fo great mafs, and
others fo rare, and in lb frn all quantity ?
Does any, in handling fimilitude and diver-
fity, aflign the caufe why iron fliould not
move to iron, which is more like, hut move
to the load-flone, which is lefs fo ? Why,
in all diverfities of things, there Ihouid be
certain participles in nature, which are al-
mofl ambiguous, to which kind they (hould
be referred? But there is a mere and deep
filence touching the nature and operation of
thefe common adjuncls of things, as in na-
ture; and only a refuming and repeating of
the force and ufe of them in fpeecb or ar-
gument.

DIVINE PHILOSOPHY.

Divine philofophy, or natural theology,
is that knowledge or rudiment of knowledge
concerning God, which may be obtained by

the

172 ON DIVINE PHILOSOPHY.

the contemplation of his creatures; which
knowledge may be truly termed divine, in
refped of the object ; and natural, in refpect
of the light.

The bounds of this knowledge are, that
it fuffices to convince atheifm, but_.not to
inform rehgion: and therefore there was
never miracle wrought by God to convert
an a'theift, becaufe the light of nature might
have led him to confefs a God : but miracles
have been wrought to convert idolaters and
the fuperflitious, becaufe no light of nature
extends to declare the will and true worihip
of God,

For as all works do fhew forth the power
and Ikill of the workman, and not his image,
fo it is of the works of God, Vv^hich fliew
the omnipotence and wifdom of the maker,
but not his image : and therefore therein the
heathen opinion differs from thefacred truth ;
for they fuppofed the world to be the image
of God, and man to be an extract or com-
pendious image of the world : but the fcrip-
tures never vouchfafe to attribute to the
w^orld that honour, as to be the image of

God,

ON DIVINE PHILOSOPHY. I 75

God, but only the work of his hands : nei-
ther do they fpeak of any other image of
God, but man: wherefore by the contem-
plation of nature, to induce and enforce the
acknowledgment of God, and to demonftrate
his power, providence, and goodnefs, is an
excellent argument, and has been well
handled by many.

But, on the other fide, out of the con-
templation of nature, or ground of human
knowledge, to induce any verity or perfuafion
concerning the points of faith, is in my
judgment not fafe : Da fide i^ quae fidei fiint.
For the heathens themfelves conclude as
much, in that excellent and divine fable of
the golden chain : " That men and gods
*' were not able to draw Jupiter down to the
•' earth; but, on the contrary, Jupiter \Y2i^
*' able to draw them up to heaven."

So as we ought not to attempt to draw
down or fubmit the myfteries of God to our
reafon ; but on the contrary, to raife and
advance our reafon to the divine truth : fo
as in this part of knowledge, touching divine
philofophy, I am fo far from noting any

dcf{-

174 O^ DIVINE PHILOSOPHY*

deficiency, that I rather note an exceisj
whereunto I have digrefled, becaiife of the ex-
treme prejudice which both religion and phi-
lofophy have received, and may receive, by
being commixed together; as that which
\indoubtedly will make an heretical religion,
and an imaginary and fabulous philofophy.

Otherwise it is of the nature of angels
and fpirits, which is an appendix of theo-
logy, both divine and natural; and is nei-
ther infcru table nor interdicled : for although
the fcripture faith, " Let no man deceive
" you in fublime difcourfe touching the
*' worfliip of angels, preffing into that he
*' knoweth not, &c.'* yet, notwithftanding
if you obferve well that precept, it may ap-
pear thereby, that there are two things
only forbidden, adoration, and a fantaf-
tical opinion of them, either to extol them
farther than appertains to the degree of a
creature, or to extol a man's knowledge of
them farther than he hath ground. But
the fober and grounded enquiry, which may
arife out of the paffages of holy fcrlptures,
or out of the gradations of nature, is not
refiraiiied. So of degenerate and revolted

fpirits,

ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. I75

fpirlts, the converfing with them, or the
employment of them is prohibited, much
more any veneration towards them. But the
contemplation or fcience of their nature,
their power, their illufions, either by fcrip-
tureor reafon, is a part of fpiritual wifdom :
for fo the Apoftle faith; " We are not ig-
*' norant of his ftratagems." And it is no
more unlawful to enquire the nature of evil
fpirits, than to enquire the force of poifons
in nature, or the nature of fin and vice in
morality. But this part, touching angels
and fpirits, I cannot note as deficient, for
many have occupied themfelves in it : I may
rather challenge it, in many of the writers
thereof, as fabulous and fantaflical.

Leaving therefore divine philofophy, or
natural theology, not divinity, or infpired
theology, which we referve for the laftofall,
as the haven and flibbath of all man's con-
templations, we will now proceed to

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

If it be true what Bemocntus faid, *' That
" the truth of nature Jieth hid in certain

*' (Jeep

iy6 ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

*' deep mines and caves:" and if it be true
likewife that the alchymifls do fo much in-
culcate ; *' That Fulcan is a fecond nature,
*' and imitates that dexteroufly and com-
*' pendioully, which nature works bygrada-
" tion and length of time;" it were good
to divide natural philofophy into the mine
and the furnace, and to make two profef^
iions or occupations of natural philofophers,
fome to be pioneers j and fome fmiths ; fome
to dig, and fome to refine and hammer: and
furely I do beft allow of a divifion of that
kind, though in more familiar and fcholaflic
terms ; namely, that thefe be the two parts
of natural philofophy, the inquifition of
caufes, and the produdlion of effefts fpecu-
lative and operative ; natural fcience, and
natural prudence.

For as in civil matters there is a wifdom
of difcourfe, and a wifdom of dire6lion ; fo
is it in natural. . And here 1 will make a re-
quefl, that for the latter, or at leafl for ^
part thereof, Imay revive and redintegrate
the mifapplied and abufed name of nr.tural
magic, which in the true fenfe is but na-
tural wifdom, or natural prudence ; taken

accord-

ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. I'-j'J

according to the ancient acceptation, purged
from vanity and luperftition.

Now although it be true, and 1 know it
well, that there is an intercourfe between
caufes and effects, fo as both thefe know-
ledges, Tpeculative and operative, have a
great connection between themielves ; yet,
becaufe all true and fruitful natural philo-
fophy has a double fcale or ladder, afcen-
dent and defcendent ; afcending from expe-
riments to the invention of caufes; and
defcending from caufes to the invention of
new experiments ; therefore I judge it mofl
requifite, that thefe two parts be feverally
conlidered.

Natural fcience, or theory, is divided
into phyfic and metaphyfic ; wherein I de-
fire it may be conceived, that I ufe the word
metaphyfic in a different fenfe from that
which is received ; and, in like manner, I
doubt not but it will eafily appear to men of
judgment, that in this and other particulars,
wherefoever my conception and notion may
differ from, the ancient, yet I am ftudious to
keep the ancient terms.

Vol. II. N For

I'^t ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

For hoping to deliver myfelf from any
miftake, by the order and perfpicuous ex-
prefling of what I propound ; I am other-
wife zealous and affedlionate to recede as
little from antiquity, either in terms or opi-
nions, as may ftand with truth, and the pro-
ficiency of knowledge.

Physic, taking it according to the deri-
vation, and not according to our idiom for
medicine, is lituate in a middle term, or
diftance, between natural hiftory and meta-
phyfic : for natural hiftory defcribes the
variety of things, phyfic the caufes, but va*
riable or refpedive caufes ; and metaphyfic^
the fixed and conftant caufes.

L'lmus tit h'lc durefcit, et haec ut cera liquefcUj
TJno eodemq^ue igne.

Fire is the caufe of Induration but refpecSlive
to clay: fire is the caufe of colliquation but
refpeftive to wax : but fire is no conftant caufe
either of induration or colliquation; fo then
the phyfical caufes are but the efficient and
the matter.

'^ Physic

ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

^79

Physic hath three parts; whereof two
re'fpe6l nature united or colle6led, the third
contemplates nature diffufed or diftributcd.

Nature is collecftcd either into one entire
total, or elfe into the fame principles or feeds.
So as the firfl do6lrine is touchino; the con-
texture or configuration of things ; as de
mundo, de wiroerjitatc rerum.

The fecond is the doftrine concerning the
principles or originals of things.

The third is the doctrine concerning all
variety and particularity of things : whether
it be of the different fubflances, or their dif-
ferent qualities and natures : whereof there
needs no enumeration, this part being but as
a glofs or paraph rafe, that attends upon the
text of natural hiftory.

Of thefe three I cannot report any as de-
ficient. In what truth or perfection they
are handled, I make not now any judgment:
but they are parts of knowledge not deferted
bv the labour of man.

N 2 For

l8o ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

For Metaphysic, we affign unto
it the enquiry of formal and final caufes ;
which affignation, as to the former of them,
may feem to be nugatory and void, becaufe
of the received and inveterate opinion, that
the inquifition of man is not competent to
find out eflential forms, or true differences:
of which opinion we w^ill take this hold,
that the invention of forms is, of all other
parts of knowledge, the moft worthy to be
fought, if it can pofTibly be found.

As for the pofTibility, they are bad difco-
verers that think there is no land, when they
can fee nothing but fea.

But it is manifeft, that Plato, in his opi-
nion of ideas, as one that had a wit of eleva-
tion fituate as upon a cliff, did defcry, " That
*' forms were the true object of knowledge;"
but loft the real fruit of his opinion, by
confidering of forms as abfolutely abftra£led
from matter, and not confined and deter-
mined by matter ; and fo turning his opinion
upon theology, wherewith all his natural
philofophy is infeded.

But

ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. iSl

But if any man fhall keep a continual
watchful and fevere eye upon adion, opera-
tion, and the ufe of knowledge, he may
advife and take notice what are the forms,
the difclofures whereof are fruitful and im-
portant to the ftate of man. For as to the
forms of fubflances, man only excepted, of
whom it is faid, Formav'it homlnem de limo
terrae, et fpiravh In facie m ejus fpiraculum vi^
tae ; and not as of all other creatures ; Pro-
ducant aquae ^ pro ducat terra ; the forms of
fubftances, I fay, as they are now multi-
plied, by compounding and tranfplanting,
are fo perplexed, as not to be invefligated ;
no more than it were either poffible, or to the
purpofe, to feek in grofs the forms of thofe
founds that make words, which, by com-
pofition and tranfpofition of letters, are in-
fmite.

But, on the other fide, to enquire the
form of thofe founds or voices which make
fimple letters, is eafily comprehended; and,
being known, induces and manifefts the
forms of all words, which confifl and are
compounded of them. In the fame manner
to enquire the form of a lion, of an oak, of
N3 gold J

152 ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY^

gold; nay, of water, of air, is a vain pur-
fuit : but to enquire the forms of fenfe, of
voluntary motion, of vegetation, of colours,
of gravity and levity, of denfity, of tenuity,
of heat, of cold, and all other natures and
qualities,, which, like an alphabet, are not
many, and of which the effences, upheld by
matter, of all creatures do cpnfiil:: to en-
quire, I fay, the true form of thefe, is that
part of metaphyfic which we now define.

Not but that phyfic doth make enquiry,
and take confideration of the fame natures:
but how ? Only as to the material and ef-
ficient caufes of them, and not as to the
forms. For example : if the caufeof white-
nefs in fnow or froth be enquired, and it be
rendered thus; that the fubtile Intermixture
of air and water is the caufe, it is well ren-
dered; but, neverthelefs, is this the form
of whitenefs ? No ; but it is the efficient,
"Vvhich is ever but vehkidum formae.

We come uow to that knowledge where-
ijnto the ancient oracle dire£ls us, which is
tlie knowledge of ourfelves; that deferves
the more accurate handling, by how much.

it

1

ON NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 1 83

it touches us more nearly. This know-
ledge, as it is the end and term of natural
philofophy in the intention of man, fo, not-
withftanding, it is but a portion of natural
philofophy in the continent of nature; and
generally let this be a rule, that all parti-
tions of knowledge be accepted rather for
lines and veins, than for fe6lions and fepa-
rations; and that the continuance and en-
tirenefs of knowledge be preferved. For the
contrary hereof has made particular fciences
to become barren, fhallow, and erroneous,
while they have not been nouriihed and
maintained from the common fountain. So
we fee Cicero the Orator complained of So-
crates and his fchool, that he was the firft
that feparated philofophy and rhetoric,
whereupon rhetoric became an empty and
verbal art. So we may fee the opinion
of Copernicus touching the rotation of the
earth, which aftronomy itfclf cannot cor-
real, bccaufe it is not repugnant to any of
the phaenomena, yet natural philofophy may
corre6b. We fee alfo that the fcience of
medicine, if it be dellitute and forfaken by
natural philofophy, is not much better
than an empirica) pradice.

N 4 HUMAN

1S4 O^ HUMAN PHILOSOPHY.

HUMAN PHILOSOPHY.

Human phllofophy, or humanity, hath
two parts : the one confiders man fegre-
gate or diflributively : the other congregate,
or in fociety. So that human philofophy is
either fimple and particular, or conjugate
and civiL Humanity particularly confifts
of the fame parts of which man confifts : that
is, of knowledge which refpe£ls the body,
and of knowledge that refpe6ls the mind :
but before we diflribute fo far, it is good to
conftitute. For I take the confideration
in general, and at large, of human nature,
to be fit to be emancipated and made a know-.
ledge by itfelf ; not fo much with regard to
thofe delightful andelegantdifcourfcs which
have been m.ade of the dignity of man, of
his miferies, of his ftate and life, and the
like adjuncts of his common and undivided
nature; but chiefly in regard to the know-
ledge concerning the fympathies and con-
cordances between the mind and body, which
being mixed, cannot be properly afligned to
the fciences of either.

This

ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY. 185

This knowledge has tw - branches: for
as all leagues and amities confifi: of mutual
intelligence and mutual offices, fo this league
of mind and body has thefe two parts, how
the one difclofes tlie other, and how the
one works ucou the other, difcovery and
impreffiou.

The former of thefe has begotten two
arts, both of predicl'on orprenotion ; whereof
the one is honoured with the enquiry of
Anjlotk^ and the other of Hippncrates, And
although they have of later time been uf^d
to be coupled with fuperftition and fantaftic
arts, yet, being purged and reftored to
their true flate, they have both of them a
fohd ground in nature, and a profitable ufe
in life. The firfl is phyfiognomy, which,
difcovers the difpofition of the mind by the
lineaments of the body : the fecond is the
expofition of natural dreams, which difco-
vers the ftate of the body by the Imagina-
tions of the mind". In the former of thefe
I note a deficience; for Jlrijiotk has very
ingenioufly and diligently handled the fea-
tures, but not the geftures of the body,
which are no lefs ccmprehenfible by art,

and

J 86 ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY.

snd of greater ufe and advantage. For the
lineaments of the body dlfclofe the difpO'
fition and inclination of the mind in general :
but the motion of the countenance and parts
do not only fo, but do further difclofe tlic
prefe^it humour and ftate of the mind and
will. For, as your majcity faith moft aptly
and elegantly, " As the tongue fpeaketh to
'' the ear, fo the gefture fpeaketh to the
*' eye." And therefore a number of fubtle
perfons, whofe eyes dwell upon the faces
and fafhions of men, do well know the ad-
vantage of this obfervation, as being moft
part of their abihty : neither can it be de-
nied, but that it is a great difcovery of diffi-
mulation, and a great dir^^lion in bufmefs.

The latter branch, touching impreflion,
has not been collected into art, but has been
handled difperfedly : and it has the fame rela-
tion or analogy as the former. For the con-
sideration is double : *' Either how, and how
*^ far the humours and effeds of the body do
f ' alter or work upon the m.ind ;" or, how,
*' and how far the paflions or apprehenfionsof
*♦ the mind do alter or work upon the body.'*
The former of thefe has been enquired and
confidered as a part and appendix of medi-
cine.

ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY. 1 87

cine, but much more as a part of religion or
fuperflition : for the phyfician prefcribeth
cures of the mind in frenzies and melan-
choly paffions, and pretends alfo to exhibit
medicines to exhilarate the mind, to confirm
the courage, to clarify the wits, to corrobo-
rate the memory, and the like : but the fcru-
ples and fuperflitions of diet, and other
regimen of the body, in the fe£l of the Py-
ihagcreans, in the herefy of the Manicheans,
and in the law of Mahomet^ do exceed : fb
likewife the ordinances in the ceremonial
law, interdidling the eating of the blood and
fat, diftinguifhing between beafts clean and
unclean for meat, are many and ftriiO:. Nay,
the faith itfelf, being clear and ferene from
all clouds of ceremony, yet retains the
ufe of failings, abftinences, and other ma-
cerations and humiliations of the body, as
things real and not figurative. The root
and life of all which prefcripts are, beflde
the ceremony, the confideration of that de-
pendency, which the affedlions of the mind
are fubmitted unto, upon the ftate and difpo-
fition of the body. And if any man of weak
judgment conceives, that this fufil^ing of
the mind from the body does either queftion

the

l88 ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY.

the Immortality, or derogate from the fove-
reignty of the foul, he may be taught, in
eafy inftances, that the infant in the mother's
womb is compatible with the mother, and
yet feparable : and the mofl abfolute mo-
narch is fometimes led by his fervants, and
yet without fubje£lion. As for the recipro-
cal knowledge, which is the operation of
the conceits and paffions of the mind upon
the body, we fee all wife phylicians, in
the prefcriptions of their regimens to their
patients, do ever conlider accidentia animi, as
of great force to further or hinder remedies
or recoveries ; and more efpecially it is an
enquiry of great depth and worth concerning
imagination, how, and how far it alters the
body proper of the imaginant ; for although
it has a manifefl power to hurt, it follows
not it has the fame degree of power to help ;
no more than a man can conclude, that be-
caufe there be peflilent airs, able fuddenly
to kill a man in health, therefore there fhould
be fovereign airs, able fuddenly to cure a
man in iicknefs. But the inquifition of this
part is of great ufe, though it needs, as
Soc?'ates {zid, *' a Delian diver ;" being dif-
ficult and profound. But unto all this know-
ledge.

ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY, 1S9

ledge, de communl vinculo ^ of the concordances
between the mind and the body, that part of
enquiry is mofl necefl'ary which confiders
the feats and domiciles, which the feveral
faculties of the mind take and occupy
in the organs of the body : which knowledge
has been attempted and is controverted, and
deferves a much better enquiry. For the
opinion oiPlato^ who placed the underiland-
ing in the brain, animofity (which he did
unfitly call anger, having a greater mixture
with pride) in the heart, and concupifcence
or fenfuality in the liv^er, deferves not to be
defpifed, but much lels to be allowed.

The knowledge that concerns man's body
is divided, as the good of man's body is di-
vided, unto which it refers. The good of
man's body is of four kinds; health, beauty,
flrength and pleafure : fo the knowledge
is, medicine, or art of cure; art of decora-
tion, which is called cofmetic ; art of adi-
vity, which is called athletic ; and art volup-
tuary, which Tacitus truly calls eruditus luxus.
This fubjedl of man's body is, of all other
things in nature, mofl fufceptible of remedy ;
but then that remedy is mofl fufceptible of
error. For the flime fubtilty of the fubject

caufes

Ipb oK HITMAN PrtlLOSOPHt.

Caufes large poifibility and eafy falling ; arid
therefore the enquiry ought to be the more
exa<^.

To fpeak therefore of medicine, and to
refume that we have faid, afcending a httle
higher; the ancient opinion that man was
jnicrocofmus^ an abftradl or model of the world,
has been fantaftically flrained by Paracelfus,
and the alchymifts, as if there were to be
found in man's body certain correfpondences
and parallels, which (hould have refpe6t to
all varieties of things, as flarsj planets, mi-
nerals, which are extant in the great world.
But thus much is evidently true, that of all
fubilances which nature has produced, man's
body is the moft extremely compounded:
for we fee herbs and plants are nourifhed by
earth and water ; beafls, for the moft part,
by herbs and fruits; man by the flefh of
beafts, birds, fifties, herbs, grains, fruits,
water, and the manifold alterations, dref-
fings, and preparations of thefe feveral bo-
dies, before they come to be his food and
aliment. Add hereunto, that beafts have a
more ftmple order of life, andlefs change of
affedions to work upon their bodies ; where-
as

I

on HUMAN PHILOSOPHY. ipl

as man In his manfion, fleep, exerclfe, and
pafiions, has infinite variations : and it cannot
be denied, but that the body of man, of all
other things, is of the mofl compounded
mafs. The foul, on the other fide, is the
moft fimple of fubflances, as is well ex*
prefled:

Purumque rcliquit,

Acthereum fenjiim, atque aural fimpUcis ignem.

So that it is no marvel though the foul fo
placed enjoy no reft, if that principle be
true, that Motusrerum ejlrapidus extra locum,
flacldus in locQ, But to the purpofe : this
variable compofition of naan's body has made
It as an inllrument eafy to diftemper; and
therefore the poets did well to conjoin mu-
fic and medicine in Apollo, becaufe the office
of medicine is but to tune this curious harp
of man's body, and to reduce it to harmony.
So then, the fubjecl being fo variable, has
made the art, by confequence, more con>
jedural; which has made fo much the
more place to be left for impofture. For
almoft all other arts and fciences are judged
by acls or maftcr-pieces, u» they may be

ternic^d,

tQl ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY.

termed, and not by the faccefles and events*
The lawyer is judged by the virtue of his
pleading, and not by the ilTue of the caufe*
The mafler of the fhip is judged by the
dire£ling his courfe right, and not by the
fortune of the voyage. But the phyfician,
and perhaps the politician, have no particu-
lar ads demonftrative of their ability, but are
moftly judged by the event; which is ever
but as it is taken : for w^ho can tell if a
patient die or recover, or if a ftate be pre-
ferved or ruined, whether it be art or acci-
dent ? And therefore many times the im-
poflor is prized, and the man of virtue taxed.

Medicine is a fcience which has been, as
we have faid, more profefled than laboured,
and yet more laboured than advanced : the
labour having been, in my judgment, rather
in circle than in progreffion. For I find much
repetition, but fmall addition. It confiders
the caufes of difeafes, with the occafions or
impulfions ; the difeafes tliemfelves, with
the accidents; and the cures, with the pre-
fer vations.

In

ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY, 1^3

In the confiderationof the cures of difeafes
I find a defiGience h\ the receipts of propriety,-
refpedling the particular cures of difeafes :
for the phyficians have frustrated the fruit
of tradition and experience by their ma-^
giflerially, adding and taking out, and
changing quid pro quo, in their receipts, at
their. pleafure ; fo commanding over the me-
dicine, as the medicine cannot command
over the difeafe : for, except it be treacle and
mithridatum, and of late diafcordium, ajid a
few more, they tie themfelves to no receipts
feverely and religioufly: for as to the con-
fedions of lale wdiich are in the fhops, they
are for readinefs, and not for propriety ; fof
they are upon general intentions of purging,
opening, comforting, altering, and not much
appropriated to particular difeafes; and this
is the caufe why empirics and old women
are more happy many times in their cures^
than learned phyficians, becaufe they are
more religious in holding their medicines*
Therefore, here is the deficience which I
find ; that phyficians have not, partly out of
their own practice, partly out of their con-
ftant probations reported in books, and partly
out of the traditions of empirics, fet down
Vol. IL O and

194- ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY.

and delivered over certain experimental me-
dicines, for the cure of particular difeafes,
belides their own conjectural and magifterial
defcriptions. For as they were the men of
the beft compofition in the ftate of Rome^
which either being confuls inclined to the
people, or tribunes inclined to the fenate :
fo in the matter we now handle, they are
the beft phylicians who, being learned, in-
cline to the traditions of experience ; or,
being empirics, incline to the methods of
learning.

In preparation of medicines I find it flrange,
(efpecially confldering how mineral medi-
cines have been extolled, and that they are
fafer for the outward than inward parts) that
no man hath fought to make an imitation
by art of natural baths, and medicinal foun-
tains; which, neverthelefs, are confeffed to
receive their virtues fi*om minerals; and not
only fo, but difcerned and diftiuguiihed from
what particular mineral they receive tinc-
ture, as fulphur, vitriol, fleel, or the like ;
which nature, if it may be reduced to com-
pofition of art, both the variety of them

will

ON Human philosophy. ig^

^all be increafed, and the temper of them
will be more commanded.

For Cosmetic, it hath parts civil, and
parts effeminate : for cleannefs of body was
ever efteemed to proceed from a due reve-
rence to God, to focietv, and to ourfeives*
As for artificial decoration, it is well worthy
of the deficiences which it has ; being nei-
ther fine enough to deceive, nor handfome
to ufe, nor wholefome to pleafe*

For Athletic, I take the fubje6l of k
largely : that is to fay, for any point of ability,
'whereunto the body of man may be brought,
whether it be of adivity, or of patience ;
whereof activity has two parts, ftrength and
fwiftnefs: and patience likewife has two
parts, hardnefs againft wants and extre-
mities, and endurance of pain or tormc;nt ;
whereof we fee the practices in tumblers,
in favages, and in thofe that fuffer punifh-
ment: nay, if there be any other faculty
which falls not VvUthin any of the former di-
vifions, as in thofe that dive, who obtain a
ftrange power of containing refpiration, and
the like, I refer it to this part. Of thefe
O 2f things

196 ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY-

things the prafllces are known, but the
philofophy that concerns them is not much
enquired ; the rather I think, becaufe they
are fuppofed to be obtained, either by an
aptnefs of nature which cannot be taught,
or only by continual cuftom, which is foon
prefcribed; which though it be too true,
yet I forbear to note any deficiences ; for the
Olympian games are down long fuice, and the
mediocrity of thefe things is for ufe: as for
the excellency of them, it ferves, for the
moft part, but for mercenary oflentation.

For Arts of fenfual pleafure, the chief
deficience in them is ©flaws toreprefsthem.
For as it has been well obferved, that the
arts which flourifh in times while virtue is
in growth, are miHtary; and while virtue
is in ftate, are liberal; but when in de-
clination, are voluptuary : fo I doubt, that
this age of the world is fomewhat upon the
defcent of the wheel. With arts voluptuary
I couple praaices joculary ; for the deceiving
of the fenfes is one of the pleafures of the
fenfes. As for games of recreation, I hold
them to belong to civil life and education.
And thus much of that particular human

philo-

ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY. 1 97

phllofophy which concerns the body, which
is but the tabernacle of the mind.

For human knowledge, which concerns
the mind, it has two parts; one that en-
quires the fubftance or nature of the foul or
mind, the other that enquires the faculties
or functions thereof.

Unto the firft of thefe, the confiderations
of the origin of the foul, whether it be
native or adventive, and how far it is ex-
empted from laws of matter, the immorta-
lity thereof, and many other points which
belong to it, and that have been not more
laborioufly enquired, than varioufly reported ;
fo as the traveller therein taken feems to
have been rather in a maze than in a way.
But although I am of opinion, that this
knowledge may be more really and foundly
enquired even in nature than it has been;
yet I hold, that in the end it muft be bounded
by religion, or elfe it will be fubje(5l to de-
ceit and delufion : for as the fubftance of the
foul in the creation was not extradled out of
the mafs of heaven and earth, by the bene-
di(!lion of a producat, but was immediately
0 I in.

I9S ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY,

infpired from God ; fo it is not poilible tha^
itfhould be, otherwlfe than by accident, fub-
je£l to the laws of heaven and earth, which
are the fubjetO: of philofophy ; and therefore
the true knowledge of the nature and ftate
of the foul mufl come by the fame inlpira-
tion that gave the fubflance.

The knowledge which refpe^ls th^ facul«
ties of the mind of man, is of two kinds ; the
pne refpe6ling his underftanding and reafon,
^nd the other his will, appetite, and affec-
tion; whereof the former produces pofition
or decree, the latter a6lion or execution. It
is true, that the imagination is an agent or
puficius in both provinces, both the judicial,
and the miniilerial. For fenfe fends over
t'O imagination before reafon has judged, and
reafon fends over to imagination before the
decree can be acled : for imagination ever
precedes voluntary motion, faving that this
Janus of imagination has different faces; for
the face tow^ards reafon has the print of
truth, but the face towards a6lion has the
print of good ; \yhich neverthelefs are faces ♦

^ales cleat ejfe fororum.

I Nei-

ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY. I99

Neither is the imagination fimply and
only a meflenger, but is invefled with, or
at leafl: ufurps no fmall authority in itfelf,
befides the duty of the meffage. For it was
well faid by Ariptle ; " That the mind hath
*« over the body that commandment which
" the lord hath over a bondman; but that
*' reafon hath over the imagination that
" commandment which a magiftrate hath
" over a tree citizen ;" who may come alfo
to rule in his turn. For we fee, that in
matters of faith and religion we raife our
imagination above our reafon, which is the
cauie why religion ever fought accefs to the
mind, by fnnilitudes, types, parables, vi-
fions, and dreams. Again, in all perfualions
that are wrought by eloquence, and other
impreiTions of like nature, which paint and
difgulfe the true appearance of thing'^, the
chief recommendation to reafon is from
the imagination.

The part of human philofophy which is
rational, of all knowledge, to mofl wits, is
the leafl dehghtful, and feems but a net of
fubtilty and fpinofity : for as it was truly
faid, that knowledge is pabulum ammi; fo in
O 4 the

%Q0 ON HUMAN PHILOSOPHY.

the nature of mens appetite to this food,
moft men are of the tafte and ftomach of
the Ifrcielites in the defart, who would fain
have returned ad ollas carnium, and were
weary of manna : which, though it were ce-
leftial, yet feemed lefs nutritiv^e and com-
fortable : fo generally men tafte well know-
ledge that is drenched in flefh and blood,
civil hiftory, morality, policy, about which
mens affedions, praifes, fortunes, do turn
and are converfant ; but this fame lume7i fie-
cum doth parch and offend mofl: mens watery
and foft natures. But to fpeak truly of
things as they are in worth, rational know-
ledge is the key of all other arts ; for as
Arijlotk fays aptly and elegantly, " That
" the hand is the inftrument of inflruments,
''.and the mind is the form of forms:" fo
thefe are truly faid to be the art of arts :
neither do they only dire6l, but likewife con-
firm and ftrengthen : even as the habit of
fhooting does not only enable to fhoot a
iiearer fhot, but alfo to draw a ftronger bow,

ON

ON MEMORY. 20|

ON MEMORY.

^TTE will divide the art of retaining, or of
the cuftody of knowledge, into two
do£lrines : that is, the dodlrine touching the
helps of memory, and that which refpeds
the memory itfelf. A help to memory is
writing, no doubt ; and it mufl: by all means
be noted, that memory, without this fup-
port, w^ould be too weak for more prolix and
accurate matters : therefore there can hardly
be a thing more ufeful to memory, than a
fubftantial and learned digefl: of common
places. Yet I am not ignorant, that the
transferring thofe things we read or learn to
common places, is reckoned by fome as a
prejudice to learning, retarding the courfeo^f
it, and encouraging the memory in idlenefs.
Neverthelefs, becaufe it is but a counterfeit
bufinefs, to be pregnant and forward in learn-
ing, unlefs you are withal folid, and every
way furnifhed : I hold the diligence and
pains in collecting common places, to be a
inatter of very gre;it ufe and certainty in

Rudy]

202 ON MEMORY.

ftudy; as that which furnifhes plenty to
invention, and contrails the eye of the j^idg-
Hient to a point. It is true, however, that
of the methods and fyftems of common-
places, I have chanced to fee hitherto, there
is none of any worth ; for in their titles
they carrv the face of a fchool, rather than
of the world; making vulgar and pedantic
divifions, and not fuch as any way penetrate
the marrow and pith of things.

As for memory itfelf, that feems hitherto
to have been enquired into, without method
or accuracy. An art indeed there is extant
of it: but we are certain, that there may be
had both better precepts, for the confirming
and increafmg memory, than that art com-
prehends; and a better practice of that
very art may be contrived, than that what
is received. Yet I make no doubt, but if
a man has a mind to abufe this art to often-
tation, fome wonderful and prodigious mat-
ters may be performed by it: neverthelefs,
for ufe, as it is managed, it is but barren.
However, I do not tax it with deflroying and
over-charging the natural memory, which
is cpmmonly objeded; but that it is not

dex-

ON M E INI O R \% 203

dexteroufly applied to lend affidance to me*
mory in buiiiiels and ferious afrairs. And
we have learned, perhaps, from our civil
courfe of life, not to value things that make
oftentation of art, but are of no ufe. For to
repeat inftantly a vaft number of names or
words, upon once hearing, in the f^ime or-
der they were delivered ; or to pour forth
abundance of verfes upon any argument ex->-
tempore-, or to touch every thing that occurs
with fome fatyrical fimil : ; or to turn all
things ferious into a jeft; or to elude any
thing by contradiction or cavil, and the like ;
whereof in the faculties of the mind there is
a great ftore ; and which by wit and pra6lice
may be carried even to a miracle: all thefe
and fuch like thln2:s we make no more ac-
count of, than of the agiUties and tricks of
rope-dancers, tumblers, and jugglers: for
they are, in a manner, the fame ihing; feeing
thefe abufe the powers of the body, and thofe
the powers of the mind; and perchance they
may have fomewhat of wonder in them, but
little or no utihty,

As for the art of memory, that is built
f)Ut upon two intentions, prenotion and em-
blem :

204 ON MEMORY.

blem : we call prenotion a certain limit of
vague inveftigation ; for when a man endea*
vours to recall any thing to memory, if he
has no prenotion, or preconception of that he
feeks, he feeks, indeed, and takes abundance
of pains, and runs up and down this way
and that way, as in a maze of infinity : but
if he has any certain prenotion, immediately
the infinity is cut off, and the memory beats
nearer home; like the hunting of a fillow-
deer within a park. Therefore it is evident,
that method helps memory ; for there is a
fecret prenotion, that the thing fought mufl
have a congruity with method. So verfes
are more eafily got by heart than profe. For
if a man hefitates at a word, prenotion fug-
gefts, that it mufl be fuch a word as will
{land in the verfe : and this prenotion is the
firfl part of artificial memory: for in me-
mory artificial we have places digefled and
provided before-hand. Images we make ex-
tempore^ according to the prefent occafion :
tut there is a fecret prenotion, that the
image mufl be fuch as ha^ fome refemblance
with the place; this being the thing that
excites the memory, and in fome fort makes
w:ay for it to the thing we are in fearch of,

EmblejvI

ON MEMORY. 205

Emblem reduces conceits intelledual, to
images fenfible : thefe ftrike the memory
more forcibly, and are more eafily imprinted
there, than things intelle£lual. So we fee
that even the memory of brutes is fhirred up
by a fenfible objed, but not by an intellec-
tual : therefore you will more eafily retain
the image of a huntfman purfuing a hare ;
or of an apothecary fetting in order his
bottles; or of a pedant making a fpeech; or
of a boy reciting verfes by heart ; or of a
droll afting upon a ftage; than the bare
notions of invention, difpofition, elocution,
memory, or aftion. There are other things
alfo pertaining to the help of memory ; but
the art now in ufe confifts of the two things
now premifed. And to purfue the particu-
lar defects of arts would be to depart from
our propofed method: w^herefore let thus
much fuffice for the art of retaining, or of
cuftody.

ON

^o6 oK RHETOR tC,

ON RHETORIC;.

T> HETORIC, or oratory, is a fcience botti
excellent in itfelf, and by writers ex-
quifitely improved. Yet eloquence, if a man
confiders the thing truly is, without doubt,
inferior to wifdora. For we fee how much
this furpaffes that, in thofe words of God to
Mofes^ when he refufed the charge affigned
him for want of elocution : " There is
*' Aaron ^ he fhall be to thee inflead of a
** mouth; and thou flialt be to him inftead
^' of God." Yet in profit and popularefteem^
wifdom gives place to eloquence. For {a
fays Solomon: *' The wife in heart fhall be
" called prudent: but the fweetnefs of the
*' lips fhall find greater things." Prov. xvio
21. Signifying not obfcurely, that pro-
foundnefs of wifdom will help a man to a
name, or admiration ; but that it is eloquence
w^hich prevails mofl in bufinefs, and in com-
mon life. And as to the labouring of this
art, the emulation of Ar'ijiotk^ with the rhe-
toricians of his time; and the earnefl and

vehement

ON RHETORIC. 207

•vehement diligence of Cicero, endeavouring
with all might to ennoble it, joined with
long experience, hath made them in their
books, on this fubjecSl:, exceed themfclves.
Again, thofe mofl: excellent examples of elo-
quence in the orations of Demojihenes and
Cicero, added to the acutenefs of the precepts,
have doubled the progreffion in this art ; and
therefore the deficiences which we find in it
will rather be in fome coUedions, which
may as hand-maids attend, than in the rules
or ule of the art itfelf.

Notwithstanding, to flir the earth a
little about the roots of this fcience, as our
fafhion is, furelj rhetoric is fubfervient to
the imagination, as logic is to the underftand-
ing. And the office and duty of rhetoric, if
a man enters any thing deep into the m^atter,
is no other, than to apply and commend the
dictates of reafon to the imagination, for the
better moving of the appetite and will. For
we fee reafon is attacked and diilurbed in her
adminiflration by three means; either by
the fallacy of fophifms, which belongs
to logic ; or by the enchantment of words,
which pertains to rhetoric ; or by the vio-
lence

2o8 ON RHETORIC.

lence of paflions, which pertains to morality,-
For as in negociation with others a man ufes
to be overcome and prevailed upon, either
by cunning, by importunity, or by vehe-
mence : fo alfo in that inward negociation,
which we exercife with ourfelves, we are
either undermined by the fallacies of argu-
ments ; or folicited and difquieted by the
afliduity and variety of impreffions ; or fhaken
and tranfported by the aflault of paflions.
Neither is the nature of man fo unfortunate,
as that thofe powers and arts fhould have
force to dethrone reafon, and not to flrength-
en and eflablifh it ; nay, much more do they
conduce to this effect, than to the contrary.
For the end of logic is, to teach a form of
arguments, to fecure reafon, and not to en-
trap It. Likewife the end of morality is to
compofe the afFe6lions in fuch manner, that
they may f ght for reafon, and not invade it.
Laltly, the end of rhetoric is to fill the ima-
gination with objects and ideas, to fecond
reafon, not to opprefs it : for the abufes of
an art come in but obliquely, for cautiouy
not for ufe.

It

ON RHETORIC. ^69

It was therefore great injuftice In PJato^
though fpringhig outof a juft hatred to the
rhetoricians of his time, to place rhetoric
amongfl the arts voluptuary : refembling it
to cooker}-, wliich did fpoil wholefome meats,
and render unwholefome pleafant, by variety
of fauces. For we fee that fpeech is mucff
more converfant in adorning that which is
good, than in colouring that which is evil ;
for there is no man but fpeaks more honeflly
than he either thinks or a£ls : and it was
excellently noted by I'hucydides in Cleon^
" That becaufe he ufed to hold on the bad
*' fide in caufes of flate, therefore he was
" ever inveighing againft eloquence and
" good fpeech ;" as knowing full well, that
no man can Ipeak fair of courfes fordid and
bafe; but can of honeft ones with the greateft
eafe. And therefore as Plato faid elegantly;
" That virtue, if fhe could be feen, would
*' move great love and affedlion :" fo, feeing
file cannot be fhe wed to the fenfe, by cor-
poreal fhape, the next degree is, to fhew
her to imagination in lively reprefentation :
for to (hew her to reafon, only in fubtilty
of argument, was a thing ever derided in
Chryjippus^ and many of the Stoics, who

Vol. II. P thought

210 ON RHETORIC,

thought to obtrude virtue upon men by
fharp difputations and conclufions, which
have no fympathy with the imagination and
will of man.

Again, if the afFe6lions in themfelves
were phant and obedient to reafon, it is
true, there would be no great ufe of perfua-
fion and infmuation to procure accefs to
the mind ; for it would be fufficient if things
were nakedly and fimplypropofed and proved :
but on the contrary, the affedlions make
fuch mutinies and feditions, according to
that:

J^'idco meVioya probcqifCf
Dctcriora fcquor :

That reafon would be entirely led away
into fervitude and captivity, if the perfua-
iions of eloquence did not win the imagina-
tion from taking part with the affedions,
and contract a confederacy between reafon
and imagination againft the aftedlions ; for
it mull: be noted, that the affections of them-
felves are ever carried to good apparent, and
in this refpedl have fomewhat in common
with reafon; but herein they differ: That

the

ON RHETORIC. 211

the aitecllons behold chiefly good prefent;
butreafon, lookmg forward, beholds alfo
that which is future, and good on the whole.
And therefore, as things prefent more for-
cibly fill the imagination, reafon commonly
yields, and is vanquifhed: but when once
eloquence and perfuafion have made things
future and remote appear as adually prefent,
then, upon the revolt of the imagination to
the fide of reafon, reafon prevails.

We conclude therefore, that rhetoric can
be no more charged with the colouruig of
the worfe part, than logic with fophiftry,
or morality with vice. For who does not
know, that the dodrine of contraries are the
fame, though the ufe be oppofite ? Again,
logic differs from rhetoric, not only in this,
that the former, by a common fimile, is like
the fift ; the latter like the palm ; that is,
the one handles things clofely, the other at
large : but much more in this, that lofflc
confiders reafon in its natural truth; rhe-
toric, as it is planted in popular opinions and
manners : and therefore Arijlotle doth wifely
place rhetoric between logic on the one fide,
and moral or civil knowledge on the other,
P^ as

MZ ON RHETORIC.

as participating of both : for the proofs and
demonftrations of logic are toward all men
indifferent and the fame ; but the proofs and
perfuafions of rhetoric ought to vary accord-
ing to the auditors ; that a man like a mufi-
eian, accommodating himfelf to different
ears, may become, '■

Orpheus in Silvisy inter Delphi nas j^rion.

Which kind of application and variance
of fpeech, if a man defires the perfection and
height of it, ought to be fo far extended,
that if a man were to fpeak the fame thing
to feveral perfons, he fhould fpeak to them
all refpe(^ively, and feveral ways. Though
this politic part of eloquence in private fpeech
it is eafy for the greateft orators to want ;
whilfl: by obferving their well graced forms
of fpeech, they lofe that volubility of appli-
cation, and chara6lers of difcourfe, which
in difcretion they Ihould ufe towards parti-
cular perfons. Certainly it would not be
amifs to recommend this, of which we are
fpeaking, to better enquiry, and to call it,
** The wifdom of private fpeech ;" and to
refer it to deficients : a thing furely, which
the more ferioufly a man fhail think on, the

more

ON RHETORIC. 213

more highly he fhall value. And whether
this (hould be placed here, or in that part
which concerns policy, is a matter of no
great confequence.

And now let us defcend to the deficiencies
of this art, which, as I faid, are of fuch a
nature, that they maybe efteemed rather as
appendages, than portions of the art itfelf ;
and pertain all to the promptuary part, for
the furniture of fpeech, and readinefs of in-
vention.

Colores bom ct mali, Jz*nplices et comparaii.

First then, I do not find any one that
has well purfued, or fupplied the wifdom
and diligence too of Ariftotle. He began to
make a colledion of the popular figns or
colours of good and evil, both (imple and
comparative, which are as the fophifms
of rhetoic. They are of excellent ufe,
efpecially as to bufinefs, and the wifdom
of private fpeech : but the labour of
Arijiotle^ concerning thefe colours, is three
ways deficient: firft, that he recites but
P 3 f«w

2l\ ON RHETORIC.

few of many; fecondly, that their refutations
are not annexed; thirdly, that he feems
to have conceived but a part of the ufe of
them ; for their ufe is not more in probation,
than in atTe6ting and moving. For many
forms of fpeech, which are equal in Signifi-
cation, are yet different in impreflion. For
that which is fharp, pierces fir more effec-
tually than that which is blunt, though the
flrength of the percufhon be the fame : for
there is no man but will be more raifed by
hearing it faid, " Yourenemies will triumph
*' flrangely at this :"

Hoc Ithacus vel'ity et magno mercentur Atr'ida :

Than by hearing it barely faid, *' This will
*' prejudice your affairs." Wherefore thefe
fharp-edged and quick-pointed fpeeches are
by no means to be negle(^ed.

Secondly, I refume alfo that which I
mentioned before, touching provifion or pre-
paratory flore, for the furniture of fpeech,
and readinefs of invention, which appears
to be of two forts : the one in refemblance

to

ON RHETORIC. 215

to a ihop of pieces unmade up; the other to
a fhop of things ready made up, both to be
apphed to that which is frequent and moft
in requeft : the former of thefe I will call
anthheta, and the htterformulije,

Antithet A are thefes argued p?'o et contra,
wherein men may be more large and labo-
rious ; but, in fuch as are able to do it, to
avoid prolixity of entry, 1 wifh the feeds of
the feveral arguments to be cafl up intofome
brief and acute fentences, not to be cited ; but
to be as fcanes or bottoms of thread, to be
unwinded at large when they come to be
ufed ; fupplying authorities and examples
by reference.

Pro Verbis Legis.

Kon eji interpretatio, fed drjinatio, quae recedit a litera.
Cum recedit ur a liter a Judex tranjit in legijlatorem.

Pro Sententia Legis.

Ex omnibus verbis eJi cliciendus fcnfus^ qui interpretatur
fngula.

Formulae are but decent and aptpaflages

or conveyances of fpcech, wliich may ferve

P4 in^

a|6 ON RHETORIC,

indifFerently for different fubjedls; as of
preface, coiiclufion, digreffion, tranfition,
excufation, &c. For as in buildings there
is great pleafure and ufe in the well cafting
of the ftair-cafes, entries, doors, windows,
and the like : fo in fpeech, the conveyances
and paffages are of fpecial ornament and
effeft.

A Conclusion in a Deliberative.

So may ive redeem the faults pajjed^ and prevent the incon-
veniences in future.

On

ON CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE, &C. 2l7

On critical

AND

PEDANTICAL KNOWLEDGE,

'T^HERE remains two general appendages
touching the tradition of knowledge:
the one critical ; the other pedantical. For
as the principal part of tradition of know-
ledge confifts in writing of books; fo the
relative part thereof confifts in reading of
books. Now reading is governed and di-
re6led by mafters and teachers, or perfected
by every man's particular induftry: and to
this purpofe ferve the two forts of know-
ledge mentioned, whereunto appertain inci-
dently thofe confiderations.

To the critical part appertain, firft, an exa£t
corre6tion, and true edition of approved au-
thors ; whereby both the honour of authors
themfelves is vindicated, and a light given

to

2l8 ON CRITICAL AND

to the ftudious : in which, however, the rafh
dihgence of Ibme men has done great preju-
dice to fludies. For it is the manner of many
critics, when they meet with a paflage they do
not underftand prefently, to prefume it a fault
in the copy : as the prieft that, where he
found it written of St. Paid, Demijfus ejl per
fportam, mended his book, and made it, De-
mijfus eft per portam^ becaufe fporia was an
hard word, and out of his reading; and,
iurely, their errors, though they are not fo
palpable and ridiculous, yet are of the fame
•kind : as in that paflage of T'acitus : when a
certain colony claimed the privilege of the
fandluary in the fen ate, Tacitus reports, that
what they aliedged was not favourably re-
ceived by the emperor and the fenate: upon
which the ambalTadors, diftrufting their
caufe, gave Titus Finius a round fum of
money to maintain their fuit ; and by this
means the thing was granted: " Then,'*
fays Tacitus, " the dignity and antiquity of
" the colony prevailed :" as if the arguments,
that feemed light before, received then a
new weight by the addition of a bribe. Here
a certain critic, none of the meanefl:, ex-
punges the word tum^ and inftead thereof

rellores

PEDANTICAL KNOWLEDGE. 219

reftores tantum. And by this perverfe cuflom
of critics, it has come to pafs, as one wifely
noted, " That the moft corrected copies are
*' commonly leall: correal." And indeed,
to fpeak truth, iinlefs the critics are well
ikilled in the fubjeds handled in the books
they put out, their diligence is not without
danger.

Secondly, There belongs to the critical
art, the interpretation and expofition of au-
thors, commentaries, fcholias, notes, felec-
tions, and the like. And in labours of this
kind, that contagious difeafe of critics hath
feized many, of paiFmg over moft of the ob-
fcurer pafl'ages, and dwelling and expatiating
even to naufeoufnefs upon things that are
plain and perfpicuous. For the thing in-
tended is not fo much to illuftrate the au-
thor, as that the critic himfelf, upon every
occalion, may fhew his manifold learning,
and various reading. It were much to be
wifhed, that the writer who handles obfcure
and noble arguments, would annex his own
explications ; that neither the text itfelf may
be broken off by digreflions or explanations ;
and that the notes may not depart from the

mind

220 ON CRITICAL AND

mind and intention in the writer. Some
fuch thing we fufp.ecl of I'heon upon Euclid,

The third is concerning the times, which,
in many cafes, give great light to true in-
terpretations.

The fourth is concerning the fyntax and
difpofitlon of ftudies, that men may know
in what order or purfuit to read.

FiF-TKLY, it belongs to the critical art,
from whence alfo it had its name, to inter-
pofe fome brief cenfure and judgment of the
authors they publifh ; and to compare them
with other writers that handle the fame fub-
je6ls; to the end that by fuch a cenfure
fludents may be both advertifed of the choice
of books, and come better provided to the
perufal of them. And this laftpart is, as it
were, the chair of the critics, which certainly
has been ennobled by fome great men in our
age; greater, furely, in my judgment, than
for the model of critics.

For pedantical knowledge, it contains
that difference of tradition which is proper

for

PEDANTICAL KNOWLEDGE, 22l

for youth ; in which point it were foon faid,
" Confult the fchools of the Jefnits \'* for
nothing that has come into ufe and practice
can be better than they are. However we
will, according to our fafhion, fuggefl a few
things after the manner of gleaners. We do
by all means approve a collegiate education
of childhood and youth ; not in private hou-
fes, nor under fchool-mafters only. In col-
leges there is a greater emulation towards
their equals ; befides, there is the counte-
nance and afpedl of grave men, which very
thing contributes to modefly, and fafhions
tender minds even from the beginning to a
pattern : in fine, there are advantages in
abundance of a collegiate education.

For the order and manner of difcipline,
this I would principally advife, that they
beware of abridgements, and too great for-
warding in learning, which renders wits bold
and confident, and makes rather a fliew of
great proficiency, than efFccls it.

Furthermore, fome indulgence fliould

be given to the liberty of wits ; fb that if

anyone performs the talks which the difci-

I pline

22.2 ON CRITICAL AND

pllne of the place requires, and yet flcal^
time for other things to which he is inchnedj
he may not be retrained.

Again, it may be worth while carefully
to confider, which perhaps hitherto has not
been noted, that there are two ways, and
thofe as it were diametrically oppofite, of
training up, exercifmg, and preparing the
genius. The one begins with the eafieft
things, and by degrees leads to the more
difficult : the other, at firft, commands and
preffes the more difficult, that thefe being
maftered he may go through the eafier with
the more delight. For it is one method to
learn to fwim with bladders, which hold up,
and another to learn to dance with heavy
fhoes, which prefs down. And it is not eafy
to exprefs how much a prudent intermixture
of thefe methods conduces to the advancing
the faculties both of mind and body.

Another confideration is, the application
of learning, according to the propriety of
the genius ; for there is no defeat in the
intellectual faculties, but feems to have a
proper cure contained in fome fludies : as for

example.

PEDANTICAL KNOWLEDGE. 223

example, if a child be giddy, that is, hath
not the faculty of attention, the mathema-
tics give a remedy thereunto; for in them,
if the mind be diverted for a moment, one
is to begin a-new. And as fciences have a
propriety tov/ards faculties for cure and help ;
fo faculties or powers have a fympathy to-
wards fciences for excellency or fpeedy pro*
fiting ; and therefore it is an enquiry of great
wifdom, what kind of wits and natures are
moil: apt and proper for refpeclive fciences.

Furthermore, in the courfe of teac^iing,
excrcifes have a mighty flroke to hurt or
help : but there is a point here that has been
noted by few ; whicli is, that there ought
to be not only a wife ordering of exercifes,
but a wife intermiffion of them alfo. For
Cicero has an excellent obfervation : " That
" in exercifes it often happens, that men
" exercife their faults, as well as their fa-
*' culties :" fo that an ill habit is fometimes
got at the lame time, and iniinuates itfelf
together with a good one. Wherefore it is
a fafer way to intermit exercifes, and to re-
peat them every foot, than incefiantly to
continue and purfue them.

It

224 OJ^ CRITICAL AND

It were long to particukrife a number of
other confiderations of this nature, thmgs
but of mean appearance, though of fingular
efficacy : for as m plants, the hurting or
cherifhing of them while they are young is
a matter of the greateft importance towards
their thriving or mifcarrying; and as the
immenfe greatnefs of the Roman empire is
by fome defervedly attributed to the virtue
and wiidom of thefe fix kings, who were as
tutors or fofter- fathers to it in its infancy:
fo furely, the culture and manuring of minds
in youth, has fuch a forcible, though unfeen
operation, as hardly any length of time, or
contention of labour, can countervail after-
wards. And it is not amifs to obferve alfo,
that even fmall and mean faculties, if they
fall into great men, or great matters, do
work great and important efFe6ls. Of this
we will fet down a memorable example;
which we bring the rather, becaufe the Je-
fuits themfelves fecm not to defpife this kind
of difcipline ; and upon found judgment, in
my opinion. And it is a matter which, if it
be made a trade, is dlfreputable ; if a part
of difcipline, excellent. We mean theatri-
cal action; as that which ftrengthens the

memory,

I

i'EDANtlCAL KNdlVLEDGE. 225

memory, moderates the tone and emphafis
of the voice and pronounciatlon, compofes
the countenance and carriage to a decorum,
gives a good affurance ; and, in fine, inures
youth to the faces of men. The example
fhall be from "Tmtus, of one Fibulenus, for-
merly an aa:or, but at that time a foldier in
the Pamtonian legions. This fellow, upon
the death of Jugujlus, had raifed a mutiny,
fo that Blcefus, the lieutenant, committed
fome of the mutineers : but the foldiers by
violence broke open the prifons and refcued
them : whereupon Vihuknus got to be heard>
and began his harangue to the foldiers in
this manner: " To thefe poor innocent
" wretches you have reftored indeed light
*' and life : but who reftores life to my bro-
*' ther; who, my brother to me ? That was
" fent unto you in meffage from the German
'' army, to treat of the common caufe, and
*' he hath murdered him this laft night by
*' fome of his fencers and ruffians, that he
*' has about him, ready armed for his exe-
" cutions upon foldiers. Anfwer Bla>fusy
" where have you thrown his body ? The
•' moil mortal enemies do not grudge burial.
Vol. II. n ** ^Vh^^^

226 ON CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE, &C.

«* When I have glutted my grief with k'lf-
*' ling, and weeping over the corpfe, com-
** mand me alfo to be murdered ; fo that
*' thefe our fellow-foldiers have leave to
** bury us, {lain for no offence, but for our
*' good meaning, and our true hearts to the
*' legions." With which fpeech he put the
army into an infinite fury and uproar ; to
fuch a degree, that unlefs it had foon after
appeared that there was no truth in this, and
that he never had a brother, the foldiers
would have gone near to have laid violent
hands upon the lieutenant. But it was mere
ading in him, as if he had played a part
upon the ftage.

Di^

on moral knowledge, 227

On moral knowledge.
THE DOCTRINE

O F T H E

IMAGE OF GOOD,

"TTTE are now come to moral knowledge,
which confiders the will of man«
Right reafon governs the will, good appa-
rent feduces it. The fpurs of the will are
the afFedions ; her minifters, the organs and
voluntary motions. Of this faculty Solomon
fays : " Above all keepings, keep thy heart ;
*' for out of it iffue the adlions of life."
Prov. iv. 23. In handling this fcience, they
who have written of it, feem to me to have
done, as if a man, who profefTed to teach
writing, fhould only exhibit fair copies of al-
phabets, and letters joined, without giving
any precepts or diredlions for the carriage of
0^2 the

22S ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE,

the hand, and frammg of the letters: fo
have they exhibited beautiful copies, and
accurate draughts or portraitures of good,
virtue, duty, felicity, as the true obje<^s
and fcopes of man's will and defires; but
how to take a juftlevel at thefe marks, placed
by them in the fairefl: point of view; that is,
by what methods and directions the mind
may be fubdued and framed to become true
and conformable to thefe purfuits ; this they
pafs over altogether, or perform it (lightly
and tinprofitably. For it is not the arguing
that moral virtues are in the mind of man
by habit, and not by nature ; or formally
diftinguifhing, that generous fpirits are won
by dodrines and perfuafions, and the vulgar
by reward and punifliment ; or the ingenious
precept, that to redlify the mind of man ^
it mufl, like a ftaff, be bent the contrary way
to its inclination ; and the like fcattered
glances and touches, that can excufe the ab-
fence of this part.

The reafon of this omiflion I fuppofe to
be no other, than that hidden rock, on
which this, and many other barks of know-
ledge, have been cail away ; which is, that
^ writers

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 22^

Avriters defplfe to be coiiverfant in ordinary
and common matters, which are neither
fubtile enough for difputation, nor rich
enough for ornament. Verily, it cannot ea-
sily be expreffed, what a calamity this very
thing we fpeak of has brought upon fcience;
that men, out of an inbred pride and vain-
glory, have made choice of fuch fubje6ls,
and of fuch a method and manner of handling
them, as may fet ofFtheir wit, rather than
conduce to the reader's profit. But here
Seneca gives an excellent check : Nocet illis
eloquentia, quibus non rcrum cupldltatem facity
fed Jul: Dodrines ihould be fuch as fhould
make men admire their juftnefs and utility,
and not the author : being directed to the
auditor's benefit, and not to the author's
commendation. Therefore they take a right
courfe who can vouch that of their counfels,
which Demofthenes did, and conclude them
with this claufe: " Which things if you
** put in execution, you will not only com-
" mend your orator at prefent, but your-
** felves likewife not long after, by reafoii
*' of a more profperous flate of your af-
*' fairs."

0^3 To

2^0 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

To fpeak truth of myfelf, both in the
works I now p\ibll(h, and in thofe I think
of hereafter, I have often willingly thrown
lip the glory of my own wit and name, if I
am entitled to any, while I fludy to advance
the good and profit of mankind : and I that
have merited to be an architect perhaps in
philofophy and the fciences, am made even
a labourer and a drudge, and any thing in
ihort; while I fuflain and execute myfelf
many things, which muft of neceffity be
done, but which others, from an mnate pride,
fhift off from themfelves. But to return
to the matter in hand, I was obferving, phi-
lofophers in moral fcience hav-e chofen to
themfelves a certain refplendent and illuftri-
ous mafs of matter, to give glory either to
the fubtilty of their wit, or to the vigour of
their eloquence ; butfuch precepts as chiefly
dired the pradice in life, which confifls not
in novelties or fubtleties, they have for the
mofl part omitted.

Neither ought men of fuch excellent

parts to have defpaired of a fortune like that

which th: poet Fi/gi: promifed himfelf, and

indeed obtained ; who got as much glory of

^ elo^uence^

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 23 1

eloquence, wit, and learning in exprefling
his obfervations ofhufbandry, as in relating
the heroical a<fls of Eneas:

Necfum anim'i dnblus z^erbls ea vhicere magnum
^amfit, et angujTis hunc adder e rebus honor em.

Georg. Ill, 289.

*' Nor can I doubt what oil I muft beflow
*• To raife my fubjeft from a ground fo low :
*' And the mean matter which my tlieme affords
»' To embellifh with magnificence of words."

Dryden.

And fiirely, if authors meant in good
earneft not to write at leifure, that which
men may read at leifure, but really to in-
ftrud and be affifting to aftive life ; thefe
G^orgics, that is, this huibandryand tillage
of the mind of man, ought to be in as much
efteem with men, as thofe heroical defcrip-
tions of virtue, good, and felicity, whereon
fo much labour and cofl has been beflowed.

We will therefore divide moral philofo-

phy into two fundamental and principal doc-

trnies : the one concerning the exemplar or

image of good; the other - concerning the

0^4 re-

Z^Z ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

regimen or culture of the mind, which part
we are w-ont to call the georgics of the mind :
that defcribes the nature of good ; ^his pre-
fcribes rules how to fubdue, apply, and ac-
commodate the will of man to it.

' The do£lrine touching the exemplar,
which refpedls and defcribes the nature of
good, coniiders good, either funple or com-
pared: that is, the kinds of good or the
degrees of it. In the latter of thefe, the
infinite difputations and fpeculations touch-
ing the fupreme degree of good, which they
termed felicity, beatitude, or the highefl
good, the dodlrines which conftitute the
heathen divinity, are by the Chriflian faith
taken away and difcharged. For as j^rijlotle
fays, " That young men may be happy,
** but no otherwife than by hope:" fomufh
we all, being fo taught by the Chriftian
faith, acknowledge ourfelves to be but chil-
dren and minors, and think of no other fe-
licity than that which is in hope of the
future world.

I^REED, therefore, and delivered from that
^oftrineof the.philofopher's heaven, in which

doubt"

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 233

dcubtlefs they attributed to man's nature a
higher elevation than it was capable of; for
we fee in what a height of ftile Seneca writes :
*' It is truly great to have the frailty of a
*' man, and the fecurlty of a God:" we
may certainly with more fobriety and truth
receive the reft of their enquiries and labours,
concerning the doarine of the exemplar or
platform. For as concerning the nature of
pofitive and fimpl.e good, they have drawn
it admirably, in defcribing the forms of vir-
tue and duty, with their fituations and pof-
tures, in diftributing them into their kinds,
parts, provinces, adions, and adminiftra-
tions, and the like: nay further, they have
commended them to man's nature and fpirit
with great force of argument, and beauty
ofperfuafion; yea, fortified and entrenched
them, as much as difcourfe can do, againft
corrupt and popular opinions. Again, for
the degrees and comparative nature of good,
they have excellently handled this alio in
their triplicity of good ; in the comparifons
between a contemplative and a£live life; in
the diftindion between virtue in trial, and
virtue fecured and confirmed ; in the con-
tefts between honefty ^nd intereft ; in the

balancing

234 O^' MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

balancing of virtue with virtue, to fee which
out-weighs the other; and the like. So that
this part touching the platform I find excel-
lently laboured, and that the ancients herein
liave Ihewed themfelves admirable men: yet
fo, that the philofophers have been far out-
gone by the pious and painful diligence of
divines, in weighing and determining duties,
moral virtues, cafes of confcience, and. the
bounds and limits of fm.

If philofophers, Iiowever, before they had
come to the popular and received notions of
virtue and vice, pleafure and pain, and fo
forth, had ftaid a little longer upon the en-
quiry concerning the roots of good and evil,
and the fibres of thofe roots, they had given,
in my opinion, a great light to ail that which
might fall into enquiry afterwards : above
all, if they had confulted as well the nature
of things, as the axioms of morality, they
had made their doclrines lefs prolix, and
rnore profound ; which being by them in
part omitted, and in part handled with much
eonfufion, we will briefly re-examine, and
endeavour to open and clear the very fprings
of morality, before we come to the do^lrine

of

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 235

of the culture of the mind, which we fet
down as deficient; for this, in my judg^
ment, will give the doflrine of the platform,
a kind of new life and fpirit.

There is inbred and imprinted upon
every thing an appetite to good of a double
nature : the one, as a Vv'hole in itfelf ; the
other, as a part or member of fome greater
whole, x^nd this latter is worthier and more
excellent than that other, becaufe it tends to
the confervatlon of a more ample body.
The firfl may be called individual or felf-
good ; the latter the good of communion.
The iron by particular fympathy moves to
the load-ftone: but yet if it exceeds a cer-
tain quantity, it forfakes the affedion to the
load-ftone, and, like a good citizen and true
patriot, moves to the earth, the region and
country of its connaturals. To proceed a
little further : water and mafly bodies move
to the center of the earth, to the great con-
gregation of clofe compa6led bodies; yet,
rather than to fuffer a divulfion in the conti-
nuance of nature, and that there fhould be,
^s they talk, a vacuum, thefe bodies will
move upwards from the center of the earth,

for-

236 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE,

forfaking their duty to it, that they may
perform the general duty they owe to
the world : fo is it ever feen, that the con-
fervation of the more general and public
form, commands and governs the lefler and
more particular appetites and inclinations.
But this prerogative of the good of commu-
nity is efpecially engraven upon man, if he
degenerate not, according to that memorable
fpeech of Pompey the Great ; who, being
commiffioned for the importation of corn,
when there was a famine at Rome, and being
dilTuaded with great vehemence by his friends
that he would not hazard himfelf to fea in
extremity of weather, made this anfwer only :
*' There is a necellity for my going, but no
*' neceflity for my living.*' So that the
defire of life, which in every individual is
fo predominant, did not out-balance in him
the love and allegiance to the republic. But
why do we dwell upon this point ? There
was never found, in any age of the world,
cither philofophy, or fedt, or religion, or
law, or difcipline, which did fo highly exalt
the good of communion, and deprefs good,
private and particular, as the holy Chriflian
faith ; whence it clearly appears, that it was

one

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 237

©ne and the fame God that gave the Chrlflian
law to men, who gave thole laws of nature
to the creatures. Wherefore w^e read, that
fome of the ele£l faints have wifhed them-
felves anathematized and erafed out of the
book of Hfe, rather than their brethren
ihould not attain fah-ation, in an extacy of
charity, and an infinite defire of the good of
communion. Rom. ix.

This being laid down as an immoveable
unfhaken pofition, puts an end to fome of
the mofl weighty controverfies in moral
philofophy: for firft, it determines that
queflion concerning the preference of the
contemplative to the aftive life; and that,
againft the opinion 0I Arifiotk, For" all the
reafons which he brings for the contempla-
tive life, refpea private good, and the plea-
lure and dignity of a man*s felf only ; in
which refpeds, no doubt, the contempla-
tive life has the pre-eminence: for the
contemplative life is not much unhke that
comparifon which Pythagoras made for the
gracing and magnifying of philofophy and
contemplation: who being alked by Hkro
w^iathcwas; arfwered: '* That i:/V^r^ knew
2 <« vvell

13S ON Moral knowledge;.

*« weJ^j if he had ever been at the Olym-*
*' fian games, the manner there is, that
*' feme come to try their fortunes for the
*' prizes; others, as merchants, to vend
«* their commodities; and fome to meet their
'* friends, to make good cheer, and be
'' m.erry ; ethers came to look on : and
*' that he was one of them that came for
" that purpofe." But men fhould know, that
-in this theatre of human Hfe, it is fit only
for God and angels to be lookers on. Nei-
ther could any doubt, touching this point,
have arifen in the church from this paffage,
*' Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the
*' death of his faints,'* by which they exalt
their civil death and regular profeffion, ex-
cept upon this fuppofition, that the monadic
life is not fimply contemplative, but alto-
gether converfant in ecclefiaftical duties ; as
inceffant prayer ; facrifices of vows offered
to God ; writing alfo theological books, for
the propagating the doctrine of the divine
law, as Mofes did, when he abode fo many
davs in his retirement upon the mount. And
fo Enoch, the feventh from Adam, who feems
to have been the firfl founder of the contem-
plative life ; for he is faid to have " walked

<« with

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 239

*' with God;" yet endowed the church'with
a book of prophecy, which is alfo cited by
St. Jude. But for mere contemplation, ter-
minated in itfelf, and which cafts no beams
of heat or light upon human fociety, af-
furedly divinity knows it not.

It decides alfo the queftion, controverted
with fuch heat, between the fchools of Zejjo
and Socrates, on the one fide; who placed
felicity in virtue, either iimple or adorned,
with other goods, which virtue has ahvays
had a principal fhare in the duties of Hfe,
and feveral other feds and fchools, on the
other fide, as the fchools of the Cyrenaicks
and Epicureans, who placed it in pleafure,
and made virtue to be but as an hand- maid,
without which, pleafure conld not be welt
ferved and waited upon; as alfo the other
reformed fchool of Epicums, which aflerted
felicity to be nothing elfe but a tranquillity
and ferenity of mind, free and void of all
perturbations; as if they intended to de-
throne Jupltery and rcftoi-e Saturn with the
the golden age, when there was neither
fummer, winter, fpring, nor autumn, but
one fcrene air and feafon : laftly, the ex-
ploded

240 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE*

ploded fchool of Pyrrho and Herillus, who
placed felicity in an utter extinction and
exemption of all fcruples and dlfputes of
mind, making no fixed and conftant nature
of good and evil, but efleeming a6lions good
or evil, according as tjiey proceeded from
the mind, with a clear and undifturbed mo-
tion, or, on the contrary, with averfion and
reluctance ; which opinion has been revived
in the herely of the Anabaptifts, who mea-
fured all things according to the motions and
inflinCls of the fpirit, and the conftancy or
wavering of belief. But it is manifeft, that
all this, which we have recited, tends to pri-
vate repofe, and complacency of mind, and
no way to fociety and the good of the
community.

Again, it cenfures alfo the phllofophy
of Epi&etus, who prefuppofes this : that fe-
licity muft be placed in thofe things which
are in our own power ; left otherwife, we
fhould be liable to fortune and accidents : as
if it did produce more happinefs to fall of
fuccefs, and to be fruftrated, in worthy and
generous intentions and ends for public good,
than always to have our wifh in all things

relating

i

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 24I

relating to our own private fortune only.
As Confaho^ fhewing his foldiers Naples,
bravely protefted, " That he had much ra-
*' ther run himfelf upon certain ruin, by
*' fetting one foot forward, than prolong
" his life for many years by retreating one
" foot backward :'* to which the wifdom of
that heavenly philofopher alfo has fub-
fcribed who pronounced, *' That a good
*' confcience is a continual feaft:" plainly
fignifyijig, that the confcioufnefs of good
intentions, however unfuccefsful, affords
more folid and fincere joy, and to nature
more agreeable, than all that provifion where-
with man can be furniflied, either for the
fruition of his defirps, or the reft and repofe
of his mind.

It cenfures likewlfe that abufe of philo-
fophy which grew general about the time
of Epi£ietus', which was, that philofophy
was converted into a profeffory kind of life,
and as it were into an art: as if the purpofe
of philofophy was, not to reprefs and extin-
guifli perturbations, but to ihun, and keep
at a diftance, the caufes and occafions of
them ; and therefore a particular kind and

Vol. II. R courfe

Z^Z ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

courfe of life were to be {haped to that end :
introducing indeed fuch a health of mind,
as was that of body in Herodicus, wdiom
jlriflotk fpeaks of: *« That he did nothing
^' all his life long, but ftudy his health ;"
and therefore abftaincd from an infinite num-
ber of things ; being, in the mean time,
immerfed, as it were, in the ufe of his body :
but were the duties of fociety the delight of
a man's foul, that health of body, when all
is done, is principally to be deftred, which
is mofl able to bear and overcome all altera-
tions and fhocks whatever: likewife, that
mind only is to be reckoned truly and pro-
perly found and flrong, which can break
through the moil: and greatefl temptations
and perturbations. So that Diogenes feems
to have fpoken judicioufly, who commended
fuch ftrength and powers of mind, as were
able, not warily to abftain, but bravely to
fuftain; w^hich can reftrain and check the
fallies of the foul, even in the greatefl pre-
cipices ; and can do wdiat is commended in
well-rnanagcd horfes, that is, flop and turn
in the mofl: narrow compafs.

Lastly^

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 243

Lastly, it cenfures a certain delicacy
and want of application, noted in fome of
the moft ancient and reverend philofophers,
who withdrew too eafily from civil bulinefs,
for avoiding indignities and perturbations,
and that they might live more unftained, and
as it were facred in their perfons : whereas
the refolution of a man truly moral ought to
be fuch, as the fame Confaho required in a
military man, viz. That his honour fhould
be tela crajfiore^ of a ftronger texture, and
not fo fine, as tliat every thing (hou'ld catch
in it, and tear it.

PRIVATE GOOD,

'AND THE

GOOD OF SOCIETY.

T E T us now refume and profecute
firfl:, private and particular good.
This we will divide into good active, and
good palhve. For this difference of good,
fimilar to thofe appellations among the
R 2 Romans

^44 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

Romans in their oeconomics of Promus and
Condus^ is found deeply engraven upon the
univerfal nature of things, and is bed dif-
clofed in the two feveral appetites in crea-
tures ; the one to preferve and fortify them-
felves, the other to multiply and dilate
themfelves : whereof the latter, which is
active, feems to be the ftronger and wor-
thier ; and the former, which is paffive, may
well be judged the inferior. For in nature,
the heavens, which are the more worthy,
are the agent; and the earth, which is the
Icfs worthy, is the patient. In the pleafures
of living creatures, that of generation is
greater than that of food. In divine doc-
trine, " it is more bleffed to give than to
*' receive." A6ls xx, ^^. In common life
too, there is no man's fpirit fo fbft and ef-
feminate, but he efleems the effeding of
fomethino; that he has fixed in his delire,
more than any fenfuality or pleafure. And
this priority of adive good is highly exalted
from thp Gonfi deration of our eftate being
mortal, and expofed to the flroke of fortune.
For if we might have a perpetuity and cer-
tainty in our pleafures, the price of them
Woul^ be advanced, on the account of their

fecuritv

I

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 24^

fecuritycind continuance. But when we fee
it is but Magni ajiimamus, ^c. " We fet a
*' great value upon dying a little later :"
and, " Boaft not of to -morrow ; thou know-
" eft not what a day may bring forth :" it
makes us defire to have fomething fecured
and exempted from time; which can be
oiily our deeds, as it is faid, " Their w^orks
*' follow them." Revel, xiv.

The pre-eminence likewife of this aclive
good is proved, by the aftcclion which is
natural in man tow^ards variety and pro-
greffion; wdiich affection, in the pleafures
of the fenfe, which is the pruicipal part of
pafiive good, can have no great latitude.
" Do but think," fliys Seneca, '* how^ often
" you have enjoyed the fame things; meat,
*' fleep, diverfion ; we run round in this
" circle: fo not only a brave, a miferable,
" or a wife man, but a nice faftidious perfon
** would wifh to die." But in the enter-
prizes, purfuits, and purpofes of life, there
is much variety, which affords great plea-
fure in their inceptions, progreffions, recoils
in order to renew their forces, approaches,
attainments of their ends, and the like: io
R3 it

246 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

it was well and truly find :" *' A life that
" propofes no end to piirfue, is vague and
" infipid.'* Neither has this a£live good
^ny identity with the good of fociety, though
in fome cafes it is coincident with it; for
although it does many times hring forth
a6ls of beneficence, yet it is private with
refpe6l to a man*sown power, glory, amplifi-
cation, and continuance ; as appears plainly,
when it lights upon a fubjed which is con-
trary to the good of fociety. For that gi-
gantic flate of mind, which pofleffes the
difturbers of the world, fuch as was Lucius
Svl/a, and infinite others in fmaller model,
who would have all men happy or unhappy,
as they are their friends or enemies, and
would give form to the world according to
their own humour, w^hich is "the true the'
miachy^ pretends and afpires to aclive good,
though it recedes farthefl from the good of
fociety, which we have determined to be
the greater.

To refume paflive good, we will fubdivide
it into good confervatlve, and good perfec-
tiv^e. For there is impreffed upon every
thing a triple defireor appetite, in refpe^l of

private

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 247

private or particular good : the firfl, of pre-
ferving or continuing itfelf ; the fecond, of
advancing and perfe(5ling itfelf; the third,
of multiplyLiig or extending itfelf. But this
laft appetite refers to active good, which we
have already handled. There remain there-
fore only the two other goods mentioned;
whereof the perfe£live excels : fince to pre-
ferve a thing in its natural flate, is lefs than
to advance the fame in a higher nature. For
there are found through all eflences fome
nobler natures, to the dignity and excellency
of which inferior natures do afpire, as to
their origin and fource. So in man :

Tgncus cji oU'is vigor et coelcfm or'igo.

^N.VI 73-.

" Th' ethereal vigour Is in all the fame,
** And ev'ry foul is fiU'd with equal flame."

DRYDE^^

His approach to divine or angelical nature
is the perfeftion of his form ; a depraved and
prepoflerous imitation of which perfective
good, is that which is the tempeft of human
life, while man upon the impulfe of an
R 4 advance-

S48 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

advancement formal andeffentlal, is carried
to feek an advancement only local : like thole
who are fick and find no remedy, rove up
and dov^^n in change of place, as if by a
remove local, they could obtain a remove
internal, and flilft off their difeafe. So is
it in ambition; that men, being poflefled
and led away with a falfe refemblance of
exalting their nature, purchafe nothing elfe
but an eminence and elevation of place. So
then paffive good is, as was faid, either con-
fervative or perfe6llve.

To re fume the good of confervation or
comfort, which confifts in the fruition of
that which is agreeable to our natures, it
feems to be the moft pure and natural good,
yet it is the fofteft and loweft. And this
alfo receives a difference, which has nei-
ther been accurately examined nor decided :
for the good of fruition or delight is placed
either in the fincerity of the fruition, or in
the quicknefs and vigour of it : the one fu-
perinduced by the equahty; the other by
variety and viciffitude. The one having lefs
mixture of evil ; the other, a more ffrong
and lively impreffion of good: which of

thel^7

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

249

thefels the greater good, is a queftion con-
troverted; but whether man's nature may
not be capable of both, is a queftion not
difcufled.

The former queftion being debated be-
tween Socrates and a Sophift; Socrates placed
felicity in a conftant peace and tranquillity
of mind; but the Sophlft in defiring and en-
joying much ; they fell from arguments
to ill words ; the Sophifl faying, " That
" Socrates'^ happln.-fs was that of a block
*' or a flone:" Socrates, on the other fide,
" That the Sophift's happinefs was that of
*' one that had the itch, who did nothing
" but fcratch." And both thefe opinions
do not want their advocates. For to Socrates
even the fchool of Epicurus itfelf aflents, not
denying but virtue contributes moft to hap-
pinefs: and if fo, moft certain it is, that
there is more ufe of virtue in compofing
perturbations, than in accomplifl-iing defires.
The Sophift's opinion is favoured fomething
by this afiertion ; " That the comparing of
*' thmgs defired, feems by degrees to perfect
*' nature:" v.hich, though it (hould not in

reality

250 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

reality do, yet motion, though in a circle,
has fomevvhat of a fhew of progrellion.

But the fecond queftion: that is, Whe-
ther the nature of man may not at once
retain both a tranquillity of mind, and the
vigour of fruition, decided the true way,
makes the former ftiperfluous. For do we
not often fee, that fome men are fo framed
and made by nature, as to be extremely
affedled with pleafures while they are pre-
fent, and yet are not greatly troubled at the
lofs of them ? So that this precept, *' Not
*' to ufe, that you may not defire: Not to
***defire, that you may not fear;'' feems to
be the refult of a poor diffident fpirit. And
certainly mofi: of the do6lrines of the philo-
fophers are more fearful and cautionary,
than the nature of things requires. Thus
have they increafed the fear of death. In of-
fering to cure it: for when they would have
a man's whole life to be but a difclpline or
preparation for death, they mufl make men
think that it is a terrible enemy, againft
which there is no end of preparing. Better
fays the Poet :

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 25 1

S^iii fpatlumvitcs extremum Inter munera ponut naturae.

*' A fonl that can lecurely death defr,
*' And count it nature's privilege to die.'*

Dryden:

So have the philofophers fought to make
mens minds too uniform and harmonious,
by not breaking and inuring them to con-
trary motions and extremes. The renfou
of which I fuppofe to be, becaufe they them-
felves were men dedicated to a private, free
and inaclive courfe of Hfe. For as we fee
upon the lute, or hke inflrument, a ground,
though it be fweet, and have ihew of many
changes, yet breaks not the hand to fuch
Urange and hard flops and paflliges, as a fet
fong or voluntary: much after the fime
manner was the diverfity between a philofo-
phicalanda civil life; and therefore men
are to Imitate the wlfdom of jewellers, who,
if there be a cloud or fpeck which may be'
ground out, without taking too much of
the ftone, they help it; but if it fhould leffen
and abate the flone too much, they will not
meddle with it: fo ought men fo to procure
lerenity, as not to dcflroy magnanimity.

- Having

252 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

Having therefore fpoken of private or
individual good, let us refume the good of
communion, which refpe6ls fociety. This
commonly goes by the name of duty ; be-
caufe the term duty is more proper to a mind
well framed and compofed towards others;
as the term virtue is applied to a mind well
formed and compofed within itfelf ; though
virtue cannot be underftood, without fomc
relation to fociety, nor duty, without an
inward difpofition. This part may feem at
firft fight to belong to fclence civil and poli-
tical ; but not if it be well obferved. For it
concerns the regimen and government of
every man over himfelf, and not over others.
And as in architedlure, it is one thing to
frame the pofts, beams, and other parts of
an edifice, and to prepare them for the ufe
of building; and another thing to fit and
join the fame parts together : and in me-
chanics, the dire6lion how to frame an in-
flrument or engine, is not the fame with the
manner of ere6ling, moving, and fetting it
to work, yet in expreffing of the one, we
incidently exprefs the aptnefs towards the
other : fo the doftrine of the conjugation of
men in fociety differs from that which makes

them

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 252

them conformable, and well afFeded to the
welfare of fuch a focietj.

Duties are fubdividcd into two parts:
the common duty of every man, as a mem-
ber of a ftate ; the other, the refpedive or
fpecial duty of every man in his profeffion,
vocation, and place. The firft of thefe is
extant and well laboured, as has been faid :
the fecond likewife we hnd handled in de-
tached parts, not digefted into an entire
body of a fcience: which manner of dif-
perfed writing, in this kind of argument, I
acknowledge to be beft: for who can take
upon him to write of the proper duty, vir-
tue, challenge, and right of every feveral vo-
cation, profeffion, and place? For although
fometimes a looker on may fee more than a
gamefler; and there is a proverb more ar-
rogant than found, touching the cenfure of
the vulgar, as to the adions of princes,
*' That the vale befl difcovers the hill ;"
yet there is httle doubt but that men can
write bef}, and mofl really and materially
io,^ in their own profefiion : and that the
vyritings of fpeculative men concerning ac-
tive matters, feem to men of experience little

better

54 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

better thai* Phormws difcourfes of the wars
feemed to Han?iibal, who efteemed them
dreams and dotage. Only there is one vice
which accompanies thofe who write in their
own profeflion, that they magnify them to
excefs. But generally it were to be wifhed,
which would make learning indeed folid and
fruitful, that active men w^ould or could be-
come writers.

There belongs to this part touching the
duties of profeilions and vocations, the op-
pofite one, concerning the frauds, provifi-
onary cautions, impoftures, and vices of
every profeflion ; which have likewife been
treated of in many writings. But how?
Rather by way of fatire and cynical, in the
manner of Ludarj, than ferioufly and wifely.
For men have rather fought by wit to deride
and traduce much of that which is good in
profeffions, than with judgment to difcover
and fever that which is corrupt. For as
Solomon fays, He that cometh to feek after
knowledge, with a mind to fcorn and cen-
fure, fhall be fure to find matter for his
humour, but none for his inflruclion. ^a^-
renti derifori^ &c. " A fcorner feeketh wif-

" dom.

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 255

" dom, and fiiideth it not: but knowledge
" is eafy to him that underflandeth." Prov.
xiv. 6. But the managing of this argument
with integrity and truth, which I note as
deficient, feems to me to be one of the beil
fortifications for honefly and virtue that can
be planted. For as the fable goes of the
BafiUfk^ that if he fee you firft, you die for
it; but if you fee him firft, he dies : fo it is
wdth deceits and evil arts ; which, if they
are firfl efpied, lofe their life : that is, their
power of doing hurt : but if they attack you
by furprife, they endanger. So that we are
much beholden to Machiavel and others,
who write what men do, and not what they
ought to do ; for it is not poffible to join the
" wifdom of theferpent with the innocence
" of the dove;" excep t men knew exactly
all the conditions of the ferpent : his bafe-
nefs, and going upon his belly; his volubi-
Hty and lubricity ; his envy and fting, and
the reft ; that is, all forms and natures of
evil. For without this fkill, virtue lies open
and unfenced: nay, a fincere and honeft
man can do no good in reclaiming thofe that
are wicked, without the knowledge of evil.
For men of corrupt minds and depraved

judgments

256 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

judgments prefuppore,that honefty grows out
of ignorance, fimpliclty of manners, the be-
lief of preachers, fchool-mafters, and mens
exterior language : fo unlefs you can con-
vince them that you know the utmofl reaches
of their own corrupt opinions, they defpife
all morality, according to that admirable
dodlrine of Solomon: " A fool will not re-
" ceive the words of the wife, unlefs thou
*' fpeakeil the very things that are in his
" heart.'* Prov. xvii. 2. [(i. e.) unlefs
thou know all the coverts and depths of
wickednefs.

To this part, touching refpe£live duty are
afligned the mutual duties between hufband
and wife, parent and child, mafter and fer-
vant; folikewife, the laws offriendfhip and
gratitude : as alfo the civil bonds of frater-
nities, colleges, politic bodies, of neighbour-
hood, and all other proportionate duties : not
as they are parts of government and fociety,
for that refers to politics, but as to the
framing the mind of particular perfons, for
the maintaining of fuch bonds of fociety.

But

ON MORAL Ki^OVVLEDGE. '257

But the dodrine concerning the good of
communion, or of Ibcietj, and good indivi-
dual, not only confiders limply, but cpmpa-
ratively alfo ; to which belongs the weigh-
ing of duties between perfon and perfon;
between cafe and cafe ; between private and
public; between time prefent, and fa--
tare : as we may fee in the fevere and cruel
proceeding of L. Emtiis againfl: his own fons,
which was fo much extolled by the genera-
lity of people.

Again, we fee when ilf. ^r«//^^ and C^
fius invited to fupper thofe whofe opinioas
.they meant to found, whether they were fit
to be made their aflbciates ; and propofing the
queftion touching the lawfulnefs of killing
a tyrant, as an ufurper, they were divided
in opinion; fome holding, that fervitude
was the extreme of evils ; and others, that
•tyranny was better than a civil war. A
number of the like cafes there are of com-
parative duty ; the moft celebrated of which,
where the queftion is, of a great deal of
good to enfue from a lefler injury : which
Jafon of -TT^f/T^/y determined againfl the truth :
Allqua funt injufie facicnda, ^c, «« Some
Vol, IL S " things

258 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

*' things may be done unjuftly, that many
things may be done juftly. But the repl}' is
good : Author em prcefenth jujlhla habes ; fpon-
forem future non habes: " Men miifl: purfue
*' things which are juft in time prefent, and
*' leave the future to divine providence."
And fo we pafs on from this general part
touching the exemplar and defcription of
good.

Having treated of this fruit of life, it
remains to fpeak of the hufbandry requifite
to produce it: without which part, the former
feems to be no better than a fair image or
ftatue, which is beautiful to contemplate,
but without life and motion ; to which opi-
nion Ar'ijlotle himfelf fubfcribes in exprefs
words: " It is neceffary to fpeak of virtue,
*' both what it is, and how to procure it ;
" for it would be to little purpofe to know
*' virtue, and to be ignorant of the manner
*« and means how to compafs it. For en-
*' quiry mufl: be made not only of her form,
*' but alfo how fhe is to be attained : for we
*' fhould have both the knowledge and the
<* fruition of it. Now this cannot fucceed
«' to our defire, unlefs we know both of

*' what

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 25

•* what materials it is compounded, ^nd
*' how to procure it." In fuch ftrong and
repeated terms does he inculcate this part,
which notwithflanding he himfelf does not
profecute. This is what Cicero attributed to
Cato the younger, as a great commendation,
that he had applied himfelf to philofophy,
" not for difputation fake, but to live ac-
" cording to its rules." Though, through
the neglect of our times, wherein few men
hold any conlultation touching the reforma-
of their life, as 6'^;z£'c^ excellently fays, " Of
*' the parts of life every one deliberates;
*' of the fum of Hfe nobody;" this -part
may feem fuperfluous, yet this moves us not
to leave it untouched, but rather we con-
clude with that aphorifm of Hippocrates:
^t gravi morbo correpti dolores nonfetitiunt^ us
mens ^gra eft: " They who are fick of a
" dangerous difeafe, and feel no pain, are
'' diflempered in their underflanding." Such
men need a medicine, not only to afluage
the difeafe, but to awaken the fenfe : and if
it be laid, that the cure of mens minds be-
longs to facred divinity, it is moft truly
faid; but yet what hinders, but moral phi-
lofophy may be accepted into the train of
S 2 the-

i'66 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

theology, as a wife fervant and humble
hand-maid, ready at all commands to do her
lervice? For as it is in the Pfalms, " That
^' the eyes of the hand-maid look perpetually
** towards the miftrefs :" and yet no doubt
many things are left to the difcretion and
care of the hand-maid, to difcern of the
miftrefs's will : fo ought moral philofophy
to give all due obfervance to divinity, and to
be obfequlous to her precepts ; yet fo as it
may yield of itfelf, within due limits, many
found and profitable diredions.

This part therefore, when I ferioufly con-
fider its excellency, I cannot but find ex-
ceeding ftrange that it is not yet reduced
hito a body of knowledge ; efpecially as it
confifls of much matter, wherein both fpeech
and a6lion is often converfant, and fuch
wherein the common talk of men, though
Tarely, yet fometimes is wifer than their
books: it is reafonable therefore that we
propofe it the more particularly, both for the
worchinefs, and that we may acquit our-
felves for reporting it deficient, which feems
almofl incredible, and prefuppofed complete
by the writers on morality. We will there-
fore

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 261

fore enumerate feme heads or points thereof,
that it may appear the better what it is, and
whether it be extant.

The GEORGICS of the MIND,

OR THE

CULTURE OF OUR MANNERS.

First therefore in this, as in all things
which are praftical, we ought to calculate
what is in our power, and what not ; for the
one may be dealt with by alteration, but the
other by way of application only. The
hufbandman cannot command, neither the
nature of the earth, nor the feafons of the
year ; no more can the phyfician the confti-
tution of the patient, nor the variety of ac-
cidents : fo in the culture and cure of the
mind of man, two things are without oqr
command; points of nature, and points of
fortune: for to the bafis of the one, and the
conditions of the other, our work is limited
S 3 and

262 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

and tied. In thefe things therefore it is left
vinto us to proceed by application :

Super anda omnh fortuna fcrcndo.

YiRG.^n. VII.

*' By fufF'ring well, our fortune we iubdue."
And fo likewife,
*' By fufF'ring well, our Nature we fubdue."

But when we fpeak of fufFering, we do
not mean a dull and negledled, but a wife
and induflrious fufFering, which draws and
continues ufe and advantage, out of that
which feemsadverfe and contrary; which is
thatproperty which we call accommodating,
or applying. Now, the wifdom of applica-
tion lies principally in the exa^i: and diftiuifc
knowledge of the precedent ftate or difpofi-
tion, unto which we do apply: for we
cannot fit a garment, except we firfl take
meafure of the body.

So then the firft article, touching the cul-
ture of the mind, is to fet down found and

true

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 265

true diftnbiitions and defcriptions of the fe-
veral charafters of mens natures and difpofi-
tions, having efpecial regard to thofe diffe-
rences which are moil radical, in being the
fountains and caufesofthe reft, or mofl fre-
quent in concurrence or commixture ; where-
in it is not the handhng of a few of them
fuperficially, the better to defcribe the me-
diocrities of virtues, that can fatisfy this
intention: for if it deferves to be confidered
that there are minds w^hich are proportioned
to great matters, and others to fmall, which
Jr'ijiotle handles, or ought to have handled,
by the name of magnanimity ; does it not
deferve as well to be confidered, that there
are minds proportioned to comprehend many
matters, and others few ? So that fome can
divide themfelves,others can perchance do ex-
aaiy w^ell, but it mufl be only in few things
at once ; and fo there comes to be a narrow-
nefsofmind, as well as pufiUanimity, And
again, that fome minds are proportioned to
that which may be difpatched at once, or
within a Ihort return of time ; others to that
which begins afar off, and is to be won with
length of purfuit,

S4 Hoc

^64 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE,

■ Hoc regnum dea genfibus ejjc,

SI ^ua fatajinantj jam turn tcnditquefovctque,

ViRG. Mv\. I. 21.

Here, if heav'n were kind,

«< The feat of awful empire fhedefign'd."

Dryden.

So that there may be fitly faid to be a loh-
ganimity, which is commonly alio alcrfbed
to God, as a magnanimity. Further de-
ferved it to be confidered hy Jrijiotle, that
there is a difpofition in converfation, even in
things which have no connexion with a
man's felf, to footh and pleafe ; and a con-
trary difpolition to contradict and crofs : and
deferves it not much better to be confidered,
that there is a difpofition, not in converfation
or talk, but in matters of more ferious na-
ture, and without any intereft in them, to
take pleafure in the good of another ; and a
difpofition, on the contrary, to take diflafle
at the good of another ? Which is ^that
property which we call good nature, or ill
nature, benignity, or malignity: and there-
fore I cannot fufficiently marvel, that this
part of knowledge touching the feveral cha-
jrafters of natures and difpofitions, Ihould be

omitted,

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE, 265

omitted, both in morality and policy, con*
(idering it would caft fuch relplendent beams
of light upon both thole fciences.

A MAN (hall find in the traditions of aftro-
logy, fome curious and apt divifionsof mens
natures, according to the predominances of
the planets; lovers of quiet, lovers ofadion,
lovers of vidory, lovers of honour, lovers
of pleafure, lovers of arts, lovers of change,
&c. So among the poets, heroical, fatyrical,
tragical, comical, a man fhall find every-
where the images of peculiar manners,
though commonly with excefs, and be von d
the proportion of truth : but the beft provi-
iion, and nobleft matter of fuch a treatife,
may be fetched from the wlfer fort of hifto-
rians, but yet not from the eulogies only,
which they are wont to fubjoin upon men-
tioning the death of any illuflrious perfon ;
but much more from the entire body of the
hiftory, as often as fuch a perfon is exhi-
bited. For this interwoven image feems to
be a better delcription than any judgment
pafled upon a man in an eulogy : as that in
iT. Lhius, of Jfricanus, and of Quo the El-
der ; in Tacitus, of T^iberius, Claudius and

N^ro ;

266 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

Nero ; in Herod'mn^ of Septim'ius Severus ; in
Philip de Comines^ of Lewis the Eleventh of
Frances in Francis Guiciardine^ of Ferdinand
o{ Spain, Maximilian the empcYor, 2.nd of Leo
and Clement, Bifhops of Rome. For thefe
writers, having the images of thofe perfons
whom they meant to decypher, ahiioft con-
ftantly in their eye, hardly ever make men-
tion of their a6ls and atchievements, without
interfperfing at the fame time fomething
touching their natures. So we fliall find in
the wifefl fort of thofe relations, which the
Italians make touching conclaves, the na-
tures of the feveral Cardinals handfomely and
lively painted : as the letters of amhafl'adors
fet forth the natures and manners of coun-
fellors to princes. A man fhall meet with,
in every day's conference, the denomuiation
of fenfitive, dry, formal, real, humorous,
certain, Huomo di prima imprejfwne, Huomo di
ultima impre^fjio7ie, and the like ; yet thefe ob-
fervations are vague in expreflion, and not
accurately defined by enquiry : many dif-
tin6lions are found, but we conclude no
precepts from them, becaufe both hiftory,
poeiy, and daily experience, are as goodly
fields where thefe obfervations grow; of

which,

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 267

which, like flowers, we make a few poefies
to hold ill our hands, but no man brings
them to a chymical analylis, that receipts
may be made of them for the ufe of life.
Wherefore let there be made out of this
matter, which certainly is fruitful and co-
pious, a diligent and full treatife. But my
meaning is not that thefe chara6lers fhould in
ethics, as in hiftories, poems, and common
converfation, be draw^n as perfedl, entire ci-
vil images, but rather as thefimpleand con-
ftituent ftrokes of the images themfelves ;
which being compounded and mixed toge-
ther form and conftitute all effigies what-
ever ; how many, and of what fort they are ;
how connecled together, and fubordi-
nate one to another : to the end there may
be made a kind of artificial and accurate dif-
fe£lion of tempers and natures ; and that a
difcovery may be made of the fecrets of dif-
pofitions in particular perfons, and from the
knowledge thereof, precepts and rules more
truly drawn for the cures of the mind.

, And not only the charaders of difpoli-*

I tions, impreffed by nature, ought to be taken

into this treatife; but thole alfo which are

im-»

268 ON MORAL KNOWLEDaE.

impofed upon the mind, by the fex, age^
country, health and ficknefs, beauty and de-
formity, and the like, which are inherent,
and not external : again thofe which are
caufed by fortune ; as fovereignty, nobility,
obfcure birth, riches, want, ma'giftracy,
privacy, profperity, adverfity, conflant
fortune, variable fortune, rifing fuddenly
or gradually, &c. and therefore we fee
that Plautus m.akes it a wonder to fee an old
man beneficent : Benignitas Jmjus tit adolefcen-
iuTieJl: *' He is as generous as a young fel-
*' low/' St. Paul concludes, that feverity
of difcipllne was to be ufed to the Cretans^
" Rebuke them (harply," upon the difpo-
fition of their country ; " The Cretans are
*' always liars, evil beafts, flow bellies.'*
•Tit. i. Salluft notes, that it is ufual with
kings to defire contradictories : Sed plerumque
regi^voluntates, ut vehementesfunt, Jtc moh'iles^
fo'peque ipfce Jibi adverfa'. Tacitus obferves,
how rarely raifing of the fortune mends the
difpofition: Solus vefpafanus mutatus in melius.
Pindar makes an obfervation, that great and
iudden fortune loofens and enervates mens
iininds: " There are fome that are not able
« to digefl great felicity." So the pfalm

Ihews

OK MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 269

Ihews it more eafy to keep a meafure in the
enjoying of fortune, than in the increafe of
it: " If riches increafe, fet not jour heart
" upon them.'* I deny not but thefe and
the like obfervations are touched a little by
Arljiotle incidentally in his rhetoric, and are
handled in Ibme fcattered difcourfes, but
they were never incorporate into moral phi-
lofophy, to which they do effentialiy belong;
as the knowledge of the diverfity of grounds
does to agriculture, and the knowledge of
the diverfity of complexions and conftitu-
tions does to the phyfician ; except we mean
to follow the indifcretion of empirics, who
adminifter the fame medicines to all patients
of w^hat conftltution foever.

Anotfier article of this knowledge is,
the enquiry touching the afFedions: for as
in applying medicines to the body, the flrft
thing in order is, to know the different com-
plexions and conftitutions; fecondly, the
difeafes; and laftly, the cures : fo in admi-
niftering remedies to the mind, after know-
ledge of the divers charaders of mens natures,
it follows in order to know the difeafes and
infirmities of tiie mind, which are no other

. than

270 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE^

than the perturbations and diftempers of the
affeclions. For as the ancient poHticians in
popular ftates were wont to compare the
people to the lea, and the orators to the
winds ; becaufe as the fea would of itfelf be
calm and quiet, if the winds did not move
and trouble it ; fo the people would be peace-
able and tradable, if the feditious orators did
not fet them in working and agitation : fo
it may be fitly faid, that the mind of man in
its nature would be temperate and ftayed, if
the affedions, as winds, did not put it into
tumult and perturbation. And here again
I find it ftrange, as before, th^t j^ri/iotie fhould
have written divers volumes of ethics, and
never handled the afiedions, which is the
principal fubjed of it; and yet in his rhe-
toric, where they are confidered but colla-
terally, and in a fecond degree; that is, {o
far as they may be raifed and moved by
fpeech, he bas handled them well for the
quantity ; but omitted them in their proper
place. For it is not his difputations about
plcafure and pain that can fitisfy this en--
quiry, no more than he that fhould generally
examine the nature of light can be faid to
treat of colours ; for pleafure and pain are

to

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

271

to the particular affe£lions, as light is to
particular colours. Greater pains, I fuppofe,
had the Stoicks taken in this argument, as far
as I can gather by that which we have at
fecond-hand; but probably it was after their
manner, rather in fubtilty of definitions,
which, in a fubjeffl: of this nature, are but
curiofities, than in active and am.ple defcrip-
tions andobfervations. I find likewife fome
particular writings, of an elegant nature,
touching fome of the affedlions ; as of anger,
of comfort upon adverfe accidents, of tender-
nefs of countenance, and fome few others.
But to fpeak truth, the befl teachers of this
knowledge are the poets and writers of hif-
tories, where we may find painted with
great life, how affeclions are kindled and
incited ; how pacified and reftrained ; and
how again contained from aft, and further
degree; how they difclofe and betray them-
felves, though checked and hidden ; how they
work ; how they vary ; how they gather and
fortify ; how they are complicated ; what
conflicts they have one with another; and
fimilar particularities: among which, this
laft is of fpecial ufe in moral ajid civil mat-
ters : how, I fay, to fct affedion againfl af-

fe(^ion,

2rJ% ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

fecStion, and to mafterone by another ^ evert
as we ufe to hunt bead with bead, and fly
bird with bird, which otherwife perchance
we could not fo eafily recover: upon which
foundation is ereded that excellent ufe of
reward and punifhment, whereby civil flates
confift; employing the predominant affec-
tions of fear and hope for the fuppreffing
and bridling the reft : for as in the govern-
ment of ftates, it is neceflary to bridle one
fadion with another, fb it is in the govern-
ment within.

We now come to thofe points which are
within our own command, and have force
and operation upon the mind to aife6l the
<wUl and appetite, and to alter the manners :
iwiierein the philofophers ought to have
made a diligent and painful enquiry con-
cerning the force and energy of cuftom, ex-
•ercife, habit, education, imitation, emula-
tion, company, friendfhip, praife, reproof,
exhortation, fune, laws, books, ftudies,
;&c. For thefe are the points which
have dominion in morality : from thefe
agents the mind fuffers, and is altered: of
thefe, as ingredients, receipts are compound-
1 ed,

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

^Vo

ed, which conduce to the prefervation and
recovery of the health and good eftate of the
mhid, as far as relates to human medicine.
Of which number we will fele£t fome one
or two to infifl upon as an example of the
reft, becaufe it were too long to profecute
all ; and therefore we refume the confidera-
tion of cuftom and habit.

That opinion of ^r//?c/Z:? feems to me to
favour much of negligence, and a -narrow
contemplation, where he afferts, that over
thofe a6lions which are natural, cuftom has
no power; ufmg for example, that if a ftone
be thrown ten thoufand times up, it will not
learn to afcend of itfelf ; and that by often fee-
ing or hearing we do not learn to fee or hear the
better. For though this principle be true in
things wherein nature is peremptory, yet it is
otherwifein things wherein nature, according
to a latitude, admits of intenfion and remif-
fion : for he might fee that a ftrait glove
will come more eafily on with ufe, and that
a wand will by ufe bend otherwife than it
grew; that by ufe of the voice we fpeak
louder and ftronger ; and that by ufe of en-
during heat and cold we endure it the better :
which two latter examples have a nearer re-

VoL. II. T femblance

2^4 ON MOkAL KNOWLEDGE.

femblance to the fubje^l: he is handling, than
thofe Inftances which he alledges. But al-
lowing his conclufion, that virtues and vices
confift ill habit, he ought Co much the more
to have taught the manner of fuperinducing
that habit; for a great many precepts may
be given concerning the wife ordering of the
mind, no lefs than thofe of the body. We
will recite a few of them.

The firft, to beware, at the very begin ^
ning, of harder or ealier tafks than the cafe
requires; for if too great a burden be laid on
a diffident nature, you will blunt the cheer-
fulnefs of good hopes: in a nature full of
alTurance you will raife an opinion, whereby
a man will promife himfelf more than he is
able to preform, which occafions floth : and
in both tempers, the experiment will not
fatisfy the expe6lation, which ever difcou-
rages and confounds the mind : but if th*-
tafks are too eafy, as to the progrefs, on the
whole there is great lofs.

The fecond, that for the exercifmg of any
faculty, whereby a habit may be acquired^
two feafons are chiefly to be obferved : the

one,

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 275

one, when the mhid is mofl, the other
when it is leafl: difpofed for the thing . that
by the former we may rid ground apace,
and by the latter we may, by a ftrenuous
contention, work out the knots and ftops of
tlie mind; whereby the middle times will
pafs ealily and fmoothly.

The third precept, that which Anjiotk
mentions tranfiently ; that we bear w^ith all
our might, provided it be a thing not vici-
ous, towards the contrary of that to which
we are by nature mofl inclined : like as when
we row againft the ftream, or bend a crooked
wand, to make it ftrait the contrary way.

The fourth precept depends upon a prin-
ciple that is mofl true; viz. that the mind
is more happily and fweetly brought to any
thing, if that, at which we aim, be not prin-
cipal in the intention of the doer, but be
attained, as it were, allud agendo ; " by
*' doing fomething elfe ;" becaufe fuch is the
inftind of nature, that fhe in a manner hates
necefhty and fevere commands. Many other
rules there are which may profitably be pre-
fcribsd touching the diredion of cuftom :
T a for

276 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

for ciiftom, if it be wifely and fkilfully in-
duced, really proves a fecond nature; but
if it be conducted unfkilfully and at random,
it will be only nature's ape ; which imitates
nothing to the life, but in an auk ward and
ungraceful manner.

In like manner, if we would fpeak of
books and ftudies, and of their power and
influence upon manners ; are there not di-
vers precepts, and ufeful directions apper-
taining thereunto ? Has not one of the fa-
thers, in great indignation, called poetry,
the wine of devils, becaufe it really excites a
world of temptations, defires, and vain opi-
nions ? Is it not a very wife opinion of
Arijlotle^^ and worthy to be well weighed ;
*' That young men are not fit auditors of
'' moral philofophy, becaufe the ferment of
*' their paffions is not yet fettled, nor laid
*' afleep by time and experience?'* And to
fpeak truth, is not this the reafon, that thofe
moft excellent books and difcourfes of anci-
ent writers (whereby men are mofl power-
fully invited to virtue, as well by repre-
fenting her auguft Majefty to the eyes of all,
as by expofnig to fcorn popular opinions,

attired.

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 277

attired, as it were, to the difgrace of virtue,
ill the habit of parafites) are of fo little effed:
towards honefty of life, and the reformation
of corrupt manners ; becaufe they ufe not to
be read by men mature in years and judg-
ment, but are left only to boys and begin-
ners ? Is not this alfo true, that young mea
are much lefs fit auditors of policy than
morality, till they are thoroughly feafoned
with religion, and the do6lrine of manners
and duties; left their judgments being de-
praved and corrupted, they fhould come to
think, that there are no true and folid moral
differences, but that all is to be meailired by
utility or fuccefs ? As the poet fays ;

Profperum etfcUx fcelus virtus vccatur.

But the poets, you will fay, fpeak this
fatlrically, and by way of indignation; yes;
but fome books of politics fuppofe the fame
thing ferioufly and pofitively. For fo it
pleafes Af^ctow/ to fay: *' That \i Ccefar
" had happened to have been overthrown,
*' he would have been more odious than
" even Cataline'^ As if truly there was no
difference, but in fortune only, between a
T 3 fury

27^ ON MO^AL KNOWLEDGE.

fury, compofed of luft and blood, and an ex-
alted fpirit, of all mortals, ambition apart, the
niofl to be admired. We fee from this in-
ftance how neceflary it is for men to drink
deep of pious and" moral doctrines, before
they tafle of politics ; lince they who are
bred up in the courts of princes^ and in af-
fairs of flate, from their tender years, hardly
ever attain a fincere and inward probity of
manners ; how much lefs if there be added,
the difcipline of corrupt books alfo ? Again,
even in moral inftrudlions themfelves, or at
leaft fome of them, is not caution llkewife to
be ufed, left men become thereby fliff, ar-
rogant, and unfociable, according to that of
Cicero, touching M. Cato f Hac bona, qu^e
vldemus divina et egregia, ipjius fcitote ejje fro-
fria: nucs nonnunqtiam requirimus, ea fiint om-
nia lion a 7iai:ura, Jed a magiftro : *' Thefe
«' divine and excellent qualities which wc
" fee, are, affure yourfelyes, his own proper
" endowments : but the things we fome-
" times think him deficient in, they are all
*' derived not from nature, but from his in-
*' ftru6lor Zeno^ Many other axioms and
advices there are touching thofe properties
and effedls which fludies do infufe and infllll

into

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 279

into manners. For that is a true faying,
Abetmt Jiudla in mores ; which may equally
be affirmed ofthofe other points, of company,
fame, laws, and the reft, which we recited
in the beginning of the dodrine of morality.

But there is a culture of the mind that
feems yet more accurate and elaborate than
the reft, and is built upon this ground, that
the minds of all men are at fome times in a
ftate more perfect, and at other times in a
ftate more depraved. The purpofe there r
fore and intention of this culture is, to fix
and cherifti thofe good feafons, and to ftrike
out of the calendar and expunge the evil.
The fixing of the good times is procured by
tw^o means : vows, or at leaft moft fteady
refoiutions ; and by obfervances and exer-
ciies ; w^liich are not to be regarded fo much
in themfelves, as becaufe they keep the
mind in continual obedience. The obli-
teration of the evil may, in like manner,
be brought about two ways : by fome kind
ot redemption, or expiation of that which
is paft ; and by a prudent conduct for the
time to come. But this part feems w^holly
^o belong to divinity, andjuftly; fmce thQ
T 4 true

28o ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

true and genuine moral philofophy is but an.
hand-maid to religion.

Wherefore we will conclude this part
concerning the culture of the mind with that
remedy, which, of all others, is the mofl
compendious and fummary ; and again, the
moft noble and efle6lual to the forming of
the mind to virtue, and placing it in a ftate
next to pcrfeclion : and it is this ; the
eleding and propofmg unto a man's felf good
and virtuous ends of his life and adions,
which yet mufl be fuch as may be within
his compafs to attain. For if thefe two
things be fuppofed, that a man fet before
him honeft and good ends ; and again, that
he be refolute, conftant, and true to them,
it will follow, that he iliall mould himfelf
into all virtue at once. And this is indeed
Jike the work of nature; whereas the other
courfe is like the work of the hand: for as
when a carver cuts and carves an image, he
fhapes only that part of the figure which he
is working upon, and none of the refl ; for if
he be upon the face, the reft of the body
remains a rude and formlefs ftone, till fuch
time as he comes to it : but, on the con-
trary.

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE. 281

trary, when nature makes a flower, or living
creature, fhe forms the rudiments of all the
parts at one time : after the fame manner, in
obtaining virtue by habit, while a man prac-
tifes temperance, he does not profit much
as to fortitude, nor the other virtues: but
when we dedicate and devote ourfelves wholly
to good and honefh ends, we fliall find our-
felves inverted with a precedent difpofitlon
to conform ourfelves to any virtue propofed.
And this may be that flate of mind which is
excellently defcribed by Anjlotle. and which
he fays ought not to be called virtuous, but
divine. His words are thefe: <' It may be
" reafonable to oppofe to immanity, that
" ability which is above humanity;" name-
ly, heroical or divine virtue. And a little
after : " For as a bead is not capable of vice
*' or virtue, fo neither is the Deity." And
therefore we may fee what height of honour
Plinius Secundiis attributes to 'Trajan, in the
exaggerated ftyle of the heathens, when he
fiid, *' That men needed to make no other
" prayers to the Gods, than that they would
*' continue to be as good and propitious
*' lords to them, as Tf^W/ had been :" as if
he had not only been an imitation of divine

nature.

282 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

nature, but a pattern of it. But tliefe are
heathen and profane boaftings, havhig but a
ihadow of that divine ftate of mind, which
rehgion and the holy faith do condud men
to, by imprinting upon their fouls charity,
which is excellently called, <' the bond of
^' perfe6lion," becaufe it comprehends and
faflens all virtues together. And it is ele-
e;antly faid hy Mmander of fenfual love, which
is but a falfe Imitation of divine love: Amor,
vieUorfophiJla Icevo,ad hiimanam vitam : " That
^' love teaches a man to carry himfelf better
^' than the fophifl or preceptor;" whom he
calls left-handed, becaufe, with all his rules
and precepts, he cannot form a man fo dex-
teroufly, nor with that facility to value and
govern himfelf, as love can do: certainly,
if a man's mind be truly inflamed with cha-
rity, it works him, more fuddenly into pcr-
feclion, than all the dodlrine of morality can
do, which is but a fophifl: in comparifon of
the other. Nay, further, as Xenophon ob-
ferved truly, that all other afFeclions, though
they raife the mind, yet they do it by diftor-
tlon and violent agitation of extacies or ex-
cefs ; but only love exalts the mind, and at
the f.ane inflant fettles and compoks it: fo

ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE, 183

aU Other human excellencies which we ad-
mire, though they advance nature, yet are
llibjedl to excefs, which charity only does
not admit. For w^e ,fee the angels in afpi-
ring to be like God in power, tranfgrefled
and fell: " I will afcend, and be like the
" Highefl.' ' By afpiring to be like God in
knowledge, man tranfgrefled and fell : " Ye
" (hall be as Gods, knowing good and evil :"
but by afpiring to a funilitude of God, in
goodnefs or love, neither man nor angel ever
did or can tranfgrefs. Nay, unto this imi^
tation we are even called : '' Love your ene-
*' mies : do good to them that hate you, and
*« pray for them that defpitefully ufe you,
t' and perfecute you ; that you may be the
'' children of your Father which is in hear
'« ven, who maketh his fun to rife on the
*' evil, and on the good, and fendeth rain
" upon the juft, and upon the unjufl:." So
in the firfh platform of the divine nature, the
heathen religion fpeaks thus : *' Beft, greatr
*' eft ;" and the facred fcriptures thus : " Hia
>' mercy is above all his works.-'

Thus having concluded that general part
of human philofophy, which contemplates

man.

284 ON MORAL KNOWLEDGE.

man, as he confifts of body and fpirit, we
may add that obfervation about moral know-
ledge, which is, that there is a kind of re-
lation and conformity between the good of
the mind, and the good of the body : for as
the good of the body confifts of health,
beauty, ftrength, and pleafure ; fo the good
of the mind, if we confider it according to
the axioms of moral knowledge, tend to this
point : to make the mind found, and free
from perturbation ; beautiful, and graced
with the ornament of true decency; flrong
and agile to all the duties of life : laflly, not
flupid, but retaining a quick and lively fenfe
of pleafure, and honefl recreation. But
thefe four, as in the body, fo in the mind,
feldom meet all together : for it is eafy to
obferve, that many have ftrength of wit and
courage, but have neither health from per-
turbations, nor any beauty or decency in
their a<£lions : fome again have an elegancy
and finenefs of carriage, who have neither
foundnefs of honefty, nor vigour for the ac-
tive duties : and fome again have honefl and
reformed minds, who are neither an orna-
ment to themfelves, nor ufeful to the public :
others, who perhaps are mailers of three of

them.

1

ON CIVIL CONVERSATION, 185

them, but yet being poffefTed with a certain
ftoical fadiiefs and ftupidity, pra^tife indeed
the anions of virtue, but have none of the
pleafures of it. Thus of thefe four, two or
three may meet, yet a concurrence of all
four very rarely happens.

CIVIL CONVERSATION.

CONVERSATION certainly ought not
to be affeded, but much lefs negledled ;
fmce a prudent government of it both carries
in itfelf a certain graceful nefs of manners,
and is of great fervice towards a clever ma-
nagement of bufinefs, as well public as pri-
vate. For as action in an orator is fo much
regarded, though an outward quality, that
it is preferred even before thofe other parts
which feem more grave and intrinfic; in
the fame manner almofl, in a man of a civil
2, pradlicai

286 ON CIVIL CONVERSATION^

praclical life, converfation, and the regu-
lation of itj though converfant about exte-
riors, finds, though not the chief, yet
certainly an eminent place. For of how
great importance is the countenance and the
compofure of it : the poet fays well :

Nee viiltu dcjirue verba tuo.

For a man may undermine, and utterly
betray the force of his words with his coun-
tenance. Nay, our aflions, as well as words,
may likewife be deflroyed by the counte-
nance, if we n^tay believe Cicero ; who,- re-
commending to his brother affability towards
the Provincials, faid, it did not principally
eohfifl in this, the giving eaiV accefs to hi?
perfon, unlefs likewife he received them
Courteoufly with his very countenance : A7/
inter eft habere oft turn apertum, vultum claujum :
*' It avails nothing to have your door open,
" while your countenance is fhut." We
fee likewife j^tticus, upon the firfl interview
between Cicero and C^far, the war as yet at
the height, did diligently and ferioufly ad-
vife Cicero by a letter, touching the com-
pofing of his countenance and geflure, to

dignity

ON CIVIL CONVERSATION. 2S7

dignity and gravity. Now, if the mannge-
ment of the face and countenance alone, be
of fuch eite6l, how much more, famihar
fpeech, and other carriage, belong to con-
verfation ? And indeed the fum and abridg-
ment of the grace and elegance of behaviour,
is comprifed moftly in this; the meafuring
in a juft balance, as it V\'ere, and maintaining
both our own dignity, and that of others :
which is well expreffed by T! Lh'ius m his
preface: '' Left I iliould feem either arro-
*' gant, or fervile: the one is the humour
*' of a man who is forgetful of anothers
<' liberty; the other of a man that forgets
*' his own."

But, on the other fide, if we ftudy urbanity,
andoutward elegance of behaviour too rnuch^
theypafs into a deformed, adulterate attecta-
tion: ^id emm deformun^ quam fcenam hi v'ltam
iransfem? *' What can be a more deformed
'* fpe6lacle, than to transfer the fcene Into
*' our common courfe of life r" Further,
though they Ihould not flrll into that vicious
extreme, yet too much time is confumed in
thofe fmall matters, and the mind is de-

2^ re fled

288 ON CIVIL CONVERSATION.

preffed by the immoderate ftudy of them ;
therefore, as m the Univerfities young ftu"
dents, too much addided to keep company,
are admoniflied by their tutors ; Amicos
ejfe fures temporh: " That friends are the
" thieves of time :" fo certainly this fame
continual intenfity of mind, upon the grace
of converfation, is a great pilferer of more
ferious meditations. Again, fuch as are fo
exadlly accomplifhed, and feem formed by
nature for urbanity, make it their fole
ftudy, and fcarcely ever afpire after more
foHd and higher virtues: whereas, on the
contrary, thofe that are confcious to them-
felvesofadefe£lin this, feek comelinefs from
a good reputation ; for where a good reputa-
tion is, ahnoft all things are becoming ; but
where that fails, a fupply muft be fetched
from exadnefs of behaviour, and urbani-
ty. Again, there is fcarcely a greater or
more frequent impediment of a6lion, than
an over- curious obfervance of outward de-
corum: and that other attendant of it, a
fcrupulous eledion of time and opportunity:
for -Sbte??^ fays excellently : ^irefpicit^ ad^
i§c, " He that regards the wind fhall not

«' fow:

ON CIVIL CONVERSATION. 28^

*' few: and hethat regards the clouds fhall
'' not reap." For we muft make opportu-
nity, oftiierthaii wait for it. To conclude,
this graceful compolltion of behaviour is-, as
it were, the drefs of the mind; and therefore
ought to refemble the good conditions of
drefs: for firft, it ought to be fafhionable ;
next, not too curious or coftlj; then, to be
fo contrived, as to fet forth any good fhape
of the mind moft to view, and to fupply and
hide any deformity : la%, above" all, it
ought not to be too flrait, nor fo to retrain
the fpirit, as to check and hinder the motions
thereof in bullnefs.

VOL. IL tj

O K

,290 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE*

ON THE

ARCHITECT of his FORTUNE.

'TPHERE is a certain wifdom of giving
counfel to others ; and there is another
alfo in planning a man's own fortune ; and
thefe fometimes meet, but are oftener fe-
vered. For many are exceeding wife in or-
dering their own, who are very weak in the
adminiilration of civil affairs, or givnig coun-
fel : like the ant, which is a wife creature
•for itfelf, but very hurtful in a garden. This
virtue of being wife for one's felf, was not
unknown to the Romans themfelves, though
excellent patriots : whence the comic poet :
*' Certainly the mould of a wife man's for-
*' tune is in his own hands." Nay, it grew
into an adage with them, " Every man is
*' the architect of his own fortune.".

This part of knowledge may be rec-
l?oned among the deficients : not but that
k is too frequent in pradice, but becaufe

books

THE ARCHITECT OV HIS FORTUNE. 29!

books concerning this argument are filent.
Wherefore we will recite fome heads of it,
and call it, the architect of fortune ; or, ai
dodlrine concerning the courfe of life for
advancement.

And at the firfl: view I fhall feem to
handle a new and unufual argument, in
teaching men how they may be contrivers
of their own fortune: a do^ftrine, no doubt,
to which every man will willingly yield him-
felf up a difciple, till he thoroughly fees the
difficulty of it. For the requilites to the
purchafe of a fortune, are neither lighter nor
lefs difficult, than to the purchafe of virtue :
and it is as hard and fevere a thing to be a
true politician, as to be truly moral. But
the handling of this doclrine concerns greatly
the honour of learning, that men of bufinefs
may know, learning is not like fome fmali
bird, as the lark, to mount and fing, and
pleafe herfelf only ; but that fhe is a kind of
hawk, both to foar aloft, and opportunely
floop, and feize her prey. Perfection of
learning is likewife concerned, becaufe it is
the true rule of a perfe^Sl enquiry after truth,
that nothing be found in the material, that
U 2 has

zps THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

has not a parallel in the intellecSlual world :
that is, that there is nothing in being and
a£lion, which fliould not be drawn and col-
leifted into contemplation and dodlrine* And
yet learning does not efleem this architec-
ture of fortune, otherwife than as a work of
an inferior kind: for no man's particular
fortune can be an end worthy of his being.
Nay, it often happens, that men of excel-
lent virtues abandon their fortune of their
own accord, that they may have leifure for
more fublime objedls^

Nevertheless fortune, as ihe is an in-
flrument of virtue and merit, deferves to be
confidered in her place, and to have fome
inflrudions given about her.

The firfl general precept therefore is, that
to know others we procure to ourfelves, in
a pofTible degree, that window which Momus
once required ; who feeing in the frame of
man's heart fo many angles andreceffes, found
fault that there was not a window, through
which a man might look into thofe obfcur®
and crooked windings. This we (hall obtain,
if with all diligence we purchafe and procure

% to

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 29^

to ourfelves information touching the parti-
cular perfons with whom we ncgociate; as
alfo of their natures, defires, and ends ; their
cuftoms and fafhions ; their helps and advan-
tages, whereby they are chiefly fupported,
and are ftrong and powerful : likewife of
their defe6ls and weaknefles, and in what
part they lie moft open and obnoxious ; of
their friends, fadlions, patrons, dependen-
cies : and again, of their enemies, enviers,
competitors; as alfo their times, and feafons
of accefs :

Sola vlrl moUes ad'itus et tempora noras.

VlRG.^N. IV.

" You only know what time is beft,

** To move the haughty foe with my requeft."

Lauderdale.

Lastly, the principles and rules which
they have fet down to themfeives. Further,
information is to be taken, not only of per-
fons, but of particular actions alfo, which
from time to time are on foot, and as it were
upon the anvil ; how they are conducted and
fucceed; by whofe endeavours they are fur-
thered ; by whom they are oppofed ; of what
U 3 weight

294 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

weight and moment they are; and what
may be their confequence, and the like. For
the knowledge of prefent anions is both very
material in itfelf, and carries in it this alfo,
that without it the knowledge of perfons too,
is like to be very deceitful and erroneous:
for men change with their actions ; and are
one thing, while they are engaged and en-
vironed with bufinefs; and another, when
they return to their nature.

And that fuch knowledge may be com-
pared, Solomon is our furety, who fays:
" Counfel in the heart of man is like a deep
*' water ; but a wife man will draw it out :"
And although the knowledge itfelf fall not
under precept, becaufe it is of individuals,
yet general inftruclions may be given with
fuccefs.

The knowledge of men may be deduced
from their faces and countenances, words,
-actions, tempers, and ends: laftly, from the
relations of others.

As for the countenance, let not the an^
pieiit adage move us; Fronti nulla fides:

** There's

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 295

*' There's no trufl to be given to the couii-
*' tenance:'* for although this faying may
bejuft, touching the outward and general
compofure of the countenance and gefture;
yet there are certain fecret and more fubtle
motions and labours of the eyes, face, looks,
and behaviour, by which, as ^. Cicero ele-
gantly faith, " the gate of the mind" is, in
a manner, unlocked and opened.

As for mens words, they are flattering and
fcillacious; yet they exprefs their true fenti-
mentwhen uttered, either by furprife, or in
a paflion : fo Tiberius, being fuddenly moved
and carried aw^ay a little, by a flinging fpeech
oi Agrlpplna, came a ftep out of his innate
fimulation : " Thefe words," faid Tacitus^
" being heard by him, drew from his dark
" breafl; fuch words as he ufed feldom to let
" fall : and taking her up Iharply, he told
" her her own in a verfe; that fhe was
" therefore hurt, becaufe fhc did not reign."
Wherefore the poet does not improperly call
fuch pailions tortures, becaufe they urge men
to confefs their fecrets :

U 4. Vm9

^96 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE,

Vino tortus et Ira :

*' Rack'd by wine and anger.'*

Indeed experience itfelf fhews, that there
are very few men fo true to themlelves, and
fo fettled in their refolutions, but that fome-
times from heat of pallion, oflentation, en-
tire good-will to a friend, weaknefs of mind,
that can no loncrerhold out under the weiirht
of thought ; laitlj, from fome other affec-
tion and pafiion, they will reveal and com-
municate their inmoll: thoughts. But above
all, it founds the mind to the bottom, and
fearches all its folds, when fimulation is at-
tacked by a counter fimulation ; according
to the fpanilli proverb, " Tell a lie, and
«« iind a truth."

Neither are deeds themfelves, though

they are the furefl pledges of mens minds,

altogether to be trufled, without a diligent

and judicious confideration, both of their fize

and nature. For the faying is moft true:

*' Fraud erecls itfelf credit in fmaller mat-

*' ters, that it may cheat with better ad-^

*' vantage afterwards/*

But

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

297

But the furefl: key to unlock the mhids
of men, turns in fearching and gettmg tho-
roughly acquainted, either with their difpo-
fitions and natures, or their ends and inten-
tions : and certainly the weaker and more
funple fort of men are befl interpreted by
their natures; but the wifer and more re-
ferved are beft expounded by their ends.
Certainly it is a frequent errror, and very
familiar with wife men, to meafure other
men by the model of their own abihties, and
fo often times to over-fhoot the mark, by
fuppofmg men to projecl and defign to them-
felves deeper ends, and to praclife more
iubtlearts, than ever came into their heads:
which the Italian proverb elegantly notes,
faying : '' That there is commonly lefs mo-
" ney, lefs wifdom, lefs honefly, than men
*' reckon upon." Wherefore, if we are to
deal with men of a mean and {hallow capa-
city, the conjeclure mull be taken from the
propenfities of their nature, rather than from
the ends they may aim at. Further, princes
alio, from a different reafon, are befl: judged
of by their natures; and private perfons by
their ends. For princes, being at the top
of human defires, have commonly no parti-
cular

2c}S [the architect of his fortune.

ticular ends whereto they afpire, efpecially
with vehemence and perfeverance; by the
iite and diftance of which, a direction and
fcale of the reft of their actions may be taken
and made; which is one of the chief caufes
that their hearts, as the fcripture pronounces,
are inferutable. But private perfons are hke
travellers, who have in view fome end of
their journey, where they may flay and reft ;
from whence a man may make a good con-
jecture, what they will, or will not do. For
it is probable, they will do nothing but what
conduces to their ends : neither is the infor-
mation touching the diverfity of mens ends
and natures to be taken only fimply, but
comparatively alfo; as what has the predo^
minancy and command over the reft; fowe
fee l^igellinus, when he faw himfelf out-
ftripped by Petron'ms 'TurpUianus in admi-
niftering and fuggefting pleafures to Nero^
*' fearched into NerSs fears," as Tacitus
fays, and by this means broke the neck of
his rival.

As for the knowing of mens minds, by
the relations of others, it ftiail fuffice to ob-
ferve, that defeats and faults are beft learned

from

1

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 299

from enemies ; virtues and abilities from
friends; cuftoms and tim,es from fervants;
notions and ftudies from intimate confidants,
with whom they moil: commonly difcourfe :
popular fame is light, and the judgments of
fuperiors uncertain: " the truefl: reports
*' come from domeflics." But the mofl
compendious way to this whole enquiry is,
firft, to have a general acquaintance and in-
timacy with fuch men as hav^e looked mofl
into the world, and have a general know-
ledge of things and perfons ; but efpecially
to endeavour to have privacy and converfa-
tion with foiTie particular friends, who, ac-
cording to the diveriity of bufinefs and per-
fons, are able to give us fohd information,
and good intelligence in every feveral kind.
Secondly, to keep a good mediocrity, both
in liberty of fpeech, and taciturnity : in mofl
things liberty; taciturnity, where there is
occafion. For liberty of fpeech, by inviting
and provoking liberty to be ufed again,
brings much to a man's knowledge ; and fe-
crecy, on the other fide, induces trufl and
intimacy, and makes men love to lay up
their fecrets with us, as in a clofet. Laflly,
the reducing of a man's felf to fuch a watch-
ful

300 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE,"

fill and ferene habit, as in all conferences
and a6lions both to carry on the matter in
hand, and at the fame time to obferve other
tilings that fidl in by the bye : for as Epic-
tetus would have a philofopher, in every par-
ticular aftion, fay to himfelf, " I will do
'' this, and yet go on in my courfe:'* fo a
politician, in every particular bufniefs, fhould
fay to himfelf, " I both intend to do this,
*Sand to learn fomewhat elfe which may be
*« of ufe for the future.'* And therefore
thofe men that over-do the thing in hand,
and are entirely taken up with the prefent
bufmefs, without fo much as thinking of
matters that intervene, (a weaknefs that
Montaigne confefTes in himfelf) are indeed
the befl minifters of princes, but fail in point
of their own fortune. I have dwelt the
longer upon this precept of obtaining good
information, becaufe it is a main part of it-
felf, and anfwers to all the reft. But above
all things, caution muft be taken, that men
have a good government of themfelves, and
that this knowing much, do not draw on an
impertinent officioufnefs : for nothing is;
more unfortunate than light and rafh inter-
meddling in many matters: fo that this

various

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 30I

various knowledge of things and perfons,
which we advife to be procured, tends in
conclulion but to this : to make a more ju-
dicious choice both of thofe adlions we under-
take, and of thofe perfons whofe affiflance
we ufe; that fo we may know how to con-
dud all things with more dexterity, and lefs
error.

After the knowledge of others follows
the knowledge of ourfelves. For no lefs di-
ligence, but rather more is to be ufed in
taking a true and exacl information of our-
felves, than of others : for that oracle, " Know
'' yourfelf,'' is not only a rule of univerfal
prudence, but has alfo a fpecial place in po-
litics. For St. James excellently puts us in
mind, " That he that hath viewed his face
" in a glafs, yet inflantly forgets what
" manner of man he was:" fo that there Is
great need of a frequent in fpecllon : and the
fame holds alfo in politics ; but the o-laffes
indeed are different : for the divine one, in
which we ought to behold ourfelves, is the
word of God ; but the politic glafs is nothing
elfe but the flate of things and times wherein
we live.

There-

302 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

Therefore a man ought to take an im-
partial view, unprejudiced by felf-love, of
his own abilities, virtues, and fupports ; as
likewife of hjs defedls, inabilities, and impe-
diments ; eftimating the latter at the moft,
the former at the leafl. And from fuch a
view and difquifition, the following points
may come into confideration.

The firfl confideration fhould be, how a
man's conftitution and temper fuits with
the times ; which if they be found agreeable
and fit, then in all things he may give him-
felf more fcope and liberty, and indulge his
own temper; but if there are any antipathy
and diffonancy, then, in the whole courfe of
his life, he muft carry himfelf more cauti-
oufly and refervedly, and appear lefs in pub-
lic. So did Tiberius, who being confcious to
himfelf that his temper did not agree very
well with the times, was never feen at public
plays : nay, for the lafl twelve years fuccef-
fively, he came not into the fenate : but, on
the other fide, Augujlm lived in mens eyes;
which 'Tacitus alfo obferves : Alia Tiherio mo-
rum via: " But Tiberius was of another hu-

<' mour."

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 303

" mour." The fame method he took alio
to fecure himfelf from dangers.

Let the fecond confideration be, how a
man's nature fuits the profeffions and courfes
of life which are in ufe and efteem, and out
of which he is to make his choice; that fo,
if he be not refolved upon any w^ay of life,
he may chufe that which is moll: £t and
agreeable to his natural difpofition ; but if
he be already engaged in a condition of life,
to which he is not fo well fitted by nature,
let him witlidraw on the firH: occafion, and
take another profcfTion, as w^e fee was done
by Duke Falentme, who was bred by his fa-
ther to a facerdotal profeffion, which after-
wards, in compliance with the bent of his
nature, he renounced, and applied himfelf
to a military life; though equally unworthy
the dignity both of prince and priefl, fince
the peftilent man was a dilgrace to both.

Let the third confideration be, how a
man ftands in comparifon with his equals
and rivals, who. are like to be the competi-
tors of his fortune ; and let him run that
courfe of life, wherein there is the greateft

foli-

304 THE ARCHITECT OF UlS FORTUNE.

folitude, and in which he himfelf is like to be
moil eminent : as Julius Ccefar did, who at
firfl was an orator and pleader, and was chiefly
converfant in the arts of peace ; but when
he faw Cicero, Horte?iJius, and Catulus excel
in the glory of eloquence, and no man very
famous for military affairs but Pompey^he for-
fook the courfe he began, and bidding a fare-
well to civil and popular greatnefs, went over
to the military and imperatorial arts, by
which he afccnded to the top of fovereignty.

The fourth confideration is, that in the
choice of friends and dependants a man con-
fult his own nature and difpofition ; for
different kinds of friends fuits different per-
fons : the folemn and fecret kind fome ; the
bold and boafting others. Certainly it is
worth obferving, what kind of friends
Julius Ca'far\ were ; Anthony, Hirtius, Panfa,
Oppius, Balbus, Dolobelia, Pollio, and the reft.
Thefe men had this form of fwearing : *' So
'' may I die while C^far lives:" fhewing
an infinite affection to d^far ; towards others
arrogant and contemptuous; and they were
men, ftrenuous in bufmefs, but in fame and
reputation nothing extraordinary.

Thk

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 305

The fifth confideration is, that a man
take heed how he guides himfelf by exam-
ple; and that he do not fondly alTe(fl the
imitation of others ; as if that which others
can go through muft needs be as open to
him, never confidering with himfelf what
difference, perhaps, there is, between his and
their natures, whom he has chofen for his
pattern. This was manifeftly Pompey^s er-
ror, who, as Cicero records, was wont to fay,
" Sylla could do this, and cannot I r" Where-
in he deceived himfelf greatly, the natures
and proceedings of Sylla and himfelf, being
the mofi: unlike in the world : the one being
fierce, violent, and ever prefTmg the fact;
the other, folemn, regardful of the laws,
directing all to majefly and fame ; and there-
fore the lefs efFe6lual and powerful to go
through with his defigns. There are more
precepts of this nature ; but thefe fhall ixi^-
fice for example to the reft.

Nor is the knowing of a man's felf fuf-
ficient, but he muft alfo confult with him-
felf, how he may cleverly and prudently {itt
forth and reveal himfelf; and in fine, turn,
wind, and fafhion himfelf to all occa-;

Vol. II. X fions.

306 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

fions. As for the fetting himfelf forth, we
fee nothing more ufual, than for the lefs able
man to make the greater fhew: therefore
it is no fmall gift of prudence for a man to be
able to fet himfelf forth with a kind of art
and gracefulnefs, by aptly difplaying his
virtues, merits, and fortune alfo, as far as
may be done without arrogance or fa-
tiety ; and again, in the artificial covering
of his weakneffes, defedls, misfortunes, and
difgraces ; dwelling upon the latter, and pre-
fenting them in the ftrongeft light : excufing
the former, or cancelling them by fome art-
ful conftruclion. Therefore Tacitus fays of
Mucianus^ who was the greateft politician of
his time, and the mofl indefatigable in bufi-
nefs; Omnium qua diceret atque ageret, arte
quadam ojlentator\ " He was one that had
*' the art to make the mofl fhew of what-
** ever he fpoke or did. This affair requires
indeed fome art, that it may not occafioa
difgufh and contempt. Some kind of
oftentation, however vain, feems rather a
vice in morals, than in politics: for as it is.
vfually faid of (lander, " Slander boldly,
<' fomewhat ever flicks;" fo may it be faid
Qf oflentation, iinlefs it be in a ridiculous

degree

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 307

degree of deformity, boaft ftoutly, fome im-
preffion will be left : it will certainly, with
the people, though the wifer fraile at it:
therefore reputation won with the majo-
rity, will eafily countervail the difdain of a
few. Now if this oftentation of a man's
felf is managed with decency and difcre-
tion ; for example, if it carries the appear-
ance of a native candor and ingenuity ; or
if it be ufed at times either of danger, as by
military perfons in time of war, or when
others are much envied ; or if the words
which refpe£l a man's own praife feem to
fall from him as a thing not principally in-
tended, and without either infixing ferioufly,
or dwelling too long upon them ; or if a man
at the fame time blend cenfure and raillery
with the praife of himfelf; or finally, if he
do it not of himfelf, but compelled by the
infolence and contumelies of others ; it cer-
tainly makes a great addition to a man's
reputation : and furely there are not a few,
who, being more folid by nature, and con-
fequently wanting this art of hoifting fails
to their honour, fufFer for their modefly by
ibme lofs of reputation.

X2 Bur

308 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE^

But though fome of weaker judgment,
and perhaps too moral, may dilallow this
oftentation of virtue; no man will deny,
but we fhou'ld endeavour at leaft, that virtue
may not through negled lofe its value ; which
will arlfe from three caufes : firft, when a
man offers and obtrudes himfelf and fervicc
in matters of bufuiefs unfolicited ; for fuch
offices are thought rewarded, if accepted.
Secondly, when a man in the beginning of a
bufinefs exerts himfelf immoderately, and
by doing too much, will not give that which
is well done leave to fettle ; which wins an
early commendation, but in the end produces
fatiety. Thirdly, when a man is too quickly
and lightly fenfible of the fruit of his
virtue, being too much elated with the
praife, applaufe, honour, and favour yielded
him; for which there is a good piece of ad-
vice : " Beware left you fee m unacquainted
«' with great matters, that are thus pleafed
^^ with afmall matter, as if it were great."

But in truth, a diligent covering of de-^

fe£ls is of no lefs importance, than a difcreet

and dexterous oftentatlon of virtues; which

i^ effedled by caution, colour, and confi-

I dence.

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 309

dencci Caution is, when we prudently keep
ofF from thofe things to which we are not e-
qual : whereas bold and unquiet fpirlts'will be
thruiling themfelves, without judgment,
into matters that they are not ufed to, and
fo publifh and proclaim their own defe6lSo
Colour is, when we fagaciouily and wifely
prepare and make way to have a favourable
and commodious conftrutlion made of our
faults and defedls, as proceeding from ano-
ther caufe, or tending to fome other purpofe
than is generally conceived. For as to the
covers of faults the poet fays well : " Many
*' times a vice lies hid by its nearnefs to a
" virtue." Wherefore if we perceive a de-
feat in ourfelves, our endeavour muft be to
borrow the perfon and colour of the next
bordering virtue, under whofe fhadow it may
be concealed : for inftance ; he that is dull,
mufl pretend gravity ; he that is a coward,
rnildnefs; and fo for thereft. This alfo is
of ufe, to pretend fome plaufible caufe, that
mduced us to forbear doing our beft, and
exerting our ntmoft ftrength ; that fo, what
is not in our power may feem not to be in
our will to do. As for confidence, it is in-
deed an impudent, but yet the fureft and
X 3 mod

JiO THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE*

mofl efFe(£lual remedy : namely, for a man
to profefs to defpife, and to fet at nought,
what in truth he is not able to attain ; ac-
cording to the principle of wife merchants,
with whom it is familiar to raife the price
of their own commodities, and to beat down
that of others. But there is yet another kind
of confidence, even more impudent than
this; which is, to face out a man's own
defeds, to boaft of and obtrude them upon
opinion, as if he conceived that he was befl
in thofe things wherein he moft fails; and
in order to put this cheat upon others the
more eafily, to pretend a diffidence of him-
felf in thofe things, wherein, in truth, he is
beft, as we fee in the poets ; for a poet re-
citing his verfes, if you except any particu-
lar verfe, he will prefently fay; '* And yet
'' this line coft me more labour than any of
" the reft.'* And then he will bring you
fome other line, as though he fufpedled that
himfelf, and afk your judgment of it, which
yet he knows well enough to be the beft in
the number, and liable to no exception at
all. But above all, as to the prefent bufinefs
of fetting the faireft glofs upon himfelf be-
fore others, and maintaining his right in all

points.

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 3H

points, nothing, in my judgment, avails
more, than for a man not to difarm and ex-
pofe himfelf to injuries and contumehes, by
an exceffive goodnefs and fweetnefs of na-
ture ; but rather in all things to fhoot out
now and then fome fparks of a fpirit free
and generous, and carrying with it as much
fling as honey : which kind of fortified car-
riage, together with a prompt and prepared
refolution to vindicate himfelf from affronts,
is impreffed upon fome men by accident,
and a kind of inevitable neceflity, by reafoii
offomewhat inherent in their perfon or for-
tune ; as it happens in deformed perfons and
baftards, and in perfons any way difgraced ;
upon which account fuch men, if they do
not want virtue, are commonly fuccefsful.

As for the declaring of a man's felf,
that is a far different thing from the often-
tation of it ; for it refers not to mens vir-
tues or defedts, but to the particular ac-
tions of life ; in which point nothing is more
politic than to obferve a wife and difcreet
mean in difclofing or concealing our thoughts
touching particular adions : for although
profound fecrecy, and concealing of coun-
X 4 fels,

312 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

fels, and that manner of managing bufinefs,
which works all in the dark, be a thing fome-
times moflprofperouSjand to be admired ; yet
it often happens, that diflimulation begets er-
rors, and enfnares the difl'embler himfelf.
For we fee the greateft politicians that ever
were, have made no fcruple of profeffing freer
ly, and without diffimulation, the ends they
aimed at. Thus L. Sylla openly declared,
*' That he wifhed all men happy or unhap-
" py, as they were his friends or enemies."
So Ccefar^ when he firfl went into Gaul^ bold-
ly profefled, " That he had rather be iirft
*' in an obfcure village, than fecond at
** RomeT The fame Cafar^ when the war
was now begun, did not play the dilTembler,
if we hearken to what Cicero reports of him :
" The other (meaning Cajar) refufes not ;
*' nay in a manner requires to be called,
" what he is, a tyrant." In like manner
we fee in a letter of Cicero to Atticus^ how
far from a diffembler Augujius Cdsjar was ;
who, in his very entrance upon affairs, when
he was the darling of the fenate, neverthe-
lefs was wont in his harangues to the people
to fwear in this form : " So may I attain the

*' honours

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. -^12

«' honours of my father:" and this was no
kfs than tyranny itfelf. It is true, to abate
the envy of it a little, he ufed at the fame
time to flretch forth his hand to a flatue of
Julius Co'fars, which was ereaed in the
Roftra: and men laughing and wondering
faid, " Is it poffible? Or did you ever hear
" the like?" and yet thought he meant no
hurt, he did it fo handfomely and ingenu-
ouily. And thefe were profperous in all their
doings. Pompey, on the other fide, who
tended to the fame ends by ways more fhaded
and obfcure, as Tacitus fays of him : '' More
'' fecret, but nothing better:" and Salluft
concurs in the fame charge; " Of a modefl:
'' countenance, but an immodell: mind;'*
made it liis entire bufniefs by infinite ftratL
gems, deeply hiding his defires and ambi-
tion, to reduce the republic in the mean time
to anarchy and confufion ; to the end ihe
might, of neceffity, caftherfelf into his arms,
and fo the fovereign power be devolved, upon
him againft his will, in appearance, and en-
deavours to the contrary. And when' he
thought he had gained his point, by beino-
made Conful alone, of which there was no
precedent, he was not the nearer; fortius

realbn,

314 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE,

reafon, becnufe thofe that, without a doubt,
would have co-operated with him, under-
ftood him not : fo that he was forced in the
end to go the beaten and common track of
getting arms and an army into his hands,
under colour of oppofing defar. So flow,
cafual, hazardous, and commonly unfortu-
nate are thofe counfels which are covered
with profound diffimulation ! And 'Tacitus
feems to have been of the fame fentiment in
this matter, when he determines the artifice
of Emulation to be a wifdom of an inferior
form, in compaiifon of political arts, at-
tributing thofe to Tiberius y thefe to Augujlus
C(^Jar : for fpeaking of Livia^ he faith thus :
*' That fhd was a good compofition of the
*' arts of her hulband, and the fimulation
*' of her fon." For furely the continual
habit of diffimulation is but a weak and
fluggifh cunning, and not greatly politic.

As to the bending and fafhioning of the
mind, we mufl indeed endeavour with all
our might, that the mind be made pliant
and obedient to occafions and opportunities,
and that it be not any way ftifF or refractory
towards them. For nothing is a greater

hin-

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

SIS

hindrance to bufinefs, or to the eftablifhing
of mens fortune, than this: IJem manebatj
neque idem decebat: that is, when men con-
tinue the fame, and follow their own bent,
though occalions are changed : therefore
hlvy^ when he brings in Cato-Major as the
mofl expert architect of his fortune, does
well to annex this, that he had a verfatile
wit, which he could command and turn any
way : and hence it is, that grave and folem.n
wits, and fuch as cannot change, have ge-
nerally more dignity than felicity. But
this weaknefs is implanted in fome men by
nature, being of themfelves difpofed to be
vifcous and knotty, and unapt to turn : in
others it has obtained by cuftom, which is
a fecond nature, and from a conceit, which
eahly fteals into mens minds, that they
ought by no means to change a courfe of
a£ling, which they have found good and
profperous by former experience. For Ma-
chiavel notes wifely in Fabius Maxinms^ that
he was for keeping tooth and nail to his old
inveterate cuftom of delaying and protradling
the war, when the nature of the war was
altered, and required brilkermeafures. Again,
in others the lame weaknefs proceeds from

want

^l6 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

want of judgment; when men do not dlA
cern in time the periods of things and ac-
tions, but turn too late, when the opportu-
nity is flipped. Some liich thing as this Dc-
mojihenes reprehends in his Athenians^ faying,
•* That they are like country fellows playing
** in a fencing- fchool, who after they have
*' received a blow, turn their fliield to the
*' guard of that part where they were flruckj
*' and not before*" In others again this
comes to pals, becaufe they are loth to lofe
the labour taken in that way they iiave onc6
entered into, nor do they know how to found
a retreat ; but rather trufl to get the better
of occafions by their perfeverance : and yet
in the end, when they fee no other remedy^
then they come to it with difadvantage.

There are fome particular precepts con-
ducive to this end: thefirfl, that this archi-
te6l of ills fortune Ihould accuflom his mind^
to eftimate and rate the price and value of
things, in proportion as they conduce, more
or lefs, to his particular fortune and ends;
and that he do this fubflantially, and not
fuperficially. For wc fliail find the logical
part of fome mens minds good, but the ma^

thema-

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 317

thematlcal part erroneous : that is, they can
well judge of confequences, but not of pro-
portions and comparifon ; preferring things
of fhew and fenfe before things of fubftance
and effe^l. So fome fall in love with accefs
to princes, others with popular fame and
applaufe, fuppoling they are things of great
purchafe, when in many cafes they are but
matters of envy, peril, and impediment. So
fome meafure things according to the labour
and difficulty, or afiiduity, which are fpent
about them ; and think if they are ever
moving, that they muft needs advance and
proceed: as Ccefar faid contemptuoufly of
Cato UticenfiSj defcribing how laborious and
indefatigable he was to no great purpofe :
Hac omnia magno Jludlo agebat: " All thefe
^^ things he profecuted with laborious ef-
" fort." Hence it is that men many time^
abufe themfelves, in thinking if they have
the favour and patronage of fome great
and honourable perfon, all things muft fuc-
ceed to their defire ; whereas the truth is,
that not the greateft, but the fitteft inftru-
ments, fooncft and moft happily accomplifh
a work.

And

3l8 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

And for the true direction of the mathe-
matical part of the mind ; that is, for the
due marfhaUing of mens purfuits towards
their fortune, as they are more orlefs mate-
rial ; I hold the order to be this : firft, the
amendment of their own minds. For the
remove of the impediments of the mind will
fooner clear the paffages of fortune, than the
obtaining fortune will remove the impedi-
ments of the mind. In the fecond place I
fet down wealth and means ; which per-
chance moft men would have placed firft,
becaufe of the general ufe they bear towards
all variety of occafions. But that opinion I
may condemn for the like reafon that Ma-
chlavel does in the other, that money is the
iinews of war; " Whereas," fays he, "the
*' true fmews of war are no other than the
*' iinews of mens arms." In like manner
it may be truly affirmed, that it is not money
that is the Iinews of fortune, but it is the
Iinews and fleel of mens minds, wit, courage,
l}oldnefs, refolution, temper, induflry, and
the like. In the third place I fet down re-
putation, becaufe of the peremptory tides
and currents it has; which, if they be not
taken in their due time, are feldom recovered,
2 it

It being extremely hard to plaj an after-game
of reputation. And in the lafl place I fet
down honour, which is more eafily won by
any of the other three, much more by all iu
conjunction, than any of them can be pur-
chafed by honour. To conclude this pre-
cept, as there is order and priority in matter,
fo is there in time ; the prepoflerous placing
whereof is one of the moil common errors ;
while men fly to their ends when they
ihould ftudy their beginnings; and do not
take things in order of time as they come
on, but arrange, them according to great-
nefs, and not according to inftance; not ob-
ferving the good precept :

^iod nunc bi/Iaif agarmis,

ViRG.Paft. IX.66,

Let

us mma our wa

*' Another fong requires another day."

Dryden:

The fecond precept is, that we beware
how, upon a fort of greatnefs and prefump-
tion of mind, we engage in matters too dif-
ficult ; for touchins: mens fortune the coua-
I'el is excellent :

Falls accede Dcifjue.

Let

^30 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

Let ns look about us on every fide, and
obferve where things are open, where fluit
and obflrucled, where eafy, where difficult ;
and let us not mifemploy onr (Irength, where
the way is not paffable. By doing thus we
Ihall both preferve ourfelves from being-
foiled, and win the opinion of moderation ;
offend the fewer, and finally acquire an opi-
nion of felicity, while thofe things which
naturally would, of their own accord, have
come to pais, fhall be attributed to our in-
duftry.

The third precept is, that we do not al-
ways expert occafions, but fometimes pro-
voke them, and lead them the way: which
is alfo what Demojihenes intimates in high
terms, that able men give the lead to, and
are not led by affairs. For if we carefully
attend it, we ihall obferve two different
kinds of fufficiency in managing affairs, and
liandhng bufmefs. For fome know how to
make a dexterous ufe of occafions, but plot
and invent nothing of themfelves : others are
all for plots, but cannot lay hold of occafions
that fall i\\ opportunely. Either of thefe

abi-

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 32I

abilities is very lame and imperfed without
the other.

A fourth precept is, to undertake nothing
that muft neceflarily employ a great deal of
time; but to have that verfe ever founding
in our ears :

Sedfugh mterea, fug'it irreparah'ile tempus.
*' But time is lofl, which never will renew.'*

Dryden.

And the reafon why thofe who have ad-
dided themfelves to laborious profeflions,
as lawyers, orators, learned divines, writers
of books, and the like, are lefs politic iii
building and promoting their own fortunes,
is no other than this ; that they want time,
which is otherwife employed, to inform
themfelves of particulars ; to wait upon oc-
cafions, and to devife and projecl defigns
which tend to the making of their fortune.
Furthermore, in the courts of princes and
flates you will find thofe moft expert in ad-
vancing their own fortune, and invading

Vol. II. y that

322 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

that of Others, who are m no public office;
but are perpetually taken up in this advance-
ment of life that we are fpeaking of.

A fifth precept of this knowledge is, to
imitate nature, which does nothing in vain.
For a man ought, in every particular action,
fo to carry the motions of his mind, and to
have one thing under another, as if he can-
not have what he feeks in the befh degree,
yet to have it in a fecond, or even in a third :
and if he can get no footing at all in the thing-
he purpofes, then to turn the pains he has
taken upon fome other end, than that he
firft defigned : and if he cannot make any
thing of it for the prefent, yet to make it as
a feed of fofnewhat in time to come : and if
he can derive no folid effed or fubftance
from it, neither for the prefent nor for the
future, yet to win fome good opinion and
reputation by it. So that he Ihould exad an
account from himfelf of every particular ac-
tion, to reap fomewhat from it, and not to
ftand amazed and confounded, if he fail in the
principal fcope of his intentions ; for nothing
is more impolitic than to be wholly and
folely taken up with one thing : for he that

is

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 323

IS fo, lofes infinite occafions which inter-
vene, and are many times more proper and
propitious for fome thing he fliall need after-
wards, than for that which he urges for the
preient ; and therefore men muft be perfect
in that rule : H(^c oportet facere^ et ilia non
omittere.

A lixth precept of this knowledge is, for
a man not to engage himfelf peremptorily
in any thing, though it may feem at firil
fight not very liable to accident, but ever
to fecure a retreat.

A feventh precept of this knowledge is,
that ancient precept of B/as, not conftrued to
any point of perfidy, but only to caution
and moderation: "Both love, as though
>' you were to hate, and hate, as though
*' you were to love." For it utterly betrays
all utility for men to embark themfelves too
far into unfortunate friendfhips, troublefome
fpleens, and humorous envies or emula-
tions.

Though I have continued this beyond the

meafure of an example, yet they are only

Y 2, Iketches

324 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

iketches of what are deficient for others to
enlarge on. But as Cicero^ when he fets
down an idea of a perfect orator, does not
mean that every pleader fhould be fuch ;
and fo likewlfe when a prince or a courtier
has been defcribed bj fuch as have handled
thofe fubje(5ls, the mould has ufed to be
made according to the perfection of the art,
and not according to common practice : fo I
underftand it, that it ought to be done in the
defcription of a politic man : I mean politic
for his own fortune,

The precepts which we have laid down,
may be called good arts : for as to evil arts,
if a man becomes a difciple to Machiavel^
he will be taught: " that the reputation of
•* virtue is conducive, but virtue itfclf in-
*' jurious to fortune:" and " that men are
*' befl: retained in fubfervience to our will by
*' fear; therefore they ought always to be
*' involved in difficulty and danger :" fo this
politician feems to be what the Italians call,
II feminatore delle fpine: *' a thorn fo we r."
Similar is that cited by Cicero: *' Let our
" friends fall, provided our enemies perifh :"
and that of Cataline: " If a fire be raifed in

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 325^

*« my fortunes, Twill extinguifh it not with
*« water, but ruin;" or the maxim of Ly-
Jander : " That children are to be deceived
" with comfits, and men with oaths ;" and
the like corrupt and pernicious pofitions;
of which there are more in number than of
the good and found : if any man be delighted
with fuch polluted wifdom, I deny not but
fuch an one, difpenfmg with all the laws of
charity and virtue, and being wholly enflaved
to the prefhng his fortune, may, with more
compendioufnefs and fpeed, advance it: but
it is in life, as it is in ways, the (hortefl way
is commonly the fouleft; nor indeed is the
fairefl way the mofl tedious.

But men fhould be fo far from applying
themfelves to fuch corrupt and crooked arts,
that they ought rather to fet before their
eyes, not only that general map of the world,
*' That all things are vanity and vexation of
*' fpirit;" but many other more particular
direClions, vh. " That being itfelf, without
<« well-being, is a curfe; and the greater
*' the being, the greater the curfe:" and,
*' That the highefl reward of virtue, is
«< virtue herfelf; as alfo the feverefl puniih-
y 3 " ment

326 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

*' ment of vice, is vice itfelf :" according
to what the poet fays excellently :

^ae vob'is, qu<s d'lgna vlr'i, pro tallbus aiijis
Pram'ia pojfc rear folv'i ? Pulcherrima primum
Dii morcf/^ue dahunt vejlri.

ViRG. ^n. IX. 217, &c,

*' Ye brave young men, what equal gifts can we,
*' In recompence of fuch defert, decree ?
*' The grcateft, fure, and bed you can receive,
*' The Gods, and your own confcious worth will give."

Dryden.

Further, while men are turning their
thoughts every way, how they may heft
confult their advancement in the world, they
ought to look up to the divine judgments,
and eternal providence, which very often
fubverts and brings to nought the machina-
tions and evil counfels, though never fo pro-
found, of the v/icked ; according to that of
fcripture : " He hath conceived iniquity, and
*' (hall bring forth a vain thing." Though
men ihould refrain from injury, and evil
arts, yet this reftlefs, inceffant afpiring to
the height of fortune, pays not the tribute
of our time due unto God : who, as we may
fee, demands and fets apart for himfelf a
I tenth

THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE. 327

tenth of our fubftance, and a feventh of our
time. For to what purpofe were it to have
an ere6l face towards heaven, and a fpirit
groveling upon earth, and eating duft Ukc
the ferpent ? An obfervation which even the
heathen could make :

Atq^ue affl'ig'n humo divine particulam aura^

Should any man flatter himfelf, that he
refolves to employ his fortune well, though
he fhould obtain it ill ; as was faid oi Auguflus
Co'far^ Tundi Septimius Sevenis : " That either
*' the}' fhould never have been born, or never
" have died ;" they did fo much mifchief
in the purfuit of their fortune, and fo much
good when they were at the fummit; let
him take this with him, that fuch compen-
fation of evil by good may be allowed after ,
the facl, but is defervedly condemned in the
purpofe. Laftly, it would not be amifs for
us, in this ardent purfuit of fortune, to cool
ourfelves a little, with that elegant conceit of
the emperorC/M;-/^Jthe Fifth, in his inftrudi-
ons to his fon : " That fortune has fomething
" of the nature of women, who for the moll:
*' part fcom fully turn off humble fervants
Y4 " that

328 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS FORTUNE.

*' that are too eager in their courtfhip."
But this laft remedy is for thofe whofe tafte,
from fome diflemper of mind, is corrupted.
Let men rather build upon that foundation
which is the corner-ftone of divinity and
philofophy : " Firft feek ye the kingdom
*' of God, and all thefe things ihall be added
*' unto you :" and the precept of philofo-
phy: *' Seek firfl the goods of the mind,
*' and the reft fhall be fupplied, or their ab-
*' fence fhall not be prejudicial." And altho'
the human foundation is fomewhat fandy,
as jBr^//z/J exclaimed : " I reverenced thee, O
*' virtue, as a thing facred, but thou art an
*' empty name :" yet the divine foundation is
fettled upon a rock. And here we conclude
the do6lrine of the courfe of life for advance-
ment in the world.

o N

ON INSPIRED DIVINITY. ^2^

O N

INSPIRED DIVINITY,

nPHE prerogative of God comprehends the
whole man ; and extends as well to the
reafon, as to the will of man; to the end,
that man may renounce himfelf wholly,
and draw near unto God. Wherefore, as we
are to obey the divme law, though we find a
relu6lance in our will ; fo are we to believe
the word of God, though we find a reluc-
tance in our reafon. But '' that faith which
" was accounted to Abraham for righteouf-
" nefs," wasof fuch a point as that at which
Sarah laughed ; who therein was an image
of natural reafon. For if we confider the
thing aright, it is more worthy to believe
than to know ; as we now know; fince in
knowledge man's mind fuffers from fenfe ;
but in belief it fuffers from fpirit, and fuch
an one as it holds far more authorifed than
itfelf, and fo fuffers from the worthier agent.
The cafe is otherwife in the flate of glory ;

for

§30 ON INSPIRED DIVINITY.

for then *^ faith fliall ceafe, and we fhal|
*' know, as we are known.'*

Wherefore we may conclude, that fa-
cred theology muft be drawn from the word
of God, not from the Ught of nature, or the
didates of reafon. For it is written, '' The
" heavens declare the glory of God :" but
we find it no where written, the heavens
declare the will of God. Of this it is pro-
nounced : Ad legem et teji'imtmia ; Ji non fece-
rmt fecundum verbum illiid, &c. Nor does
this hold only in thofe great myfleries of the
Deity, of the creation, of the redemption,
but appertains alfo to the moral law, truly
interpreted. For it mufh be confeffed, that
a great part of the moral law is of that per-
fedion whereunto the light of nature cannot
afpire. Though men have, even from tlie
light andlaw^ of nature, fome notions of vir-
tue, vice, juftice, wrong, good, and evil,
the light of nature is to be underftood in two
fenfes : firft, as it fprings from fenfe, induc-
tion, reafon, argument, according to the
laws of heaven and earth : fecondly, as it is
imprinted and fhines upon the fpirit of man,
by an inward inftincl, according to the law

of

ON INSPIRED DIVINITY. ^^T

of confclence, which Is a kind of fpark and
relic of his former and primitive purity: in
which latter fenfe chiefly the foul partici-
pates of fome light to behold and difcern the
perfection of the moral law; which light
however is not altogether clear, but of fuch
fort as rather to check the vice, than fully to
inform the duty: fo then the do£lrine of re-
ligion, as well moral as myftical, depends
upon divine revelation.

The ufenotwlthftanding of human reafon
hi fpiritual things, and the latitude of it, is
very great and general : hence the Apoftle
calls religion, " our reafonable fervice of
" God." Nay, the very ceremonies and
figures of the old law were full of reafon and
fignifi cation, much more than the cere-
monies of idolatry and magic, which were
mute, not teaching, or even infinuatingany
thing : but the Chriftian faith as in all things,
fo particularly in this, deferves to be highly
magnified, becaufe it holds and preferves the
golden mediocrity, as to the ufe of reafon
and difputation, which is the offspring of
reafon, between the law of the Heathen, and
the law of Mahomet, which have embraced

the

33* ^^ INSPIRED DIVINITY.

the two extremes : for the religion of the
Heathen had no conftant beUef or confef-
fion, but left all to the liberty of argument :
and the religion of Mahomet, on the other
fide, interdicts argument altogether; the
one having the very face of error ; the other
of impofture: whereas the Chriflian faith
both admits and rejeds difputation, but ac-
cording to due bounds.

The ufe of human reafon, in matters per-
taining to religion, is of two forts : the one,
in the conception and apprehenfion of the
mylleries of God revealed to us ; the other,
in the inferring and deriving of doclrine and
direction from them. As to the conception
of the myfleries, we fee God vouchfafes to
defcend to the weaknefs of our capacity,
fo exprelling and unfolding his myfleries,
as they may bed be comprehended by us;
and grafting, in a manner, his revelations,
and holy do6lrine, upon the conceptions and
notions of our reafon ; and fo applying his
infpirations to open our underlfanding, as
the form of the key is fitted to the ward of
the lock. In which refpecl notwithflanding
we ought not to be wanting to ourfelves ;

for

ON INSPIRED DIVINITY. 333

for fince God hlmfelf makes ufe of the means
ofourreafon in his illuminations, we ought
alio to exercife and turn the fame everyway,
by which we may become more capable to
receive and imbibe the holy myfteries ; with
this caution, that the mind be dilated, ac-
cording to its model, to the amplitude of the
myfleries ; and not the myfteries ftraitened
and contraded to the narrownefs of the
mind.

As for inferences, we ought to know, that
there is allowed us a ufe of reafon and argu-
mentation in myfteries fecondary and refpec-
tive, though not original and abfolute. For
after the articles and principles of religion
are once placed, and wholly exempted from
the examination of reafon, it is then per-
mitted unto us to make deductions and in-
ferences from them, and according to the
analogy of them, for our better dire£lion.
In things natural indeed this holds not ; for
both the principles themfelves are examinable
by indudion, though not by fyllogifm : and
beiides, thofe principles, or firft pofitions,
have no repugnancy with that reafon which
draws down and deduces the inferior pofi.

tions.

334 ON INSPIRED Divinity.

tions. The cafe is otherwife in religion,
where hoth the firft politions are their own
fupporters, and fubfifl by themfelves ; and
again, they are not regulated by that reafon
which deduces the confequent propofi tions.
Nor does this hold in religon alone, but in
other fciences alfo, both of greater and^fmaller
nature ; namely, wherein there are not only
pofitions, but a6ls of authority ; for in fuch
alfo there can be no ufe of abfolute reafon :
fo in human laws, there are many grounds
and maxims, which are, placita juris, politive
upon authority, and not upon reafon; and
therefore not to be difputed : but what is
rnofl: juft, not abfolutely but relatively, and
according to the analogy of thofe maxims
which affords a large field of difputation.
Such therefore is that fecondary reafon that
has place in divinity, which is grounded
upon the placits of God.

And as there is a double ufe ofhu man reafon
in divine matters, fo in the fame ufe alfo there
is a double excefs : the one, when too curious
an enquiry is made into the manner of the
myftery ; the other, when as great authority
is attributed to inferences as to principles.

We

ON INSPIRED DIVINITY. -^^^

We have an hipLance of the firft in Nicodemus,
who obftinately enquires, " How can a man
" be born when he is old ?" Of the fecond,
in thofe who arrogantly vouch their opinions
by anathemas : it would therefore be a whole-
fome and very ufeful courfe, if a fober and
diligent treatife was compiled, which might
give direaions concerning the true limits
and ufe of reafon in fpiritual things; and
w^ould be a kind of opiate medicine, not only
to quiet and lay afleep the vanity of curious
fpeculations with which the fchools labour,
but hkewife to calm and mitigate the fury of
controverfies, wherewith the church labours.
For it cannot but open mens eyes to fee that
many controverfies do merely'relate to that
which is either not revealed or pofitive ; and
that many others do grow upon weak and
obfcure inferences or deduftions. So it is a
thing of great moment and ufe well to define
what, and of what latitude thofe points are,
which difcorporate men from the body of the
church, and exclude them from the commu-
nion and fellowship of the faithful. Now,
if any one thinks this has been done long-
ago, let him well confider with what fince-
rity and moderation. In the mean time it is

likely,

336 ON INSPIRED DIVINITY.

likely, that he who makes mention of peace,
will receive Jehus anfwer to the meflenger,
" Is it peace Jehu?'' " What haft thou to
*' do with peace? Turn, and follow me."
Peace is not the thing that moft people love,
but party.

Seeing the parts of holy fcripture, as to
the information of theology, are lo great, we
ought efpecially to confider their interpreta-
tion. Nor do we here fpeak of the authority
of interpreting them, which is eftahlifhed in
the confent of the church, but of the manner
of interpreting them. This is of two forts;
methodical and folute, or at large; for thefe
divine waters, which infinitely excel thofe
of Jacobs well, are drawn forth much in the
fame manner, as natural waters ufed to be out
of wells, which are either forced up into a
ciftern, and fo conveyed and derived by pipes
for pubhc and private ufe ; or elfe are drawn
in veffels where they fpring, for occaiional
ufe. The former fort of which, though it
feems to be the more ready, yet in my
judgment, is more fubje6t to corruption.
This is that method which has exhibited
inito us the fcholaftic divinity, whereby

divinity

ON INSPIRED DiVlNITr, 337

divinity has been reduced into an art, as into
a ciftern ; and the ftreams of axioms and
pofitions derived and diftributed from thence
unto all parts.

In this men have fought three things ; a
fummary brevity, a compared ftrength, and
a complete perfedion : the two firfl of which
they fail to find, and the laft they ought
not to feek. As to brevity, we fee in all
fummary methods, while men propofe to
abridge, they give caufe to dilate ; for the
fum or abridgment by contradion becomes
obfcure, the obfcurity requires expofition,
and the expofition is deduced into large com-
mentaries, or into common places and titles,
which grow larger than the original writings,
whence the fummary was extraded. So
we fee the volumes of the School-men are
tnuch greater than the firft writings of the
fathers, whence the mafler of the fentences
made his fum or colledion : fo in like man-
ner the volumes of the modern dodors of
the civil law, exceed thofe of the ancient ju-
rlfconfults, of which Tribonian compiled the
digeft. So that this courfe of fum and com-
mentaries is that which does infallibly make
Vol. II. z the

'338 ON INSFIRBD DIVINITY.

tlie body of fclences more immenfe in q"ua«
lity, and more bafe in fubftance.

And for ftrength, it is true, that know-
ledge reduced into exa6l methods have a
fhew of ftrength, in that each part feems to
fupport and fuftain the other : but this is
more fatisfaftory than fubftantial, like unto
buildings which ftand by architecture and
compa6lion, which are more fubjeft to ruin
than thofe that are built ftronger in their
feveral parts, though lefs compared. But
it is plain, that the more you recede from
your grounds, the weaker you conclude;
and as in nature the more you remove your-
felf from particulars, the greater peril of
error you incur : fo much more in divi-
nity, the more you recede from the fcriptures
by inferences and confequences, the more
weak and dilute are your pofitions.

As for perfection or completenefs in di-
vinity, it is not to be fought, which makes
this courfe of artificial divinity the more fuf-
peCled ; For he that will reduce a knowledge
into an art, will make it round and uniform :
but in divinity many things muft be left

abrupt,

ON INSPIRED DIVINITY. ^39

abrupt, and concluded with this: '' O the
" depth of the vvitdom and knowledge of
*' God, how unfathomable are his judg-
*' ments, and his ways untraceable !" So
again the Apoftle fays, "We know in part ;".
and to has^e the form of a whole, where
there is but matter for a part, cannot be
without fupplies by fuppofition and pre-
fum prion ; and therefore I conclude, that
the true ufe of thefe fummary methods has
place in inftitutions or introductions pre-
paratory to knowledge: but in them, or
by dedu cement from them, to handle the
main body and fubftance of knowledge, is
in all Iciences prejudicial, and in divinity
dangerous.

As to the interpretation of the fcriptures
folute and at large, there hav^e been various
kinds devifed, fome of them rather curious
and unfafe, than fober and warranted. How-
ever it mufl be confefled, that the fcrip-
tures being given by infpirationp and not
by human reafon, differ from all other
books in the author; which confequently
draws on fome difference to be ufed by the
expofitor: for the inditer of them did know
Z 2 four

340 ON INSPIRED DIVINITY.

four things which no man attains to know!
thefe are, the myfteries of the kingdom of
glory; the perfeftion of the laws of nature;
the fecrets of the heart of man ; and the fu-
ture fucceffion of all ages. As to the firft, it
is faid, " He that prelTeth into the light,
" fhall be oppreffed of the glory." And
again; " No man fhall fee my face and
" live." Tothefecond; " When he pre-
*' pared the heavens I was prefent, when
•' by law and compafs he enclofed the deep/*
To the third ; " Neither was it needful
" that any fhould bear witnefs to him of
*' man, for he knew well what was in man."
And to the laft ; '* From the beginning are
*' known to the Lord, all his works."

From the former two of thefe have been
drawn certain fenfes and expofitions of fciip-
ture, which had need be contained within
the bounds of fobriety ; the one fpiritual,
and the other philofophical. As to the for-
mer, man is not to anticipate the time
*' when we (hall fee face to face, now we
*' fee through a glafs darkly :" neverthelefs,
there feems to be a liberty granted to the
polifhing of this glafs, or fome moderate

expli-

i

ON INSPIRED DIVINITY. 34I

explication of this obfcurity. But to prefs
too far into it cannot but caufe a diflblution
and overthrow of the fpirit of man ; for in
the body there are three degrees of what we
receive into it; aUment, medicine, and poi-
Ibn : aliment is that which the nature of
man can perfectly alter and digeft ; medicine
that which is partly converted by nature,
and partly converts nature; and poifon is
what works wholly upon nature, but on
which nature can have no efTe<£l: : fo in the
mind, whatever knowledge reafon cannot at
all work upon and convert, is a mere lntox-»
ication, and endangers a diflblution of the
mind and underftanding. Bat the latter
docStrine has been lately inftituted by the
fchool of Paracelfus and others, who have
pretended to find the truth of all natural
philofophy in the fcriptures ; fcandalizing
and traducing all other philofophy as hea-
thenifh and profane. But there is no fuch
enmity between God's word and his works;
neither do they give honour to the fcriptures,
as they fuppofe, but debafe them. For to
feek heaven and earth in the word of God,
whereof it is faid, " heaven and earth fhall
*♦ pafs, but my word fhall not pafs," is to
Z 3 feek

34^ ON INSPIRED DIVINITY.

feek temporal things among eternal: and
as to feek divinity in philofophy is ^' to leek
•*' the living amongft the dead :" fo to feek
philofophy in divinity is to feek the dead
among the living. Neither are the pots or
layers, whofe place was in the outward part
of the temple, to be fought in the holiefl:
place of all, where the ark of the teftimony
was feated : neither is the fcope or purpofe
of God to exprefs matters of nature in the
fcriptures, otherwife than in paflage, and
for application to man's capacity, and to
matters moral or divine. And it is a true
rule : Authons allud agentis parva authorltas.
For it were a ftrange conclullon, if a man
fliould ufe a fimilitude for ornament or il-
luftration's fake, borrowed from nature or
hiftory, according to vulgar conceit, as that
of a balililk, an unicorn, centaur, briareus, or
an hydra, that therefore he mufl be thought
to affirm the matter thereof politively to be
true. To conclude therefore thefe two in-
terpretations, the one by redudion or senig-
matical, the other philofophical or phyfical,
which have been received and purfiied in
imitation of the Rabbins and Cabalijls^ are to
be confined with a Noll altumfapere, fed time :

'* Do

ON INSPIRED DIVINITY.

343

«' Do not carry your enquiries too high, but
*' be cautious."

But the two latter points known to God
and unknown to man, touching the fecrets
of the heart, and the fucceifions of time,
make a jufl: and found difference between
the manner of the expofition of the fcrip-
tures, and all other books ; for it is an ex-
cellent obfervatjon, which has been made
upon the anfwers of our Saviour Chrift, to
many of thequeflions which were propound-
ed to him, that they are Impertinent to the
ftate of the queftion demanded ; the reafoa
is, becaufe not being like man, who knows
man's thoughts by his words, but knowing
their thoughts immediately, he never aii-
fwered their words, but their thoughts.
Much in the like manner it is with the fcrip-
tures, which being written to the thoughts
of men, and to the fucceffioii of all ages, with
a forefight of all herefies, contradidlons,
differing flates of the church, and par-
ticularly of the ele6l, are not to be inter-
preted only according to the latitude of the
proper fenfe of the place, and refpe^llvely
Z 4 towards

^44 ON INSPIRED DIVINITY,

towards that prefent occafion whereupon the
words were uttered; or in precife congruity
and contexture with thewords before or after,
or in contemplation of the principal fcope of
the place, but have in themfelves not only
totally or colleclively^ but diftributively in
claufes and words, infinite fprings and
flreams of do6lrine to water the church iu
every part: and therefore as the literal fenfe
is like the main ftream or river : fo the
moral fenfe chiefly, and fometimes the alle-
gorical or typical are thefe, of which the
church has mofl ufe : not that I wifh men to
be bold in allegories, indulgent, or light
in allulions ; but that I do much condemn
that interpretation of the fcripture, which
is only after the manner of men, in the in-
terpretation of a profane book.

But that, form of writing in divinity,
which in my judgment is, of all others,
the moft rich and precious, is pofitive divi-
nity colleded upon particular texts of fcrip-
ture in brief obfervations, not dilated into
common places involved in controverfies,
^pr reduced into method of art ; that abounds

in

ON INSPIRED DIVINITY, 345

In fermons which will vanifti, but defe6live
in books which will remain, and wherein
this age excels ; foi" I am perfuaded, and I
may fpeak it with an Jbjit invidia verbo^ and
no ways derogatory to antiquity, but as in
a good emulation between the vine and the
olive ; that if the choice and befl: of thofe
obfervations upon texts of fcripture, which
have been made difperfedly in fermons for
the fpace of thefe forty years and more,
(leaving out the largenefs of exhortations and
applications of them) had been fet down in
a continuance, it had been the befl work of
divinity which had been written fince the
time of the Apoflles. And certainly as wines
which at the firfl treading run gently, are
pleafanter than thofe forced by the wine-
prefs, for thefe tafte of the flone and fkin of
the grape ; fo thofe dodrines are exceeding
wholefome and fweet, which flow from
fcriptures gently prefled, and are not wrefted
to controverfies or common-places. Such a
treatife we will term the emanation of fcrip-
ture into pofitive dodrines.

On

34^ ON THE MATTER OF DIVINITY.

On the matter of DIVINITY.

nPHE matter informed or revealed by divi-
nity is of two kinds ; matter of belief, and
truth of opinion, matter of fervice and ado-
ration, which is alfo judged and directed by
the former; the one being as the internal
foul of religion, and the other as the exter-
nal body thereof; therefore the heathen re-
ligion was not only a worfhip of idols, but
the whole religion was an idol in itfelf ; for
it had no foul ; that is, no certainty of belief
orconfeffion, as a man may well think, con-
fidering the chief do6lors of the church were
the poets ; and the reafon was, becaufe the
heathen Gods were not jealous Gods, but
were glad to be admitted into part, as they
had reafon : neither did they refpe^l purity
of heart, fo they might have external ho-
nour and rites.

But out of theft two do refult and ifTue
four main branches of divinity ; faith, mo-
rals, liturgy, and government. Faith con-
tains

ON THE MATTER OF DIVINITY. 34.7

tains the doclrlne of the nature of God,
the attributes of God, and of the works of
God. The nature of God confifts of three
perfons in Unity of Godhead. The attri-
butes of God are common to the Deity, or
refpetftive to the Perfons. The works of
God fummary are two, that of the creation,
and that of the redemption : and both thefe
works, as in total they appertain to the unity
of the Godhead; fo in their parts they refer
to tl:ie three perfons : that of the creation in
the mafs of the matter, to the Father ; in
the difpofitioa of the form, to the Son ; and
in the continuance and confervation of the
being, to the Holy Spirit: fo that of the
redemption, in the election and counfel, to
the Father; in the whole a£t and confum-
mation, to the Son; and in the application,
to the Holy Spirit ; for by the Holy Ghofl
was Chrlft conceived in flefh, and by his
operation are the eledl regenerated in fpi-
rit. This work like wife we confider either
effeaually in the ele6l, or privately in the
reprobate, or according to the appearance in
the vifible church.

For

34^ ON THE MATTER OF DIVINITY.

For morals, the dodrine thereof is con*
tained in the law, which difclofes fin. The
law itfelf is divided, according to the edition
thereof, into the law of nature, the law
moral, and the law pofitive ; and according
to the ftyle, into negative and affirmative,
prohibitions and commandments. Sin in
the matter and fubje6l thereof, is divided ac-
cording to the commandments : in the form,
it refers to the three perfons in Deity ; fins
of infirmity againfl the Father, whofe more
fpecial attribute is power; fins of ignorance
againfl: the Son, whofe attribute is wifdom ;
and fins of malice againfl the Holy Ghofl,
whofe attribute is grace or love. In the
motions of it, either to blind devotion, or to
profane and libertine t ran fg refill on, either in
impofingreftraint, where God grants liberty,
or in taking liberty, where God impofes re-
ilraint. In the degrees and progrefs of it, it
divides itfelf into thought, word, or a6l :
and in this part I commend much the de-
ducing of the law of God to cafes of confcl-
ence , for that I take indeed to be a breaking,
and not exhibiting whole, the bread oi
life. But that which quickens both thefe
; doc»

I

ON THE MATTER OF DIVINITY* 349

do6lrInes of faith and manners is, the eleva-*
tion and confent of the heart, to which
appertain books of exhortation, holy medi«
tation, chriftian refolution, and the Hke.

For the liturgy or fervice, it confifls of
the reciprocal a£ls between God and man ;
on the part of God, are the preaching of the
word, and facraments, which are feals
to the covenant, or as the vifible word: and
on the part of man, invocation of the name
of God, and under the law, facrifices, which
were as vifible prayers or confeflions ; but
now the adoration being in fpirit and truth,
there remain only the offerings of the lips,
although the ufe of holy vows, thankful-
nefs and retribution may be accounted alfo as
fealed petitions.

And for the government of the church, it
confifts of the patrimony, franchifes, offices,
jurifdidlions, and the laws of it, direding
the whole : all which have two conlidera-
tions ; the one in themfelves, the other, how
they ftand compatible and agreeable to the
civil ftate. This matter of divinity is handled
either in form of inflru^lion of truth, or of

con-

350 ON THE MATTER OF DIVINITYi

confutation of falfehood. The declinatlong
from religion, befides the primitive, which
is atheifm^ and the branches thereof, are
three ; herefies, idolatry, and witch-craft :
herefies, when we ferve the true God with a
falfe worfhip : idolatry, when we worfhip
falfe Gods, fnppofing them to be true; and
witch-craft, when we adore falfe Gods,
knowing them to be wicked and falfe; for
witch-craft is the height of idolatry. And
yet we fee though thefe are true degrees,
Samuel teaches us that they are all of a na-
ture, when once there is a receding from the
word of God; for he faith, ^laji peccatum
ariolandi eft repugnare^ et quaji fcelus idolatrl^
nolle acquiefcere»

These things I have paffed over fo briefly,
becaufe I can report no deficiency concern-
ing them ; for I find no fpace of ground
that lies vacant and unfown in the matter
of divinity; fo diligent have men been, ei-
ther in fowing good feed, or in fowing
tares.

Thus have I made it as it were a fmall
globe of the intelledlual world as faithfully

as

ON THE MATTER OF DIVINITY. 3^1

cis I could, together with a defigtiation and
defcription of thofe parts which 1 find either
not conftantly occupied, or not fufficiently
improved, by the induftry and labour of
man : in which work, if I have, in any
point, receded from the opinion of the an-
cients, I would have it interpreted as done
with a defign of proceeding in melius^ not in
al'md^ with purppfe of amendment and profi-
ciency, and not of change and innovation.
For 1 could not be true to myfelf, nor to the
argument I handle, if I were not willing to
go beyond others, but yet not more willing
than to have others go beyond me again ;
which may the better appear by this, that I
have propounded my opinions naked and un-
armed, not feeking to pre-occupy the liberty
of mens judgments by difputatious confuta-
tions. For in any thing that is well fet down
1 am in good hopes, that if the firfl reading
moves an objedion, the fecond reading will
make an anfwer : and in thofe things wherein
I have chanced to err, I am fure I have of-
fered no violence to truth by litigious argu-
ments, which certainly have this contrary
efFecl and operation, that they add authority

to

35^ ON THE MATTER OF DIVINITY*

to error, and deftroy the authority of that
which is well invented; for controverfy is
an honour to falfehood, as on the other fide it
is a repulfe to truth. But the errors I claim
and challenge to myfelf are my own. The
good, if any be, is due, tanquam adeps facri-
ficll^ to be incenfed to the honour firft of the
Divine Majefty, and next of your Majeftyj
to whom on earth I am moft bounden.

Deo GLo^i.^r ^ ..

Ui-^A:r

The

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 353
T II E

HISTORY

O F

LIFE AND DEATH.

A NTIENT is the faying and complaint,
that life is Ihort, and art long. There-
fore our labours intending to perfed arts,
we fhould, by the affiftance of the author of
truth and lite, confider by what means the
life of man may be prolonged. For long
life being an increaiing heap of fins and
forrows lightly efleemed of Chriftians af-
piring to Heaven, fliould not be defpifed,
becaufe it affords longer opportunity of do-
ing good works. Moreover Amatus furvived
the other difciples, and many fathers; efpe-
cially many holy Monks and Hermits, liv-
ed very long, whereby it feems that this
bleffing of long life (fo often repeated in
the law) was after our Saviour's time lefs
dimlnifhed than other earthly benedictions.
But the happinefs of long life is naturally

Vol. II. A a dehred,

354 HISTOUY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

defired, although the means to attahi it,
through fah'e ophiions and vain reports, be
hard to find ; the general opinion of phy-
ficians concerning radical moifture, and natu-
ral heat being decciveable, and the immode-
rate praife of chymical medicine poffefiing
others with hop'^s which prove fallacious.

That which admits reparation, remain-
ing whole and found in effence, may be
eternally preferved, as the veftal fire, where-
upon phylicians and philofophers perceiv-
ing that the bodies of living creatures, be-
ing nourifhed, repaired, and refrefhed, grew
old afterwards, and fpeedily perifhed; they
fought death in an irreparable fubje£l, fup-
pofing radical moifture incapable of folid
reparation, from infancy there being no jufl
reparation, but an unlike addition, fenfibly
decayed by age, and at lafl: corrupted and
diffolved. This conceit of theirs was igno-
rant and vain, for young living creatures be-
ing all over and wholly repaired, do by
their increafing in quantity, and growing
better in quality, fhew that if the meafure
and manner of repairing decayed not,
the matter of it might be eternal. But
the decay in repairing proceeds from its
4 inequality

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH, 355

inequality of fome parts fufficiently, others
hardly and badly in age, the bodies of
men beginning thereby to undergo Me-
%eitius^s torment, living in the embraces ot
the dead until their total extindion, though
eafily reparable, yet through fome par-
ticular difficulty in the nutrition, decay.
For fpirits, blood, fiefh, and fatnefs, are
in the declining eflate of age eafily replen-
ished, but there is much difficulty and danger
in repairing the dry and porous parts, asm.em-
branes, tunicles, nerves, arteries, veins,
griftles, moil of the bowels, and all the
organical and inflrumental parts. For
when thofe parts that flioujd perform their
office, to other adually reparable parts,
being decayed in ftrength cannot execute
their office, a general ruin follows, and
parts naturally reflorable, through ^t^t€t^
tive organs of reparation, decreafe and de-
cay. For the fpirit, like a light flame,
continually feeds on bodies, and the ex-?
ternal air confpiring therewith, fucks and
dries the fabric and inflruments of the
body, which are thereby decayed, and
made unfit to perform the office of re^
paiang. And thefe are the true ways
A a a wher^

356 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

whereby natural death approaches, de-.
ferving due confideration: For how can
natures courfe, if unknown, be helped
or prevented : therefore the means where-
by the confumption, or decay of man*s
body may be prevented, and the repair-
ing thereof furthered, are moft precious^
and worth knowing. The fpirits and air
without are the chief caufes of confump-
tion, and the general progrefs of nourilli-
ment is the caufc of reftoration. For the
fpirit within and the air without, works
on dead bodies, flriving alfo to produce
in living bodies the fame effeds, though
weakened and retrained by the vital fpi-
rits, and partly increafed by them. For
bodies without life do a long while fubfift
and endure without reparation : but the
life of creatures, without due nourifhment
and reparation fuddenly ' decays, and is
extinguiihed like fire. Therefore a two-
fold fearch is required, confidering man's
body as lifelefs and unnourifhed ; and as
living, and nourifhed.

OK

I

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 357

On the durability of NATURE.

A/TETALS are very durable, and conti-
nue beyond all obfervation, age and
ruft, not perfpiration niakiog them decay,
gold excepted.

Quick-filver being a moifl and foft fub-
ftance, is eafily rarined by the fire, but
without fire neither decays by age or ga-
thers rufl.

The harder fort of flones, and many Mine-
rals, though expofed to the open air, are
very durable, though much more fo lying
in the earth.

Stones gather a kind of folder infiead of
rafl ; but pearls and cryftal, though their
clearnefs decays through age, are more dura-
ble than Metals.

Stones on the north fide of pyramids,
churches, and other buildings, decay fooner
than on the fouth-fide, and confume; but
iron, as appears by iron bars of windows,
on the fouth-fide begin fooner than the
north- fide to rull:. For in all putrefadion
(as rufl; moifiiure haftens diffolution, and
drynefs withering,

Aa 3 1'he

35^ HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH,

The flocks and bodies of hard trees being
felled, and hewn into timber, or framed
into works, lafl: many ages, yet their bo-
dies differ ; fome being hollow, as the el-
der-tree, outwardly hard, but having a
foft pith in the middle. But of folid
trees, fuch as the oak, the inward part
(called the heart of the oak) is hardefl:.

The leaves and ftalks of plants and flow-
ers continue not long, but either dif-
folve into dufl, or rot : roots are more du-
rable.

Bones of living creatures laft long, as
appears by dead bones lying in charnel-
houfes. Horns alfo are very durable, and
teeth, as ivory, and fea-horfe teeth.

Hides alfo and ikins endure long, as it is
evident by ancient parchment-books: paper
alfo will lafl many ages, though not fo
long as parchment.

Glass and burned bricks, alfo roafled flefli
and fruits lafl longer than raw, becaufe the
roafling prevents putrefaction; and by eva-
cuating and venting the watery humour,
preferves longer the oily humour.

Water is foonefl; devoured and dried by
the air; oil on the contrary, evaporates

flowlv.

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. ^^g^

flowly, which in liquors and mixtures may-
be difcerned. For paper wetted with water is
at firft tranfparent, but afterward waxes
white and clear again, lofnig that former
tranfparency, the vapour of the water be-
ing exhaled: but paper dipped in oil, is
a long while tranfparent, the oil not being
exhaled : fo that writings, by laying on
them an oiled paper, and carefully draw-
ing the letters difcerned through the pa-
per, may be counterfeited.

All Gums are very durable, as alfowax
and honey.

Other accidents alfo, as well as their own
nature, make bodies endure or decay. For
wood and flones, lying continually in the
water, or air, endure longer than if they
were fometimes wet and over-flowed; and
flones placed in buildings north or fouth,
as they lye in the mines, are more dura-
ble; and plants live longer being remo-
v^d and tranfplanted.

OBSERVATIONS.

IT is a certain pofition, that all bodies

which may be touched, have a fpirit with

A a 4 tau-

60 HISTORY OF T.TFE AND DEATif,

tangible parts, covered andinclofed, being the
original caufe of dillolution and confump-*
tion, prevented by detaining of the fpirit.

The fpirit is detained, either violently
when condenfed and confined, or volun-
tarily ; the fpirits being flack, and inactive
in motion, and the air does not urge it
to vent and Iflue forth: for hardnefs and
oilynefs being durable qualities, do bind,
fupple, and feed the fpirit, and keep it
from the corruption of the air, which is in
iiibflance like water, as flame to oil.

OF THE LONGEVITY OF PLANTS.

/^OLD Herbs with their roots and ftalks
do every year fpring, and die ; as lettuce,
purflane, wheat, and all kind of corn : yet
the colder fort of herbs endure three or four
years, as the violet, ftrawberry, primrofe,
burnet, and forrell: but borage and buglofs
are fhort lived ; borage living a year, buglofs
Ibmewhat longer.

Hot herbs bear their age and years better,
as hyfop, thyme, favory, marjoram, balm,
mint, worm- wood, germander, fage, &c.

Fennels

HtSTORY OF LIFE AND DEATIL 361

Fennel, after the flalk is dead, buds forth
again from the root : but pulfe and fweet
marjoram can better endure age than win-
ter, and will live and fiourifli being fet in
Ji warm place, and defended from cold. For
a knot of hyfTop, an ufual ornament of
gardens, being twice clipped yearly, hai
continued forty years,

Buflies and ihrubs llye threefcore years,
and fome double as much. A vine of fix-
ty years old is fruitful in age: rofemary
well fet and planted, lives fixty years : bat
bears-foot and ivy endure above an hun-
dred years. The age of the refpafs is not
difcerned, becaufe the head bendinp- to the
earth, gets new roots hard to be perceived
from the old.

The oldeft great trees are, tlie Oak,
the Holm, wild-Afh, Elm, Beech, Chef-
nut, Plane-ti^e, Fig-tree, Lot-tree, wild-
Olive, Palm, and IMulberry; fome where-
of live 800 years, and others 100.

The wood of fweet rozen trees is more
durable than themfelves are in age; alfo
the Cyprufs, Maple, Pine, Box, and Ju-
mper, live not fo long as the former trees,
bnt tbe tall Cedar is as long-lived.

.^ The

362 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

The Afh forward in bearing fruit, reach*
eth to 100 years or more, and alfo the Cane,
Maple, and Service-tree. But the Poplar,
Willow, Sycamore, and Walnut-tree, live
not fo long.

The Apple, Pear, Plumb-tree, Pomegra-
nate, Orange, Citron, Medlar, Dog-tree,
and Cherry-tree, being cleared from mofs,
may live fifty or fixty years.

Great trees are generally long lived,
and of a hard fubftance ; Mafl-trees, and
Nut-trees live longer than fruit, and Berry-
trees : and thofe whofe leaves, pufh out flow-
ly, and fall off, continue longer than trees
more forward in producing fruit and leaves;
alfo wild foreft-trees live longer than or-
chard, trees, and fharp friiit-trees than fweet
fruit-trees.

OBSERVATIONS.

Aristotle well obferved the difference
between plants and living creatures, in ref-
pe6t of nourilhment and repairing ; namely,
that the body of living creatures is con-
f ned within certain bounds, and coming
to a due proportion, is continued and pre-

ferved

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH*. ^6^

ferved by nourifhment : nothing that Is new
growhig forth, except hair and nails, ac-
counted excrements, whereby the vigour
and ftrength of living creatures mufh ne-
cefiarlly fooner decay and wax old : but
trees putting forth new boyghs, branches,
and leaves, thofe renewed parts being young,
green, and flourifhing, more ftrongly and
cheerfully attract nourifhment than dry
branches, whereby the body, through which
fuch nouriflmient pafles to the boughs, is
moiflened with more plentiful nourifhment.
This (though not obferved by Ariftotle,
nor clearly difcufled ) is evident, becaufe
woods and trees, by lopping their boughs
and branches, flourifh more, and live longer.

OF DRYNESS.

T) Y fire and vehement heat fomc fub-
-*-^ fiances are dried, others melted.

It dries the earth, flones, wood, cloth,
and (kins, and melts metals, wax, gum,
fuet, and the like.

It

5^4 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEAT{I*

But fire being vehement, at lafl dries
up that which it has melted: for a hot fire
makes metals (except gold) by evaporation
lighter in weiglit, and more brittle. And
ojily oily fubilances are by a hot fire fried
a,nd roafted, becoming m.ore dry and hard.

The open air dries, but never melts ; as
highways, and the face of the earth wet
with fhowers, are hereby dried; and alfo
liiien-cloaths hanged out in the air, and
herbs, leaves, and -flowers growing in the
ihade : and the r^ir warmed with the Sun-
beams, (not difpofing it to putrefaction ) or
moved w^ith winds^ dries much more on an
open plain*

Age is a great but flow drier; for all
natural bodies not rotting or putrefying, are
dried by age, being the meafure of time,
and the efi:e6l of the in-bred fpirit of bodies,
fucking out the bodies moifture, thereby de-
caying, and of outward air, multiplying
above the inward fpirlts and moiflure of
the body, and fo deftroying them.

Cold mofl: properly dries, for drynefs pro-
ceeds from Ihrinking and gathering together,
being the proper efi-ect of cold : but by the
powerful warmth of fire, abating the weak-
er

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 365

cr cold of winter, froft, and fnow, the dry-
nefs of cold is not on men fo powerful, but
iboner diffipated : yet froft, and jNIarch winds
being dry and cold, lick up moiflure, and
dry the earth more than the fun.

Chimncy-fmoak is a drier; for bacon and
neats tongues are hung and dry'd in chim-
nies, and perfumes of fweet-wood and Oly^
banum drying the brain, flops diftiliations
and Catarrhs.

Salt dries (lowly both without and within,
making fait fifli, through long faking, hard
within.

By the application of fome hot gums and
binding waters the fkin is dried,' and tilled
with wrinkles.

The fpirit of flrong wine drying like fire,
will make the yolk of an egg put into it,
become white, and bake bread.

Powders dry, and fuck up moiflures like
fpunges, or as find-dufl: thrown on a writ-
ing, dries the ink: alfo the fmoothncfs and
uniformity of a body (not admitting moifture
to enter by 'the pores) accidentally caufes
drynefs, by expofing the body to the air ;
48 jewels, looking-glaflies, and fword-blades,
being breathed on, fcem at Urll to be cover-

366 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

ed with a vapour, which vanifhes after-
wards like a cloud. •

In the eaft part of Germany, granaries
are ufualij made in cellars under ground,
whereiu wheat and other grains are kept in
flraw, which being laid to a good thicknefs,
expels and drinks up the moifture of the
vault. Corn is kept thus twenty or thirty
years from putrefadion, and both green and
ferviceable to make bread. The like gra-
naries have been ufed in divers countries,, as
in Cappadocia, Thrace y and alfu in Spain.

Fruits, as Pomegranates, Citrons, Me-
lons, Pears, and the like, and alfo flowers,
as Rofes and Lillies, will keep long in earth-
en veffels well flopped, although the air,
their outward enemy, lets in through the
velTel unequal heat and cold. Therefore
lay the veilels clofely flopped, in the earth,
or in {haded waters, as in the wells or Cif-
terns of houfes ; but let fruits laid thus in
water, be put in glafs-veflels rather than
earth ea.

Generally, wdiatfoever is laid under
tlie earth, and in cellars under ground, or
deep in waters, retains natural vigour long-
-er, than if kept above the earth.

Bunches

HISTORY OF LIFE AND EEATH. 367

Bunches of grapes in the country, kept
in meal, will tafte fomewhat unpleafant,
but are thereby preferved molft and green,
alfo all hard fruits will keep long in meal,
or faw-duft, or in a heap of found corn.

Fruits in liquors of their kind, refem-
bling their flowers, will keep frefh, as
Grapes in Wine, Olives in Oil, &c.

Pomegranates and Quinces keep long,
being lightly dipped into the fea-w^ater, or
fait water, and then dried in the open air

Fruits laid in Wine, Oil, and Pickle,
are thereby long kept. Honey, and fpirits
of wine, preferve them longer, but efpeci-
ally Quick-filver.

Flies, Spiders, and Ants, being acci-
dentally drowned, and buried in amber, and
the gums of trees, their foft and tender bo-
dies never rot or corrupt.

The nature alfo and quality of the nou-
rifhment, as of the flame, makes candles
burn long ; wax being more durable than
fuet ; and wet, than dry fuet ; and' hard,
than foft wax,

Trees, the earth about their roots being
not every year, but every five or ten years

opened,

g68 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

Opened, and the fuperfluous boughs and
branches cut away and pruned, will lafl
the longer. xMio dunging and fpreading of
Marie about trees, or much watering makes
them fruitful, but not durable.

Willow-twigs, ferving nfually to bind
trees, fteeped in water, become more flexi-
ble: rods are fet in pitchers of watea* to keep
them from drying, and bowls cleft with
drynefs, being laid in the water clofe again.

Old trees having flood long without
removing, if the earth be opened about
their roots, will begin to put forth, an4
ilourifh.

Old fpent oxen taken from the plough,
being put into frefh paflures, recover new
tender flefh, and as fweet as if it were of sj
ftcer.

OBSERVATIONS.

!MEN, like owls, wondrous fharp-fightevl
in the darknefs of their own opinions, i\re
blinded with the day-light of experience, .

The quality of drynefs, in confuming and
deflroying the textuKC of bodies, has beea

History of life and death. 369

generally obferved ; but its gradual procefs
m producing that efFe£l has not been noticed.
The natural fpirits contained in bodies are
the original caufes of it ; firft, in the refining
moiflure into fpirit; fecondly, by their evar
poration; thirdly, by the folid particles ap-
proaching to one another from that evacua-
tion. The fpirits enclofed in every tangible
body are perpetually employed in altering
^nd converting to themfelves the particles
capable of digeftion ; and therefore encreafe
their quantity: this is evident from fub-
ftances lofing their weight by drynefs; be-
coming hollow and full of pores, and yield-
ing an inward found: for by refining and
converting to themfelves the grofs moiflure
of bodies, they become lighter. The eva-
poration of the fpirits is evident from fteams
and vapours, or by the fmell of decaying
odours ; but in age, by a gradual and infenfible
perfpiration. Moreover, In clofe compad bo-
dies, finding no pores to efcape through, they
€xpel the particles that refifl: their motion to
the furface ; which produces rufl in metals,
and mouldinefs in undluous fubftances.

The contradlion of bodies, from the IpiritS
flying off, though more obfcure in the opera-

VoL. II. Bb tioii,

^JO HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH*

tion, is no lefs certain ; for the fol id particles
contra(^ and approach nearer to one another,
in order to fill the vacant fpaces the fpirits
formerly occupied. This is evident from
wooden fubftances flirlnking, and fome-
times opening into clefts. It is further evi-
dent by withered bodies growing ihrivelled.
For by contraction fome parts are feparated,
and others drawn clofe into wrinkles; fuch
as paper, parchment, and others, when ex-
pofed to fire ihrivelup; for heat produces
fuddenly, what is llowly and infenfibly per-
formed by age. When the fpirits and moif-
ture in bodies are entirely exhaufted, the
parts no longer uniting are refolved into a
mafs of duft, which diffipate by the touch i
fuch as burnt paper, embalmed carcaffes &c.
Fire produces drynefs only accidentally ;
for by refining the fpirits they fly ofi", and
the folid particles unite to fill the vacuities,
Drynefs and putrefadion, though arlfing
from the fame caufe, are different ; ^ for in the
latter fome parts are^detained, which, by an
infenfible operation on the particles that have
not changed their place by contradion, pro-
duce an uniformity in the whole mafs.

OP

History of life and death, 371

OF THE

DURATION OF LIFE in ANIMALS.

(CONCERNING the length and fhortnefs
of life in living creatures, obfervations
are light and fabulous : the unkindly life of
tame creatures being - corrupted, and the
life of wild beafts by enduring hard and hot
.weather, fhortened. Neither do the great-
nefs of their bodies, time of bearing, num-
her of young ones, or time of growth, fome-
times concurring together, fometimes dif-
joined, afford any certain obferyatioiis.

Of all living creatures, except fome £t\v,
it is reported, that man lives longefl, in
whom all concomitant accidents meet in due
proportion: ftature great and large; bear-
ing in the womb nine months, one off-fpring
commonly; growth till twenty.

The Elephant lives longer than any man
does ordinarily : his bearing in the womb
ten years is a fabulous report, or above a
year. His bulk or body is exceeding great,
growing twenty years; and his teeth are
very flrong. The Elephant is obferved to
^ ^ ^ hzv9

jyZ HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

have the coldefl blood of all other living
creatures, and an hundred years, to which
fometimes he attains, is his age.

Lions are accounted long lived, many
having been found toothlefs, caufed perhaps
by their violent breathing, and therefore
Is no certain fign of age.

The bear is a great fleeper, a flow and
fluggifh beafl:, born by the dam not above
forty days, being a iign of ihort life.

The fox is well Ikin'd, feeds on flefli,
and lives in caves, but not long lived, be-
ing a kind of dog, which is a Hiort lived beafl*
' The Camel being a flender ftrong beafl^
lives ordinarily fifty years, fometimes an
hundred.

The Horfe feldom attains to forty years
of age, his ordinary age being twenty years,
but grows until he is fix years old ; and ^
mare goes eleven months, and hath feldom
two foals.

The Afs live& as long as the horfe, but
rhe Mule is longer lived than both.

The Hart is famous for his long life;
for about the neck of a hart a chain hid,
and covered over with fat Was found, which
had been put on many years before^ But
""^ecaufe at five years the hart comes to per-

fedion.

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH, ^^i

fe£tion, and his horns having at firfl: but a
few branches, do then fprout forth, and
^ifterwards fall off, and grow again every
year ; therefore his age is not fo currently
believed.

. The fliort lived dog lives but twenty
years, being his utmofl age; his ordinary
age fourteen years. His difpofition is hot
and fickle, always violently ftirring about,
or deeping. The bitch brings forth many
whelps at one litter, and goeth nine weeks.f

The Ox being a flow beaft, full of flefh,
foon fatted, and fed with grafs, is fhort-llv-
ed in refpect of his fize and ftrength, fix-
teen years being his age; which is longer
than the cow lives, bringing forth but one
calf, and going with her burthen fix months*

The Sheep, a beafl of a midling fizcL,
having little gall, and well cloathed with
a warm fleece, more curled than other beafts
hair, feldom comes to the age often years.

Rams at three years old begin to engen-
der, and untlU eighteen years of age do be-
get lambs. A fiieep being fubje6t to many
difeafes feldom lives out his utmofl age.

The Goat, fomewhat refembling the fheep,

{ives no longer, but is nimbler, and firmer

B b 3 flclhed

HISTORY OP LIFE AND DEATH*

flefhed, and fhould be therefore longer \\v-*
ed, but lafcivloufnefs fhortens his life.

The fow lives fifteen years, fometimes
twenty, being moifter flefhed than other
beafts, but not long-lived. The age of the
wild boar and fow, is not certainly known.

The cats age is fix or ten years, being
a nimble, fierce, ravenous beaft, not chew-
ing his food, but devouring and fwallowing
it whole, and his feed ( as j^Hanus faith)
burns the female, conceiving with much
pain, but kittening eafily.
' Hares and conies hardly live {tv^n
years, being breeding creatures, knitting
and conceiving again immediately after their
bringing forth young. The coney lives
under ground, the hare fitteth in open air,
and has darker flefh.

Birds are lelTer bodied than beafls, an ox
or horfe being far bigger than an eagle or
fwan, and an elephant than an oflridge*

Birds are well cloathed with feathers,
lying clofe down to their bodies, and being
warmer than beafts wool or hair.

Birds though great breeders, carry not
their young in their belly, but lay their

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. ^'J $

i?ggs feverally, producing yoimg birds by
hatching.

Birds chew not their food, being often
found whole in their crop; but they will
pick out nut-kernels, and the feeds of herb*
and flowers, and they are of a flrong hot di-
geftion.

Birds fly with a mixed motion, being
born up by the air, and their wings, whofe
motion exercifes their bodies*

Aristotle obferves, that when birds
engender by treading, the cock begets not
the eggs fubflance, but makes it fit to hatch ;
fo that fruitful eggs are hardly known from
unhatchable eggs.

Birds bodies are in one year's growth at
their full bignefs; but their feathers and
bills grow feven years afterward.

The eagle cafling her bill, and fo becom-
ing young, is the emblem of long life, her
age being a proverb : Aqiiil^efenediusi " The
*' age of an eagle:" yet the eagles growing
young changes not her beak, but her beak
changing makes the eagle young ; for the
eagle feeds very painfully and with difficulty
when her bill is grown extremely crooked.

The vulture lives an hundred years.

Crows alfo, and all ravenous birds feeding on

Bb4 flefh;

^y6 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

flefh, are long lived; but the hawk living
not according to his own kind, but being
kept in bondage for private delight and re-
creation, his term of life is therefore not
certainly known ; though fome fay hawks
have lived thirty years.

The long-lived raven lives an hundred
years : he feeds on carrion, and flies not
.often, but fits much, and has very black
flefh. The crow refembling the raven ^
though not fo big, nor like in voice, lives
almofl as long, being accounted a long lived
bird.

The fair feathered fwan feeds on fifh,
fwims continually on running flreams and
-rivers, and an hundred years is his age.

The goofe, though his food is grafs, is
long-lived, efpecially the wild-goofe ; fo
that in Germany this proverb is common :
■}/Iag'i5 fenex quam anfer nivalis: " Older than
*• a white goofe,'*

Storks are long-lived; becaufe they ne-
ver came to Thebes, a city often facked, it
was therefore obferved, that they did either
circumfpe6lly inftrud their young ones iu
the Theban hiflory, or remembered the paf-

fages

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH, 377

fages of former ages wherein they lived ; and
fo this fable pointed at their long life.

Concerning the phoenix, truth is loft in
fables. It is chiefly obfervable, that other
birds, when this bird flew abroad, wondered
not at her, as they do by inflindt of nature at
an owl flying by day-light, or a parrot
efcaping out of a cage.

The parrot brought into England has lived
threefcore years, being a bird that eats any
kind of meat, chews his food, changes his
bill, is of a churlifh angry difpofition, and
has black fiefh.

The peacock has a flow pace, and white
flefh, living twenty years; and when three
years old his tail, hke Argus\ eves, is fpec-
kled and adorned.

The cock is lecherous, a courageous
lighter, and fhort-lived, having white flefh.

The turky, or Indian coek, fomewhat
longer lived than the cock, is a tefty, angry
bird, and has very white flefh.

The ring-dove being an airy bird, loving
to build and fit high, is long-lived, fifty
years being her age. But pigeons and tur-
tles are fhort-liyed, their ^ge being eight
years,

Phea-

j;? HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.'

Pheasants and partridges live fixteen
years, being great breeders, but blacker
flefhed than chickens or pullets.

The lafcivlous loud-whiftling black-bird
is, of all fmall birds, longeft lived.

The fparrow is fbort-lived, the cock-fpar-»
row ihortening his life by wanton lafclviouf-
nefs. The linnet and finch, though no big-
ger than the fparrow, live twenty years.

The oftrich's age is uncertain, and life not
long, as by tame oflriches it is obferved.

The age of fiilies lefs obferved, becaufc
living under water is more uncertain than
the age of beafts. Some of them breathe
not, their vital fpirits being kept clofe, and
cooled by their gills, but not fo conflantly
as by breathing.

The air dries not, nor decays their bodies,
becaufe the water wherein they live, enconv
paffing them, pierces into their pores ; having
greater power than encompaffing air to flior^
ten their lives.

They are ravenous devourers of their own
kind, having cold blood, and foft flefh, not
fo firm as beafts flefh, but fatter, an infinite
quantity of oil being made of the fat of
whales.

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. ^19^

'■ Dolphins live thirty years ; for fome
whofe tails were cut off, thirty years after-
wards being taken, were known : they grow
ten years.

It is ojbfervable, and very ftrange, that
fiflies bodies grow flender with age, their
tail and head retaining their former bignefs.

In fifh-ponds belonging to the Roman
emperor, lampreys living threefcore years,
by long keeping were made tame; one of
their deaths being therefore lamented by Craf-^
Jus the Orator.

The pike, of all frefh-water fifh, is lon-
geft lived, forty years being his age : he is a
ravenous devourer, and his flefh in eating is
dry and firm.

The carp, bream, tench, and eel, live
not above ten years.

Salmon are of a fudden growth, but fhort-
lived, and alfo trout : but the perch grows
flowly, and lives longer.

The age of the whale, fea-calf, fea-hog,
and other fifhes is unknown.

The long-lived crocodile always growing,

is a devouring, cruel creature, that lays

eggs; and the water pierces not his fkin,

J being

^So HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

being fcaly and hard. The age of othe^
flieil-£fli is unknown-.

OBSERVATIONS,

Concerning the length and fliortnefs of
the life of living creatures, hitherto negli--
gently obferved, and proceeding from divers
caufes, inftead of certain rules hard to find,
theie notes follov/ing may be added.

Birds are longer- lived than beafts, as'the
eagle vulture, pelican, kite, raven, crow,
fwan^ goofe, flork, crane, parrot, ring-dove,
&c. though they are leffer, and in one year
at their full growth. For birds are long-
lived, becaufe they are well clothed with
warm feathers to keep out cold, and live in
the free open air, as mountaineers do; or
becaufe when they fly they are carried by
the air and their wings, this mixed motion
makes them healthy; or becaufe birds are
not pined for want of nourifhment, or
compreffed in the egg, the old bird laying
them by turns ; but efpecially becaufe birds
partaking more of the hen's fubflance than

of

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. jSl

of the cock's, have not fuch fharp and hot
fpirits.

It is a pofition, that living creatures be-
gotten by a greater quantity of the dam*s
feed, as birds are, than of the fire's, and ly-
ing longer in their dam's belly, partaking
more of the dam's feed than the fire's, are
therefore longer lived : and it is obfervable,
that men being in vifage and countenance
more like their mother than their father, live
longefl; as thofe children do which found
and healthful men beget on young wives.

Living creatures may receive much hurt
or good in their firft breeding ; for fuch as
lie not too clofe together in the belly of the
dam, but have fuificient nourifhment, are
long-lived ; as the eggs of birds laid by turns,
and the youjig of beafts, bringing but one
at a yeaning, have room enough and nourifh-
ment.

Long bearing in the mother's womb, anJ
the dam's belly, is for thiee refpe^ls a caufe
cf long life. Firfl, the offspring has more
of the mother's, or dam's fubflance : fecondly.
it becomes a ftronger birth : thirdly, it better
endures the power of the air : laflly, it de..
notes, that nature intended fuch a birth for

tiic

j8a HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH,

the center of a large circumference of many
years. The fhort life of oxen and fheep,
calves and lambs, lying fix months in their
dam's belly, before they are calved andyeaned,
proceeds from other caufes.

Grazing cattle are fliort-lived, but beafls
feeding on their flefh live longer, and birds
"which eat feeds and fruits. For half the
long-lived hart's food grows, as they fay,
above his head ; and the goofe feeding not
only on grafs finds fome food in the water.

Another caufe of long life is warm clo-
thing, and keeping out immoderate heat and
cold, whereby the body is ,much weakened
and decayed, as birds clothed with warm
feathers are therefore longer lived ; but flieep
having thick fleeces are not long-lived, being
,fubje6l to many difeafes, and feeding only
on grafs.

The head is the principal feat of all the
fpirlts, being great wafters and confumers of
rlie body, from their great abundance, or
Iharp inflammation.

Therefore birds having little heads in
refpedl of their bodies live longer, and men
iiaving very great heads to a fhorter period.

The

UISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 383

The beft kind of motion for prolonging of
life, is to be born and carried, as the fvvaii
and other fwimming water- fowl are, and all
birds flying more painfully with their wings,
and fifh whofe age and long life is unknown.

Slow coming to perfection, both for
growth and ripenefs, fignifies long life in all
creatures; for teeth, private hairs, and a
beard, are degrees of maturity or ripenefs
preceding manhood.

Mild meek creatures, as fheep and doves,
are not long-lived; the gall being like a
whet-flone whereon naure's faculties arc
fliarpened, and fitted to perform their of-
fices.

Creatures having white flefh live not
fo long as thofe whofe blacker flefli fhews
that their body's moifture is firmer and more
compadl:.

Asa great fire is lafting, and not foon ex-
tlnguifhed, and little water foon evaporates ;
fo quantity and bignefs preferve corruptible
bodies; a twig withering fooner than the
body of a tree, and all great beafts living
longer than the lefler.

Or

5^4 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

O? NOURISHMENT-

TVrOURISHMENT ihould be of an inferior
nature, and more fimple in fubftance
than the body nourifhed. Plants are nou-
rlfhed by the earth and water; living crea*
tures by plants, and men by living creatures
feeding partly on flefh, as man does on
plants ; but neither can fubfifl by plants or
fallads only; but fruits and parched corn
will fuftain life.

ISTouRisHMENT too, like the nourished
fubflance, is not good. For grazing cattle
touch not any flefh, and beads feeding on
flefh prey, not upon their own kind. j4n*
thropophagi, or Ca?inibah^ feed not on mens
flefh ordinarily, but by eating their enemies
flefh as a great dainty, do at once fatisfy their
hunger and revenge. Alfo feed corn in the
fame field where it grew fhould not be fown,
nor a graft be fet into the flock whence it
was taken.

Nourishment well prepared, and fome-
what like the nourifhed fubflance, makes

plants

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 985

plants fruitful, and living creatures fat. For
the nourifhment of the fliock is better and
more agreeable to the nature of the graft,
than the earth's nourifhment to a young tree
or plant : and the feed of an onion or plant
fowii or fet in the earth, produces not fuch
a great onion, or fair plant, as when put
Into an onion, or into a plant's root, and fo
fet in the ground.

The boughs of elm^ oak, afh, and
fuch forefl-trees, grafted on ftocks, have
broader leaves than thofe that are planted.
Alfo men feed not fo well on raw fieili as on
roafted.

Living creatures receive nourlfliment at
their mouth, plants at the root, young crea-
tures in the womb at the navel. Birds are
nouriflied awhile by the white of the egg^
part thereof being found in their throats
after hatching.

Observe, that though all nourifhment
proceeds and rlfes from the centre to the cir-
cumference, yet trees receive not from their
.inward parts and pith fo much nourifhment
as from their bark, w^hich being ftripped oif",
they prefently wither and die. Alfo of liv-

VoL. II. C c ing

^S6 HISTORY OF LIFE AI^D DEATIJ*

ing creatures, the flefli beneath and above
the veins is nourifhed by the blood.

By the inward funftion of extruding, and
the outward operation of attra6ling nourifh-
ment, the nourifhing faculty works.

Vegetables or plants limply digeft their
nourilhment, without voiding fuperfluous
excrements, gums of trees being rather fu-
perfluities of nourifhment than excrements,
and knobs and knots, fores ; but living crea-
tures difcerning w4iat nourifhment is like
their fubftance, digeft the beft, and reject
the reft in excrement.

The greateft and faireft fruits hanging
on the tree, receive all their nourifhment
through their ftalks.

The feed of animals in the moment of the
emifTion is only produftive, but feeds of
plants after long keeping will grow ; but
young grafts and fhoots muft be planted
while they are frefh and green, elfethey will
not grow, and their roots being not covered
with earth will die.

Living creatures have different kinds of
nourifhment agreeable to their age, for in
their mother's or dam's belly moillure is their

food ;

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 387

food; afterbirth, milk; then meat and
drink; when old, they love folid, favory
food.

But whether nourishment may not only
by the mouth, but alfo outwardly be receiv-
ed, is chiefly to be confidered. For if baths
of milk in hot fevers and confumptions were
ufed, and fome phyficians hold that nutri-
tive glifters might be purpofely made, then
fuch nourishment received not by the flo-
mach, but outwardly, may fupply digeflioa
in the weaknefs of age.

Of THE LONGEVITY OF MAN.

gEFORE the flood, as the facred fcrip-
tures declare, men Hved an hundred
years : yet of all the fathers none attained
to a complete thoufand years ; neither did
the generation of the holy line of grace live
only thus long ; for by the patriarchs eleven
generations from Adam to the Flood, and
Cains eight, his generation feems longer
C c 2 lived.

388 HrsTORY OF LI]P'E AND DEATH.

lived. But man's life immediately after the
flood was reduced to a moiety, though Noah
born before the flood lived to his anceflors
age, and Shem attained to fix hundred years^
But three generations after the flood man's
life was contracted and fhortened to an
hundred years, being the fourth part of their
former age.

Abraham lived an hundred and feventy-
five years, in great profperity and happinefs.
Ifaac attained to an hundred and eighty
years ; a chafte and quiet man. Jacobs
having m^any troubles, and many children,
lived an hundred and forty- feven years: he
was a patient, mild, wife man. IJhmael was
a martialifl:, and an hundred and thirty- fe«
yen years was his age.

But Sarah (no other woman's age being
recorded in the holy fcript\n-e) died an hun-
dred and feventy years old ; being a comely
courageous woman, an excellent mother and^
wife, and famous for difcreet carriage, and
obedience to her hufl^and. Alfo Jofcph^ a
wife and politic man, though in his younger
years much affli6led, lived afterwards in
great felicity and happinefs, and attained to
an hundred and ten years of age. But his

elder

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 389

eider brother L^j/, impatient ofdifgrace, and
leaking revenge, lived an hundred and thir-
ty-leven years. The fon of Levi, and his
nephew, the father oi Aaron d^ndMofes, lived
as long.

Moses lived an hundred years, being
itout-hearted, but of a mild carriage, and
ilow fpeech : yet Mofes iiiid in the pfalm,
that threefcore and ten years was the ordi^
nary age of man, and of the ftrongeft but
fourfcore years, being ftill the term of man's
life.

But Aaron^ three years older than Mofes^
died the fame year as his brother : a man of
ready fpeech, and gentle carriage, but fome-
what inconflant:. Phlneas, Aaron s nephew,
by divine grace and favour, lived three hun-
dred years : for all the Ifraelites going out to
war againft the tribe of Benjamin ; Phineas,
being a very zealous man, was then, as the
hiftory relates, a chief captain and coun^-
iellor.

Joshua, an excellent and fortunate cap-
tain, lived to an hundred and ten years.
Caleb lived in his time, and to his age:
but Ehud the Judge lived only an hundred
years.. The holy land, after his conquell of
C c 3 the

^93 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

the Moabites, being eighty years under his
government : he was a vahant ftout man,
and devoted his anions to the good of the
common -wealth.

Job, reftored to his former happinefs,
lived one hundred and forty years, having
had, before his troubles, fons that were
grown men. He was a politic, eloquent,
and good man, and the example of patience.

Eli the prieft lived ninety eight years:
was a fat man, and of a pleafant, loving dif-
pofition. But Eli/lja the prophet, being at
the time of the affumption of El/as, with re-
gard to his age, mocked by children, and
called old bald pate, lived fixty years after-
wards, and was above an hundred years
old when he died. He was a fevere man,
living aufterely, andcontemningriches. Ifaias
the prophet was an hundred years old, and
fpent feventy of thofe years in prophefying;
but when he began toprophefy, and at what
age he died, is unknown. He was a very
eloquent and evangelical prophet, infpired
with the promifes of the coming of Chrift,
fulfilled in the New Teftament.

Tobias the elder lived one hundred and
flfty-e:ght years, and the younger Tobias an

hun-

HISTORY OF LITE AND DEATH. 39I

hundred and twenty-fcven years, being mer-
ciful and charitable men. Many Jews that
returned from the captivity of Babylon lived
long, and could remember the building of
both the temples, the latter being built fe-
venty years after the other. Many ages
after, when our Saviour was born, Smeon
was an old religious, faithful man : and
Anna the prophetefs lived to an hundred
years, fhe having been married feven years,
a widow eighty years, and afterwards a pro-
phetefs of our Saviour's incarnation : Ihe was
a holy woman, that fpent her life in prayer
and fafting.

The long lives of men mentioned in hea-
then authors are fabulous, and deceitful cal-
culations of ages. Thofe Egyptian kings
that reigned longeft lived not above fifty, or
fifty-five years; a common modern age. But
it is fiibuloufly fuppofed, that the kings of
Arcadia lived to a great age, becaufe their
country was mountainous; and both they
and their people being for the mofl part
fliepherds, led a temperate life ; but as Fan
was their God, fo all thefe relations are but
yain fables.

C c 4 NVMA,

392 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH,

NuMA, king of the Roma?2s, lived to eighty
years of age, being a peaceable, fludipus^
and religious man. Marcus Valerius Corvinus
was conful forty fix years after his firft con-
fulfhip, andjived an hundred years, being
both in war and private attairs very power-
ful, of a popular difpofition, and always for-
tunate.

Solon, the Athenian law-maker, and one of
the wife fages, lived above fourfcore years ;
a valiant and popular man, a lover of his
country, learned, and fomewhat voluptuous,
jLpimenides of Crete lived one hundred and
. fifty-feven years, and fifty feven of thofe
years in a cave. Half an age afterwards,
'Kenophon Colophonius^ having at twenty years
of age left his country; after feventy-feven
years travel returned agam, and lived in all
one hundred and two years, or longer. This
man, being a traveller, had alfo a wandering
mind: and for holding many opinions wa^
called Xenoman, or the wanderer, inftead of
Xenophon'. yet certainly his conceit and fancy
\vas large and infinite.

Anacreon, the wanton, voluptuous poet,
Reached to fourfcore years of age, and up-
"^vards ; and Pindar of 1'hehes^ a poet of aa

high

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 302

high fancy, witty hi a new way of writhig,
and a reUgious adorer of the Gods, hved four-
fcore years. Sophocles the Aihetuan attained
to the fanae age ; an eloquent tragical poet,
and a great writer, but carelefs of his family.

ArtaxerxeSj king oiPerf.a, lived ninety
four years, being a man of a dull wit, not
laborious or painful, but affecling eafe more
than glory.

Agesilaus w^as a moderate king, and a
philofopher; a great foldier, and politician,
but ambitious of honour : he lived eighty-
four years.

GoRGiAs Leontinus lived an hundred
and eighty years. This man was a rheto-
rician, a pubhcfchool-mafter, and a travel-
ler ; and before his death he faid, that Prc-
iagoras tht Jbderite, being a rhetorician, a
politician, and as great a traveller as Gcr-
gias, Uved ninety years. Socrates the J//je-
nian, multiplying his life, reached to ninety-
nine years of age : he was a modeft rhetoiV
cian, that would never plead in open court,
l^ut kept a private fchool.

Democritus oi Abdera drew out his time
of life to an hundred years; w^as a oreat
fiatural philofopher, and a learned phyfician,

and

394 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

and praditioner in experiments ; fo that Arif-
iotle obje6led againft him, becaufe his obfer-
vations were grounded more on comparifoii
than reafon, being not proved by logic, but
hj fimilitude, the weakefl kind of argument.
Diogenes Synopeus^ allowing others liberty,
but ftricl in private government, delighting
in poor diet and patience, lived ninety years.
Zeno Citteus^ lacking but two of an hundred
years, was high-minded, a contemner of
opinions, and had an excellent wit, not of-
fenfivc, but rather alluring than compelling
affedion. Seneca afterwards had the like wit.
Plaio of Athens lived eighty one years : a
man affedling quietnefs, and high contem-
plation ; of a civil, handfome behaviour, not
light, but pleafmg and majeflic. ?"to-
fhvajius EtefMs^ uhng a fweet kind of elo-
quence, mingled with plentiful variety, ga-
thering only the fweet rofes of philofophy,
not the bitter worm- wood, attained to four-
jcore and five years. Carneades of Cjrene,
many years after, lived until he was four^
fcore and five years old; a fluent, eloquent
man, delighting in variety of knowledge,
"Vvhich made his converfation pleafing and
jicceptable. But in Cicero's time, Orbilius-^

no

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. ^^J

no philofopher or rhetorician, but a gram-^
marlaii, lived almoft an hundred years ; be-
ing firft a foldier, then a fchool-mafler ; of a
proud difpolition, and a whipping, railing
writer, even againft his own fcholars.

Q^Fabius Maximus, having been fixty
three years augur, and more refpecfled for
his nobility than age, was above fourfcore
years old when he died. He was a wife man,
that ripened adlions by delaying their execu-
tion, being all his life-time moderate, coui>
teous, and grave. Majinljfa, king of Numi-
dia^ lived above ninety years, and had a
fon when he was upwards of eighty- five
years old. This man was valiant, and cour
fidentin fortune, whofe changes his younger
years having experienced, he afterwards
Jived in conftant happinefs. Marcus F orchis
Cato lived above ninety years : a man of an
iron body and mind, of a fharp fpeech, and
contentious; addid:ed alfo tohufbandry; and
a phyfician to himfelf and family.

Terentia, C/aro's wife, livinp- an hun-
dred and three years, fuiFered many troubles
and afflidions by her hufband's banilhment,
death, and alfo by the gout. L//c/^, playing
fhe part of a young maid, afterwards of an

old

39^ HISTORY OF LfFE AND DEATH.

old wife upon the ftage, lived an hundred
years. KXio Galena Copiola^ being at firfl an
a6^rels, was ninety nine years afterwards, at
the dedication of Pompey^s theatre, brought
forth as a miracle of age, and afterwards
was a fpe6lacle in plays made hi honour of
Augujliis Co'far.

LiviA Julia Augusta, wife to Augujlus
Ca'fa?', and mother to I'iberius, lived but nine^
ty years, but was a more famous a£lrefs than
the former: for Lh/a, being a courteous,
flately, and pragmatical matron, complying
with her hufband by diffembling obedience,
and with her Ion by majeftic courage, was
certainly an excellent a61refs in the comedy
of Augujlus' s life ; who himfelf fpoke a com-
manding epilogue, charging his friends to ap-
plaud it after his death. lunia, wife to C, CaJfiuSy
and fifler to M. Brutus, being ninety years
old, and living fixty-four of them before the
battle of Philippi, was rich ; and though
unfortunate in her hufband and kindred, yet
a noble widow.

In Vefpajian''s reign, anno 76, in the part of

Jtaly lying between the Appenine and the

river Po, men of an hundred years old, and

upwards, were aireiTed, and put into the

5 fubfidyv

History of life and death.

;97

fuDfidy-book : namely, one hundred and
twenty- four of lOO years of age; fifty-four,
120; fifty-feven, 125; four, 130; four, 135;
and three that were 149 years old. There
were alfo at Parma, three men 120, and two
130 years old. At Bruxelles there was an
old man 125, znother ^t Placeraia 12 t, and
an old v/oman aged 132 years was living at:
Flueniici ; and in the ancient town Velleia-
chm, feated on the hills near Placent'm, were
fix men aged no, and four 12a. Laftly, at
Rlm'moj one M Aponlus was an hundred and
fifty years okt

Of the Roman, Grecian, and German em-
perors, being almoll two hundred, fome
only attained to fourfcore years of age. The'
tm^QmrsAuguJius and T'iberms living feventy-
eight, and feventy-fix years, might have
reached fourfcore years, had they not beeit
poifoned by Lh'ia and Caius.

Augustus lived feventy-fix years ; was
a moderate prince, fomewhat hafty in action,
but o-f a fair and pleafing carriage ; temperate
in diet, lafcivious, and very fortunate ; and
when about thirty years old, foiling into a
dangerous licknels, was reflored to health
by Antonlus Mtifa, and cured by cold medi-
cines.

59^ HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATI-T^

clnes, inflead of hot applications wfed hf
other phyficians, as agreeable to his difeafe.
Tiberius was, by two yearsj longer lived than
Augujlus. His words, as Augujlu^ faid, ftuck
in his throat : he was a prince of flow fpeech,
but ftern and bloody ; a drunkard, and lux-
urious in diet, yet very careful of his health,
and ufed to {^ly, that every one after thirty
years of age was a fool or a phyfician. Gor-
duin the elder lived fixty years ; then being
made emperor, he fell into a violent ficknefs,
and died: he was a brave, famous man, learn-
ed, and a poet ; conftant in the whole courfe
of his life, and a little before his death, for-
tunate.

The emperor Valerian lived feventy-fix
years before he was taken priioner by Sapor^
king of tlie Ferjiam ; feven years afterwards
he fuddenly fell fick, and died. He was of
an ordinary temper, and not very valiant ;
and though weak in defert, was by general
opinion conceived worthy to be made empe-
ror. Anajfajiusy fir named DIcorus, was four-
fcore years old; of a quiet, mild, fuperfli-
tious, timorous temper. Amicius luji'mianm
lived eighty- four years ; affecting glory ; fa-
mous by his captains fuccefs, not his own

valour :

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 39^

valour; uxorious, and governed bv others.-
Helena of Brltam, the mother of Conjlanting
the Great, lived fourfcore years; was no
ftatefwoman, but wholly devoted to religion,
yet of an high fpirit, and always happy-
Theodora the emprefs, fifler to Zoes, the wife
of Monomachus^ who reigned after her de-
ceafe, lived above fourfcore years ; a bufy,
ftately, fortunate, and credulous woman.

After fhefe examples of long-lived hea-
then men, the ages of principal ecclefiaftica
fhall be related. St. 'John^ our Saviour* 3
beloved apoftle and difciple, lived ninetv-*
three years, whofe divine infpirations and
burning charity were fhadowed forth by the
emblem of an eagle drawn near his piclure.
Luke the ' Evangelifl was eighty-four
years of age; an eloquent man, and a travel-
ler; St. PauFs conflant companion, and a
phyficlan. Simeon Cleopbas, called ChrilVs
brother, was bifhop of Jerufalem, and lived
an hundred and twenty years before he was
miartyrM : a courageous, conftant, charitable
man. Polycarp, the apoflle's difciple, and
bifhop of Smyrna, attained to an hundred
years, and was then martyr'd : a high-minded
man, of heroic patience, and laborious- Dl-

cnyfius

40O HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATPfo

bmfitis AreofagUa^ in the apoflle PauW tim^j
living ninety years, was called, " the bird of
^' heaven :" an excellent divine, and famous
for life and dodrine. Aquilla and Prifcilla;
the aportle Paul's hofls, and afterwards fel-
low-helpers, lived to an hundred years ; be-
ing in pope 'Kljlus's time an ancient married
couple,- wholly given to good works: the
diurches firft founders were fortunate in mar-
riage. St. Paul the Hermit lived in a cave
an hundred and thirty years, with intoler-
able poor, hard diet: he was a learned man^
and fpent his life in meditation. St. An-
thony^ the firfh founder or reftorer of the or-
der of monks, attained to an hundred and
five years ; a devout, contemplative man, of
an auftere and fevere life, governed his monks
in fuch a glorious folitude, that he was vi-
fited by chriflians and philofophers, and
adored as a living image of fandlity and holi-
hefs. Aihanafius, a man of invincible con-
flancy, commanding fame, and yielding not
to fortune, bold with great perfonages, po-
pular, and a flout champion in controverfies,
died above eighty years old. St. 'Jerome lived
above ninety years : he was an eloquent
writer, learned in languages andfciences; a

tra-

lilSTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 4OI

traveller; and towards his old age of an fie re
life, his high mind fhone in a private life
like aftarin obfcurity.

But of two hundred and forty-one popes,
five only attained to fourfcore years. The
age of many of the firfl: popes being fhortened
by martyrdom. Pope John the 23d. lived
ninety years: a man of an unquiet difpofi-
tion, and an innovator; bringing in many
alterations and changes, feme for the better,
but a great hoarder of w^ealth and treafure,
Gregory the twelfth, by a factious ele(£lion,
created pope, died at ninety years; hia
fhort papacy afforded nothing worthy of ob-
fervation. Paul the third lived eighty one
years ; of a quiet difpofition, and profound
judgment; a learned aflrologer, careful of
his health, and, like the old priefl £//, a
father of his family.

Paul the fourth, who lived eighty tliree
yearsjwasof a fevere difpofition, high-mind-
ed, and imperious ; of a working fancv, and an
eloquent ready fpeech. Gregory the thir-
teenth lived alfo fourfcore and three years ;
was a good man, politic, temperate, and cha-
ritable.

Vol. II. D d ru^

402" HrSTOllY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

The following examples are promifcuoufly
fet down together — Arganthonlus^ king of
Cadh in Sfam^ lived one hundred and
thirty or forty years, reigning eighty: his
manners, kind of life, and the time wherein
he lived, are unknown, Cynlras, king of
Cyprus, accounted then a happy, pleafant
ifland, lived one hundred and fifty or fixty
years, Tw^o kings of the Latins eight hun-
dred and fix hundred years. Some kings of
Arcadia three hundred ; but the inhabitants
long life in this healthful country is but an
invented fable. It is reported, that in Illyri*
cum one Dardanus lived five hundred years
without any infirmity of age. The Epiatis^
a people ofjEtoIia, were generally all long-
lived ; two hundred years being a common
age ; and among the refl the giant Litorius
was three hundred years old. On the top
of th^ mountain I'molus^ anciently called
^empfusy many men attained to an hundred
and fifty years. The {t€t of tlie EJfeans, in
Judea, lived above an hundred years, bn a
Very poor Pythagorean diet. Apollomus T'ya^
neusy when above an hundred years old, had
afrefh, fair complexion, and was accounted
by tbe' heathens a verv divine man, but by

tl-i<?.

HISTORY OF LIFE? AND DEATH. 403

the chriftians efleemed a magician ; a Pytha-
gorean in diet, a great traveller, famous, and
renowned ; but in his age he was difgraced,
and fufFered many contumelies and reproaches-
which redounded afterwards to his honour.
Apphis C^cus^ when very old, governed a
great family, and the common-wealth ; and
in his extreme old age, being brought on %
bed into the Senate-houfe, difluaded them
from making peace ^Nith. Pyrrhus: in the be-
ginning of his oration fhewing a memorable
and invincible courage and flrength of mind,
faying, " My blindnefs, reverend fathers,
" I have very patiently endured ; but now
*' hearing your difhonourable counfels and
'* purpofe to conclude a peace with Pyrrhus^
** I could wifh myfelf deaf.'* M. Perpenna
lived ninety eight years, furviving all the
fenators of his confulfhip, and all elecled in
his cenforfhip, except feven. HierOy king q£
Skil}', who reigned at the time of the fecond
Pimic war, lived almoft an hundred years ;
was a moderate prince, both in government
and manners; religious, faithful in friend-
fhlp, bountiful, and continually fortunate.
Statilia, of a noble family, lived ninety-nine
years, in the reign of Claudius, Claudia, the
D d 2 daughter

404 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH^

daughter of OtUius, one hundred and fifteen
years. Xenoph'dus, an ancient philofopher of
the Pythagorean fe6l, one hundred and fix
years ; was healthful and lufty in his old age,
and very popular for his learning.

Islanders were formerly accounted very
long-lived, now equal to others in age. Hippo-
crates of Cous^ a famous phyfician, who lived
one hundred and four years, approving his art
by lengthening his life, was a wife and learned
man, of great experience and obfervation,
and without affedling method, found out the
nerves and finews of fcience.

Demonax, a philofopher by profeffion
and manners, w^ho lived an hundred years
in Adrian'^ reign, was difliinguiflied for an
exalted mind, and an abfolute command of
himfelf ; and without affedation a contemner
of the world, yet civil and courteous : when
he died, being alked touching his burial, he
anfwered, " Take no care for my burial,
'' for my offenfive fmell will bury me." He
that alked him, faid again, " Would you
*' have your body left for dogs and ravens to
*' feed upon ?" D^/72o;z^a: anfwered, *' What
*' great hurt is it, if having fought while I

« hved

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 405

*' lived to do good to men, my body do fome
*' good to beafts when I am dead ?"

The Indians called Pandora ^ are very long
lived, reaching two hundred years. . The
iSVr^j, another fort of Indians, with plantain
drink, live to an hundred years. 'Euphranor
the Grammarian, when above an hundred
years old, kept a fchool. Ovid^ the poet's
father, lived ninety years; who differing
from his fon in difpofition, and averfe to the.
Mufes, dilTuaded him from ftudying poetry^
AJinhis Pollio, favourite to Augujius^ and fa-
voured alfo by the Gods, with a life of an
hundred years, was luxurious, eloquent,
learned, hafty, proud, cruel, and made pri-
vate benefits the only centre of his a6lions.
Seneca^ managing flate matters, banifhed for
adultery in Claudius's reign, was near an hun-
dred years old when he was Nero's fchool-
mafter. John ofl^imes, a Frenchman, and a
foldier of Charles the Great, was accounted
in thofe latter times the longeft liver, benig
three hundred years old,

Gartius Aretine, grandfather to Are^

tine, was healthy to the laft, feeling no fick-.

nefs ; but when ftrength of nature decayed, ,

died with age. Many Venetians lived ex-.

D d 3 ceeding

406 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH,

ceeding long, as Captain Francis Donaitis^
Thomas Contarenus^ Pro6lor of St. Mark's^
Francis MoUn, Proclor alfo of St. Mark\, and
others.^ But Cornarus Fenetus, having a fickly,
crazy body, for the recovery of health, took
all his meat and drink, by weight, keeping
afterwards according to that proportion a
conftant diet, and thereby lived about an
hundred years in perfect health. JViUiam
Pofiell, a Frenchman, at the age of an hun-
dred and twenty, had on his upper Hp black
hair ; was a man of an active brain and light
fancy, a great traveller, and an experienced
mathematician, rather inclining unto herefy.
In England there is in every populous vil-
lage a man or woman of threefcore years :
and at a wake in HerefordJJjire^ a dance was
performed by eight men, whofs ages added
together amounted to eight hundred years;
fome being as much above an hundred years,
as others were under that age.

Many mad folks in Bethlem Hofpital, in
the fuburbs of London, live very long.

The ages of nymphs, fawns, and {lityrs,
formerly fuperftitioujQy adored, are but dreams
and fables, contrary to philofophy and reli-
gion. So much for the hiflory of the long

life

t

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. A^l

life of particular perfons, now follow general
obfervations.

In fucceeding ages and generations, length
of life is not fliortened, fourfcore years hav-
ing been, from the time of Mofes, the con-
ftant age of man. But in particular coun-
tries mens lives were longer, when plain
homely diet, and bodily labour were much
ufed, and Shorter, when more civilized times
delighted in idlenefs and wanton luxury :
but as fucceflion of ages ftiorten not the
length of hfe, they mufl be dlftinguilhed from
the corruptions thereof. The age alfo of
beafts, as oxen, horfes, fheep, goats, and
and fuch like creatures, not being Ihortened
in this age; therefore the deluge, or general
flood, and perhaps particular accidental floods,
long droughts, earthquakes, and the like,
Ihorten life, and not th© fucceffion of ages
and generations, Neither do the bigneis and
ftature of bodies now decreafe and grow kls,
though Firgil, following common opinion,
prophefied of a leffer ftature of men in fuc-
ceeding ages, of the ploughing the Emathian
and Emonenfian fields.

Though in Sicily and other places, three

thoufand years fince, Giants lived in caves,

Pd4 }'e;

408 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH,

yet the general ftature of men fmce that time
is not decreafed, which confutes the com-
mon opinion that men are not fo long lived,
big, nor ilrong, as formerly.
- In cold Northern countries, men com-
monly live longer than in hotter, their Ikin
being more compa(5t and clofe, whereby their
moiflure is not fo eafily diffufed, fcattered
abroad, and confumed by the fharpnefs of
their reparable fpirits, nor exhaufled and de-
voured by the intemperate heat of their air,
But under the Equinodlial line, the fun paf-^
{ing twice over it, makes two winters and
fummers, and equal days and nights, the
inhabitants live very long, as in Peru and
Tciprobana,

The Mediterranean IJlanders are commonly
long-lived ; for the Ruffians live not fo long
as the Orcades, nor the Africatis, as the inhabi-
tants of the Canaries and Terceras, though
under the fame parallel ; and the Japonians,
though earneftly defiring and affecting long
life, are not fo long lived as the Cbineje, the
feaair yielding a cherifhing warmth in cold
countries, and a refrelhing, cooling breeze ia
hot countries.

HiGIJ

I

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 40^;

High grounds, except the tops of moun-
tains, produce people of a greater age than
low, flat levels, and in high countries, as
in Arcadia and Greece, and part oi MtoUa, the
inhabitants live to a great age, as the inhabi-
tants of mountains would do, if their pure
clear air were not accidentally corrupted with
vapours, which rifing from the vallies, fettle
and reft on the hills : therefore on fnowy
mountains, on the Alps, the Pyrennean, and
the ^/^^;/;z^ mountains, the inhabitants live
not fo long, as thofe dwelling on middling
hills or vallies: but on the ridges of moun-
tains towards Ethiop, and the Abyjfyncs, co-
vered with fnow, with no hovering vapours,
the people live to an hundred and £fty years
of age.

The air of marfhes and fens, lying flat and
low, agrees with the natives, but to Grangers
is unhealthy, and Shortens their lives: and
marfhes, or other fenny places, that are
overflowed with fait tides, are more un-
wholefome than thofe overflowed with frcih
land- water.

The particular countries wherein the peo-
ple live to a great age, are thefe : Arcadia,
diolia^ India on this fide the Ganges, Brajtl,

"Tapro^

410 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

laprohana, Britain, Ireland, and the iflands of
Orcades and Hebrides, but ilot Ethiopia, as
fome of the ancients fnppofed.

The air being perfedly wholefome is a
fecret quality, rather found out by experi-
ence, than reafon : for if a piece of wood
laid fome certain days in the open air, grows
not heavier in weight, it proves that the air
is good; alfo, if a piece of flefh laid in the
fame manner remain unputrified, or if a per-
ipe^ive glafs prefents the objed in near dif-
tance, the air is thereby proved wholefome.

A wholefome air mufl be good, pure, and
equal. Hills and vallies, with a kind of
changeable variety, make a pleafant profpedl,
but are not fo healthy as the moderately dry
plain, not barren or fandy, but planted with
fhady trees.

It is bad dwelling in a changeable air,
though change of air in travels, by ufe and
cuflom, becomes healthy, making travellers
iong-llyet}. Cottagers dwelling continually
In one place Ijye to a great age, the fpirits
being confumed lefs by an accuflomed air,
but nouriihed and repaired more hy change

pf air.

The;

HISTOKY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 41 I

The life of man is not lengthened or
Shortened by fucceffion of ages, but the im-
mediate condition of the parents, both the
father and mother, is to be regarded. As
whether the father was an old, young, or
middle-aged; healthy and found, or fickly
and difeafed ; a glutton, or a drunkard ; or
whether children were begotten after deep
in the morning, after long forbearance of
venery, in the heat of love, as baflards, or
in cold blood, as in continuance of marriap-e.
The fame circumflances are alfo on m^ mo-
ther's fide to be confidered, and alfo the con-
ditions of the mother during pregnancy: as
whether fhe were healthy, and what diet
/he kept. Certain rules for judging of chil-
drens life by the manner of their generation
and birth are hard to be given, matters fiill-
ing out contrary to expe^ation ; for children
begotten with a lively courage prov(^ ftrong,
but, through the fharp inflammation of the
fpirits, are not long-lived : alfo children re-
ceiving a greater or equal quantity of the
mother's fluid, and begotten in lawful wed-
lock, not in fornication, and in the morning,
without exceflive lewdncfs in the parents,
Jive long: for it is obfcrvablc, that flout,

flrong

412 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

ftrong parents, efpeclalJy mothers, have not
ftrong children. Plato ignorantly imagined,
that becaufe women ufed not exercife as
men did, therefore children were not ftrong ;
whereas unequal flrength is moft powerful
in the a£l of generation ; a ftrong man and
a weak woman havdng ftrongeft children :
fo young women are the moft prolific, and
young nurfes are the heft. For the Spartan
women, not marrying until two or five and
twenty years old, called therefore mafculine
women, had no luftier, longer-lived chil-
dren, than the Roman, Athenian, or ^heban
women, who accounted themfelvcs marriage-
able at twelve or fourteen years old : there-
fore fpare diet made the Spartan women ex-
cellent breeders, not late marriage. But ex-
perience ftiews, that fome families are long-
lived; long life and difeafes being hereditary
to all of the fame ftock and parentage. -

Black or red hair, and a complexion
with freckles, are figns of longer life, than
white hair and complexion : and a frelh red
colour in young folks is better than a pale ;
a hard, not a fpongy (kin, but clofe grained,
is a better llgn of long life thaa a fmooth

ikin ;

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 413

{kill : and great wrinkles in the forehead are
better ligns than a fmooth forehead.

Hair hard like briftles is a better fign of
long life than dainty foft locks ; and hard,
thick, curled hair, is better than foft and
fliining.

Baldness coming fooner or later is an
indifferent iign, many being foon bald, yet
long-lived ; and grey hairs, accounted figns
of old age, coming betimes without bald-
nefs, are figns of long life; with baldnefs,
a token of the contrary.

The hairynefs of the lower parts, as the
thighs and legs, is a fign of long life, but
not of the breafl", or upper parts.

Men of a tall flature, flrong, and a£live,
are long-lived; but alow flature, and flow
difpofition, are contrary (igns.

In regard of proportion, fhort waiils and
long legs betoken longer life than long waifts
and fhort legs : and a big proportion down-
w^ards, and flender upwards, is a fign of
longer life, than broad Ihoulders, and a
flender make downwards.

Lean folks, of a quiet, peaceable difpo-
fition ; and fat folks, of a choleric nature,
I are

4-14 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

are commonly long-lived. Fatnefs in youth
is a fign of (hort life, but not in age.

Long growth, either to a great or leffer
ftature, is a fign of long life ; but fudden
growth, either to a low or high ftature, is a
bad fign.

Firm flefh, full of mufcles and finews,
and high fwelling veins, fignify long life ;
the contrary are figns of Ihort life.

A SMALL head in proportion to the body ;
a middle-fized neck, not long, flender, thick,
or fhort, Shrinking within the fhoulders;
large noflrils; a wide mouth; griflly ears,
not flefhy; and ftrong, clofe, even teeth,
fignify long life, and efpecially breeding of
new teeth.

A BROAD breafl: bending inwards, crooked
fhoulders, a fiat belly, a broad hand with
few lines in the palm, a fhort round foot,
thighs not very flefhy, and high calves of
the legs, are figns of long life.

Great eyes with a green circle bordering
on the vvliite of the eye ; fenfes not too (harp ;
flow pulfes in youth, in age quicker, holding
the breath eafily ; cofiivenefs in youth, loofe-
nefi In age, fignify long life.

Astro-

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 415

Astrological obfervatlons, drawn from
nativity, are not allowable. Children com-
ing at eight months are commonly fllll-born;
but children born in winter are long-lived.

A STRICT Pythagorlcal or Cornarus*s diet,
of equal proportion, is good to make fludi-
ous men liv^e long. But by free eating and
drinking, and a plentiful diet, common
people live longeft. A temperate diet, though
healthy, is no caufe of long life : for the
ftri^l diet breeds few fpirits, confuming lefs
moifture, and the fall diet yields mere re-
pairing nourifhment ; but the moderate diet
affords neither fewer fpirits, nor more nou-
rifhment. With a ftri^l diet, watclnng
muft be ufed to keep fleep from opprellino-
the fpirits, being few; and alfo moderate ex-
ercife, and abftinence from venery: but a
plentiful diet requires much fleep, frequent
exercife, and feafonable venery. The learned
and wife pliyfician Celfus held, that variety
and change of good plentiful diet was befl ;
alfo watching, but oftener long fleep ; fafl-
ing, but more frequently feafling; and bu-»
■finefs fometimes, but oftener pleafure and
recreation, were good and healthy. In keep-
ing a good diet, which is the greatefl leng-

thener

4l6 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

thenerof life, there are different obfervations.
I remember that an old man above an hun-
dred years of age, produced for a witnefs in
a plea of prefcription, having given in evi-
dence, and being alked by the Judges by
what means he had Uved fo long, anfwered,
*' By eating before I was hungry, and drink-
*' ing before I was thirfty."

A RELIGIOUS holy life may caufe a long
life; for retirement, reft, divine contempla-
tion, fpiritual joy, noble hope, wholefome
fear, a pleafmg melancholy, newnefs of life,
ftrid obfervations, repentance, and fatisfac-
tion, lengthen the natural life of a morti-
fied chriftian; and their auftere diet hardens
the body, and humbles the fpirit : fo that
Paul the Hermit, and Simeon the x^nchoritCj
and many other monks, lived thus in the
wildernefs until they were old.

Next to this is the learned life of phi-*
lofophers, rhetoricians, and grammarians,
living in eafe, and thoughts not relating to
bufinefs, without grief, delighting in variety,
and in the pleafant converfation of young
men. But philofophy had various effects on
long life, according to its fubjecl ; for fuper-
llitious, high, contemplative philofophy,

as

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 417

as the Pythagorlcal, Platonic, and natural
philofophy, metaphjfics and moral philo-
fophy of heroic virtues, were good flu dies to
prolong life : fuch was the philofophy of
Bemocrhus, Philolaus, Xemphon, aflrolog^rs,
arid ftoics; alfo philofOphy, not profound
and fpeculative, but agreeable to common
opinion, as profefled by Carneades and th6
Academics, Rhetoricians, and Grammarians,
was conducive to life: but difficult, fubtle
philofophy, weighing matters in the fcale of
principles, and full of thorny queftions, was a
bad fludy, to which the peripatetics and fcho-
laftics were devoted.

The country life, bufied in employments
abroad, a^live, and keeping a frefh homely
diet, without care and tnyj, prolong life.
• The military life is good in youth, many
excellent warriors having lived to a great
age, as Corvinus, CamUlus, Xemphon, Agefi-
laus, and others both ancient and modern.
Alfo the improvement of virtue, byincreafmg
daily in goodnefs, and labouring in youth,
prolong life, the remembrance thereof being
fweet in age. Befides, military affedions,
i-aifed with the defire and hope of vldory, in-
fufe into the fpirits heat agreeable tolongiife.
Vol. 11. Ee ME,

4lS HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH^

MEDICINES FOR LONG LIFE,

nPHERE are many medicines for preferv-
ing health, and curmg difeafes, but few
•to prolong life : therefore the mofl notable
ones, called Cordials, (hall be here propofcd ;
for cordials taken to fortify and ftrengthen
the heart and fpirits againfl polfon and dif-
eafes, ufed with judgment, may be powerful
to prolong life. Thefe which are felected,
and fet down, are bed.

Gold is exhibited and ufed three ways ;
as potable, quenched in wine, or fubflantial,
as leaf and powder gold. Potable gold was
^Iven firfl: in dangerous, defperate difeafes ;
as an excellent powerful cordial, receiving
the virtual effedl from the fpirit of fait wherein
it is diffolved ; for gold would be more fove-
reign could It be dillblved without corrolive
waters, or by them when cleared of their
venomous quality.

Pearls are taken in powder, or diflblved
in the juice of green lemons, or in fplccd
comfits and liquors. The pearl and the

ihell

I

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 4T9

fhell whercunto it cleaves are of one nature,
and in quality like the fhells of river-crabs.

Two chriftaline precious ftones are chief
cordials, the emerald and jacinth, given in
the lame manner as pearls, but not ufually
diffolved; yet thefe green fiones are of a
fharp operation.

The benefit and help received from thefe
medicinal fpecies, Ihall be hereafter declared.

Bezoar flone is of approved virtue, re-
creating the fpirits, and provoking gentle
fweat. Unicorn's-horn is of like efteem
with the hart's-horn, and the bone of its
heart, ivory, and the like.

Ambergris is very good to comfort and
refrefh the fpirits.

Prescriptions for diet being here only
delivered, hot waters and chymical oils,
having a defhrudlive, violent operation, and
alfo hot fpices are to be rejected ; and waters
muft be made more temperate, lively, and
fragrant than phlegmatic diflillations, or hot
extracts of the fpirit of wine.

Often letting blood, proved good by ex-
perience, is good to prolong life; the old
moifture of the body being thereby evacu-
ated, and new fupplied.

E e 2 Con-

I

420 HISTORY OF LIFE Al^D DEATH.

CoNSUMPTiOMs alfoand ficknefles procur-
ing leannefs, being well cured, lengthen life,
the body being thereby fup plied with new
moifture after the confumption of the old ;
therefore it is faid, that to grow healthy after
fuch a ficknefs is to grow youthful. The pro-
curing of ficknefs by artificial diets fliall be
hereafter declared.

INTENTIONS.

ENQUIRY having been made concern-
ing inanimate bodies, vegetables, living crea-
tures, and man, a new fearch by true and
proper intentions, refembling the paths of
mortal life fhall be made, and more elFedlual
than all former contemplations of comfort-
ing natural heat, and radical moiflure, or
of meats breeding good blood, neither hot
nor phlegmatic, and of refrefhing and re-
creating the fpirits ; or of medicines abfurdly
imagined to produce the fame properties as
the fubftances from which they are taken ;
fuch as gold to operate incorruption ; gems
and pearls, vivacity of fpirit ; deer, fcrpents,

ajid

i

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 42I

and eagles, from renovating fome of their
parts to renew age : the influence of planets,
and other fuch abfurdities, by which reafon
being befieged, has miferablj yielded up the
fort of belief. But to thefe material inten-
tions, though not largely handled, much
cannot be added ; fome few admonitions only
concerning them are to be delivered.

First, the offices and duties of life being
better than life, are not hindered by our pre-
fcriptions; fuch being rejefted, or lightly
mentioned, and not infiflied on: fornoferious
difcourfe of living in a den or hole of a rock,
like Epimenides's cave never befriended with
any cheerful fun-beam, or day-light; or of
continual baths of prepared liquors; nor of
enclofmg the body in fear-clothes, nor plaif-
tering it with paint, as ufed by Savages ; or
of accurate diets to prolong life, formerly
kept by Herodicus, and in our age more mo-
derately by Cornarus Fenetus, nor the like
unprofitable, idle projeds, are here men-
tioned. But our remedies and precepts may
be ufed without interrupting and hindering
common duties and bufinefs.

Secondly, It is a vain conceit to imagine
that any potion or medicine can ftay or re-

422 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH,

new the courfe of nature; which great works
muft be brought about and effe£led by appli^
cation of divers remedies ; and, being a new
projed, muil: be wrought by unufual means'
Thirdly, fome following proportions are not
grounded on approved experiments, but on
reafon ; and our former principles and fuppo-
litions are all cut and digged out of the rock
and mine of nature. And becaufe man's body
is in fcripture faid to be the foul's upper gar-
ment; therefore no dangerous, but whole-
fome and profitable remedies are here pro-
pounded. Belides, it is obfervable, that the
fame drugs are not good to preferve health,
and lengthen life ; for fome being good to
cheer the fpirits, and make them vigoroufly
and ftrongly perform their duties, do fliorten
life ; others being powerful to prolong life,
imlcfs prevention be ufed, endanger health ,
therefore fome cautions and advertifements
Hiall be inferted, leaving the choice of fe-
veral remedies belonging to the feveral inten-
tions to the reader's difcretion. For their
agreeablenefs to different conftitutions of
bodies, to divers kinds of life, and feveral
ages, and the order obfervable in their appli-
cation.

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH, 423

cation, would be too tedious to declare, and
unfit to be publiflied.

The third intention propofed in the topics,
of ftaying confumption, perfecting repara-
tion and renewing age, are enlarged into thefe
ten operations.

THEfirfl of which is of reviving and re-
newing the fpirits.

The fecond operation is of excluding or
keeping out the air.

The third, of blood, and heat breeding
blood.

The fourth, of the juice and moiflure of
the body.

The fifth, of the bowels, and digeftion of
nourifliment.

The fixth is of the outward parts attra£l-
ing nourifliment.

The feventh is of making diet more nou-
rifliing.

The eighth is the lafl a£l: of affimilation,
or converting into the fubftance of the body.
The ninth is of making the parts of the
body tender, after they begin to wither and
wax dry.

The tenth is of purging out old moiflure^
and filling the body with newmoifture.

E e 4 Of

424 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

Of thefe operations, the firfl: four belong
to the firfl intention ; the fecond four to the
fecond intention ; and the two laft to the
third intention.

And becaufe thefe intentions maybe daily
pradifed, therefore under the name of an
hiftory; experiments, obfervations, counfels,
remedies, explications of caufes and reafons,
are blended and mingled togethero

To CONTINUEand renew

THE

VIGOUR OF THE SPIRITS.

nPHAT the fpirits work all effeas in the
Body, is moft clear and evident by di-
vers experiments.

Youthful fpirits conveyed into an old
body, would, like a great wheel turning
about the lelTer, make nature move back-
ward, and old folks become young.

In

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 425

In all confumptlons by fire or age, the
more moifture that the fplrit or heat de-
vours, the lefs durable is the fubd-ancc.

The fpirits working temperately, (hould
not drink or devour, but fip the mciflure of
the body.

Flames are of two kinds, fudden and
weak, confuming thin fubftances, as the
blazing flame of flraw, and fliavings of wood :
the other ftrong and conftant, invading hard
flubborn fubftances, as the flame of great
wood.

Flames fuddenly blazing and weak, dry,
confume, and parch the body; but ftrong
flames difl[blve and melt the body, making
it moift and foft.

Some purgatives carry oft watery thin
humours, others watery, ftubborn, flimy
matter.

Such fpirits as are more powerful to abate
and fubdue hard flubborn humours, than to
evacuate thin and prepared humours, will
keep the body lufty and flirono-.

The fpirits fliould be thick in fubftance,
hot, and lively, not fharp and burning; of
fufficient quantity, not abounding; and quiet

in

426 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

in motion, not bounding in an unruly man-
ner.

Vapours work powerfully on the fpirits,
as thole do ariling from fleep, drunkennefs,
melancholy, and merry paflions, and from
odours and fweet fmell recreating the faint-
ing fpirits.

The fpirits are thickened by four forts of
means; by flight, cooling, delight, and re-
firaint: and hrfl of their thickening by flight.

Bodies, from their being put to flight, are
forced into their centre, and fo thickened.

The juice of black poppy, and all medi-
cines procuring fleep, thicken the fpirits by

Three grains of poppy-juice will make
the fpirits curdle together, and quite extin-
guifli their working.

The fpirits are not put to flight by the
coldnefs of poppy-juice, and the like drugs
being hot ; but the flight of the fpirits makes
them hot by condeniing.

The flight of the fpirits from poppy -juice
is beft difcerned by the outward apphcation,
making them withdraw and retire, and keep
within, until the mortified part turns to a
gangrene.

In

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 427

In painful inciiions, cutting for the ftone,
or cutting off limbs, juice of hemlock
is ufed to mitigate the pain, by putting the
fpirits to flight, and cafling the patient into
a fwoon.

The thickening of the fpirits by flight,
and driving inwards, is a good effect of pop-
py-juice, proceedin.g from a bad caule ; that
is, the flight of the fpirits.

Poppy was efteemed by the Grecians to be
a great preferver of health, and prolonger of
life : the principal ingredient ufed by the
Jlrabians, called God's hands, was poppy-
juice, the bad qualities thereof being allayed
with other mixtures, as treacle, mithridate,
and the like.

All medicines thickening the fpirits, as
poppy efpecially, and flaying and retraining
their unruly working and raging in peflilen-
tial difeales, are good to prolong life.

A GOOD quantity of poppy-juice, being
found by experience to be comfortable, is
taken by the ^urks to make them valiant ;
but tons, unlefs taken in a fmall quantity,
ind well allayed, it is deadly poifon.

Poppy-juice alfo flrengthens the fpirits,
and excites to venery.

The

428 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

The dlftilled water of wild poppy is good
for furfeits, fevers, and divers difeafes ; the
fpirits being thereby thickened and ftrength-
ened to refiil: any difeafes.

The T'urks dnnk the powder of an herb in
warm water, to increafe their valour, and
fharpnefs of wit; but a greater quantity
thereof is of a ftupifying power Hke poppy.

The Eqfi-Ind'ums refrefh themfelves before
and after labour, by chewang a famous root
called betel ; which enables alfo their a6ls
of generation, and is of a ftuplfying power,
becaufe it blacks the teeth.

Tobacco, in this age grown fo common,
and yielding fuch a fecret delight and con-
tent, that being once taken, it can hardly be
forfaken, it lightens the body, and takes off
wearinefs ; opening the pores, and voiding
humours, but thickening the fpirits; being
a kind of henbane, and like poppy, troubles
the brain.

SoiME hun^sours of the body, as thofe pro-
ceeding from melancholy, are like poppy-
juice, and caufe long life.

Opium, or poppy-juice, the leaves and
feeds of both kinds of poppy ; alfo henbane,
mandrake, hemlock, tobacco, nlght-fhade,

or

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 429

or banewort, have all a drowfy, flupifying
power.

Treacle, mithridate, trifer, Paracelfus's
gum, fyrup of poppy, pills of hound's
tongue, are compound drugs of the fame
nature.

These prefcriptlons prolong life, in thick-
ening the fpirits by cooling.

In youth, keep every year a cool diet
about May, the fpirits in fummer being loofe
and thin : and take a julip of poppy, and
other hot ingredients, but not too ftrong,
every morning between fleep; then keep a
fpare diet for fourteen days afterwards, for-
bearing wine, and hot fpices.

Smokes and fteams being not too purga-
tive to draw forth humours, but having a
light operation on the fpirits of the brain,
cool the fpirits as well as coolers ; therefore
a fufFumigation made of tobacco, wood of
aloes, dry rofemary-leaves, and a little
myrrh, being in the morning received into
the noftrils, is very whole fome.

But the water of compound opiate drugs,
the vapour rifmg in dirtilling, and the heat
fettling downv^ards, is better to be taken in
youth, than the drugs; for the virtue of

dif.

430 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

dlftilled waters is in their vapour, being iii
other refpe6ls weak.

Some drugs being like poppy, but not fo
flrong, yield a drowfy, cooling vapour, and
more wholefome than poppy, by colle6ling
not repelling the fpirits.

The drugs like unto poppy, are fafFron,
and fafFron-flowers, the Indian leaf, amber-
gris, coriander-feed prepared; amomum,
pfeudamomum, rhodian wood, water of o-
range bloffoms, and an infufion of the flowers
fteeped in oil of olives, and a nutmeg dif-
folved in rofe- water.

Use poppy fparingly at fet times; but
thefe other drugs taken in daily diet are very
ibvereigu to prolong life.

PHARMACOPiEUsinGz/^a-^/, by ufnig am-
ber, lived to an hundred and fixty years of
age; and the nobilky of Barbaty, by ufing
the fame drug, are longer-lived than the
common people : and our long-lived ancef-
tors ufed faffron very much in their cakes
and broths. So much of thickening the fpi-
rits by poppy, and other drugs.

The fecond way and means to thicken the
fpirits, is by cold; for cold does properly
thicken, and, by a fafer operation and workr

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 431

ing than the malignant qualities of poppy
though not fo powerfully; yetbecaufe cooK
ers may be familiarly ufed in daily diet, thev
are better to prolong life than drowfy potions
ordru^s.

The fpirits are cooled by breathing, hv
vapours, or by diet; the firft wav is beft,
but difficult; the fecond good and eafv; thl
third, weak and tedious

The pure dear air, which mav be taken
on the dry tops of mountains, alid in onen
ftady fields, is good to thicken the fpirits.

Also vapours cool and thicken; and
mtre has in this kind a fpecial operation,
grounded on thefe reafons.

NiTBEisakindof fpice; being fo cold
that It bites the tongue as hot fpices do.
_ The fpirits of all drugs naturally, not ac-
cidentally cold, are few and weak : Vpirituous
drugs are, on the contrary hot ; nitre only
having abundance of fpirits, is of a vegetable
nature and cold. For camphire is fpirituou..
and cold m operation by accident; audits
qua ity thm ..i^hout Iharpnefs, lengthens
the breath in inflammations.

Also nitre mingled with fnow and ice
and put about veflels, congeals and freezes

' the

43^ HISTOHY OF LIFE AKD DEATHS

the liquor within; and common bay-falt
makes fnow colder, and more apt to freeze.
But in hot countries, where no fnow falls,
nitre is only uled.

Seamen and foldlers, to make them va-
liant, drink gunpowder before they fight
or join battle, as the ^urks do poppy.

Nitre allays the deflroying heat of burn-
ing agues, and peflilential fevers.

The nitre in gunpowder, fhunning the
flame when a piece is fired, makes the crack
and report.

Nitre is the fplrit of the earth; for any
pure earth covered or fhaded from the fun-
beams, fo that nothing fprings or grows
thence, will gather ftore of nitre ; the fpirit
of nitre being inferior to the fpirit of living
creatures, of vegetables, and plants.

Cattle drinking water wherein there
is nitre, grow fat, which is a fign that the
nitre is cold.

Lands and grounds are made rank and
mellow by the fattening quality of the fpirit
of nitre which is in dung.

Therefore the fpirit of nitre will cool,
thicken, refrefh the fpirit s, and abate
their heat. For as ftrong wines and fpices

do

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 433

fenfiame the fpirits, and fliorten life, fo
nitre, compofing and reftraining the fpirits^
prolongs life.

Nitre may be ufed with meat, and eaten
with lalt to the proportion of a tenth part,
and put in morning broths from three grains
to ten, or in drink : and being ufed in any
manner moderately, it prolongs life*

As other drugs befides poppy, being weakei;
and fafer to be taken in greater quantity,
and oftener, condenfate and thicken the
fpirits by flight ; fo drugs of an inferior na-
ture and operation to nitre, cool and thicken
the fpirits.

All drugs inferior to nitre fmell earthly^
like good pure earth newly turned up and
digged : the chief whereof are burrage, bug-
lofs, burnet, flrawberry-leaves, and ftraw-
berries, cucumbers, and fragrant apples,
vine-leaves and buds, and violets.

Next to thefe are drugs of a hot fmell^
but cooling; as balm, citrons, and lemons,
green oranges, rofe-Water, roafted pears, da-^
mafk and red rofes, and mulk rofes.

These fruits, inferior to nitre for thicken-
ing the fpirits, fhould be ufed raw, not roaft-
ed, their cooling fpirits being difperfed by

Vol. IL Ff £rej

434 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH,

iire ; therefore to infufe or fqueeze them into
drmk, or to eat or fmell to them raw, is beft.

The fpirits are thickened alfo by the
odour and fmell of other drugs inferior to
poppy and nitre : for the fmell of pure frefh
earth, coming from following a plough,
di<rging or weeding, and the fmell of leaves
fallen from trees in woods or hedge-rows, at
the beginning of Autumn, is good to cool
the fpirits, and efpecially withered ftraw-
berry-leaves ; alfo the fmell of violets, the
flowers of pellitory of the wall, blackberries,
and madre-felve, is cooling.

A Nobleman of my acquaintance, who
lived to be very old, ufually after deep
fmelled to a clod of frefh earth.

Also endive, fuccory, liverwort, purflain,
&c. by coohng the blood, cool alfo the
fpirits, though not fo foon as vapours and
fmells. So much of thickening the fpirits
by flight. The third kind of thickening is
by delight: the fourth, by the reftraint of
their cheerfulnefs, joyfulnefs, and too vio-
lent motions.

The fpirits are mitigated and thickened by
fuch pleafmg objedls as do not draw them
forth, but afford them inward delight ; where-
by

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 435

by being collecled Into their center, they
enjoy themlelv^es, and £nd a fweet con-

tent.

The former pofitions of drugs inferior to
opium and nitre being here remembered, fur-
ther enquiry of thickening the fpirits, by
cooling, will be needlefs.

The reftraint of the violent afFe(ftions and
motions of the fpirits (hall be hereafter de-
clared: now the thickening of the fpirits
having been fliewn, the qualification and
temper of their heat follows.

The fpirits fhould not be hot and fharp,
but flrong and luily, to conquer and fubdue
refifting matter ; not to attenuate and expel
thin humours.

Spices, wine, and ftrong drink mufl: be
temperately ufed, and after abflinence has
refrefhed the appetite : and alfo favory, mar-
gerum-, penny-royal, and all heaters that bite
on the tongue, muft be feldom ufed; the
heat infufed by them into the fpirits being
not operative, but a dev^ouring heat.

These herbs ftrengthen the heat of the

fpirits ; endive, garlick, bleffed-thilBe, young

crelTes, germander, angelica, worm-feed,

vervain, fet-well, myrrh, pepper-wort, el-

F f 2 der

43^ HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

der-buds, and parfley; and ufed in fauces
and medicines, are hot in operation.

Also of cooling drugs, compounded with
euphorbium, baftard-pellitorj, ftavefacres,
dragon-wort, anacardium, oil of beaver's-
ftone, hart-wort, opoponax, gum of Agafil-
lis and Galbanum, and the like, to allay the
drowfy, {lupifying power of poppy, a very
good medicine to ftrengthen the fpirits, and
make them hot and lufly, may be made like
treacle and mithridate, being not fharp, nor
biting on the tongue, but bitter, and of a
ftrong fcent, yet hot in the flomach, or in
their operations.

The defire of venery often flirred up and
excited, but feldom fatisfied in a6l, does
ftrengthen the heat of the fpirits, and fo do
fome of the aifedlions. So much of the heat
of the fpirits being a caufe of long li'fe.

The fpirits fliould not abound, but be
few and moderate ; for a fmall flame devours
not fo much as a greater.

A SPARING Pythagorical diet, fuch as
Monks and Hermits, under the order of St.
Neceffity, and St. Poverty^ ufed, is good ta
prolong life«r

Also

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 437

Also drinking of water, hard lodging,
cold fpare diet of fallads, fruits, powder-
ed flefh, and fait fifh, without any frefh
warm naeat; a hair fhirt, fading, watching,
abflinence from fenfual pleafures, abate and
diminifh the fpirits, which being reduced to
a quantity fufficient to maintain life, do make
lefler wafte on the body.

But a higher diet, kept in an equal, con-
flant manner, has the fame ^ operation : for
a great, conftant, quiet flame confumes not
fo much as a leffer which blazes but -une-
qually : and Cornarus Venetus^ keeping fuch
a conftant diet, and drinking and eating fo
many years by juil: proportion and weight,
lived in perfect health until he was an hun-
dred years of age.

Also to avoid inflammation of the fpirits,
a full fed body, not mortified by ftridl diets,
mufl ufe feafonable venery, left the fpirits
fwelling too much, foften and deftroy the
body.

The reftraint of the fpirits motion is next
to be conhdered ; for motion makes the fpirits
hot. There are three reftrainers of the fpi-
rits, flcep, avoiding violent labour; exercife
and wearinefs; and the governing and mo-
^ i '^ derating

43^ HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH, .

derating of troublefome affeclions. And firft
of deep.

Epimenides flept many years in a cave
without any food, becaufe the fpirits in fleep
devour not much radical moifture.

Also dormice and bats fleep in holes all the
winter, thereby reflraining the confuming
power of their vital fpirits : fo bees wanting
honey, and butter-flies and flelh-flies live
hy deep.

Sleep after dinner, the firft vapours of
ineat like a dew afcending then into the head,
is good for the fpirit, but unwholefome for
the body : and deep is as nourifhing as meat
for old folks, who fhould often take light
refe£lions, andfhort naps; and being grown
extreme old, fhould live in continual eafe
and refl, efpecially in winter.

Thus moderate deep, being found and
quiet, prolongs life.

To make one deep foundly and quietly,
violets are good ; fodden-lettuce, fyrup of
rofes, faffron, balm, apples eaten before go-
ing to bed ; a fop dipped in malmfey, where-
in a muflc-rofe has been deeped, a pill or
potion made of thefe ingredients. Alfo all
binding drugs, as coriander-^feed prepared,

and

1

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 439

and roafted quinces and pears, caufe found
and quiet deep : but a good draught of clear
cold water, is beftto make young folks, who
have ftrong ftomachs fleep foundly.

Voluntary extafies, and fixed profound
meditations, joined with a quiet mind, do
thicken the fpirits more than fleep, making
them reft from outward operations, as fleep
docs.

Violent, wearlfome exerclfes and moti-
ons, as running, tennis, fencing, are not good •
nor ftraining of ftrength to the utnioft, as
leaping and wreftling : for the fpirits, by
fuch violent nimble motions and mufcular
exertions driven Into a narrow room, be-
come more (harp and praedatory, or devour-
ing; but dancing, fhooting, riding, bowHng,
and fuch moderate exerclfes, are very heal-
thy.

Some of the affe6lions and paflions of the
mind Ihorten the life of man, and fome caufc
long life.

By exceeding great joy the fpirits are made
thin, loofe, and weak; but by familiar com-?
mon recreation they are not diffipated, but
ilrengthened.

F f 4 Joy

•440 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH,

Joy arlfing from fenfual pleafure is bad,
but the remembrance of former joy, or the
apprehenfion of joy to come, conceived only
in the imagination, is good.

An inward conceived joy, fparingly vent-
ed, comforts the heart more than a vulgar,
immoderate expreffion of joy.

Sorrow and grief without fear, and not
too heavy and grievous, prolong life by con-
trading the fpirits, which is a kind of con-
denfation or thickening.

Great fears fhorten life; for though
both forrow and fear contra6t the fpirits,
yet forrow does only contrad; but fear,
mingled with care and hope, heats and
vexes the fpirits.

Anger, being clofe and fuppreffed is a
kind of vexation, making the fpirits de-
vour the moiilure of the body, but vented,
flrengthens the heat of the fpirits.

By envy, the worftofpaffions, the fpirits,
and by them the body, are hurt and weak-
ened, being always in adion ; for envy is
faid to keep no holy-days.

Pity and compaflion of another's mifery,
^hereinto we cannot poffibly fall, is good;

but

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 441

but pity refle6ling back, and exciting fear of
being in as bad a cafe, is hurtful.

Shame, lightly at the firfl drawing in
the fpirits, and afterwards fending them
forth again, makes blufhing folks commonly
long-lived : but fliame arifmg from reproach,
and continuing long, contradls and choaks
the fpirits.

Love not unfortunate, nor wounding too
(deep, being a kind of joy, isgoverned by the
rules prefcribed for joy.

Hope, being the befl of all the affedions
and pafiions, is very powerful to prolong life,
if, like a nodding nurfe, it does not fall
afleep and languifh, but continually feeds
the fmcy with beholding good obje6ls; and
therefore fuch as propofe certain ends to be
compaflTed, thriving and profpering thereia
according to their defire, are commonly long-
lived : but having attained to their higheft
hopes, all their expedlations and defires being
fatisfied, live not long afterwards.

Admiration and light contemplation are
very good to prolong life, keeping the fpi-
rits bufied in delightful matters, and in a
peaceable, quiet, gentle temper: fo that all
philofophers and obfervers of the wonders

of

44-2 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

of nature, as Democrkus, Plato, Parmenides^
Jjpollonius, were long-lived. Alfo rhetorici-
ans, tafting only matters, and following the
light of fpeech, not obfcure dark philofophy,
were alfo long-lived, as Gorgias, Prothagoras,
IfocraUs, Seneca : and as old men are talkative,
fo talkative men often live to be old men ;
for talkativenefs is a iign of alight apprehen-
fion, not binding or vexing the fpirits : but
fubtle, acute ftudies, wearying and weak-
ening the fpirits, fhorten life. So much of
the motion of the fpirits by the paflions of
the mind : fbme general obfervations, not in-*
eluded in the former divifion, now follow.
The fpirits muft not be often diffufed,
nor made thin; for the fpirits being once
extenuated and diffipated, are not eafily col-
lected and thickened. The fpirits are wafted
by exceffive labour, exceeding violent paf-
lions of the mind, much fweating, much
evacuation, warm bnths, and intemperate
or unfeafonable venery : ^Ifo care, grief,
doubtful expectation, iicknefs, forrow, and
pain, diffolve the fpirits, and fliould. there -»
fore be avoided and fhunned.

The fpirits delight in cuflom and novel-
ties : for cuftonas not ufed until they grow

weari-*

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 443

wearifome, and novelties much defired, and
then enjoyed, wonderfully preferve the
vigour of the fpirits : therefore judgment and
care Ihould be fl^iewn m leaving oft cuftoms
before they become loathfome and contemp-
tible ; in m.aking the defire of novelties
ftronger by refiraint, and in altering and
changing the courfe of our life, left the fpi-
rits, employed in one fettled kind of life,
fliould grow heavy and dull: for though
Seneca fays well, " A fool doth always begin
" to live ;" yet this folly, and many others,
lengthen life.

It is obfervablc, contrary to common cuf_
tom, that the fpirits being in a good, quiet,
found temper, difcerned by the quietnefsand
inward joy of the mind, fhouid be cherilhed,
not changed.

FiciNus fays, that old men fhouid comfort
their fpirits with the actions of their child-
hood and youth, being a recreation proper to
age : therefore the remembrance of former
education together is pleafant in converfa-
tion, and the place of education is beheld
with delight: fo that the emperor Vcfpajian
would not alter his father's houfe, though a

mean

444 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

mean building, becaufe the old houfe put
Jiim in remembrance of his childhood : and
befides, on feftival days he would drink in a
filver-tipt wooden cup, which was his grand-
mother's.

Also an alteration of life for the better, is
acceptable and delightful to the fpirits ; there-
fore youth and manhood having been fpent
in pleafures proper and peculiar to thofe
ages, old age fhould enjoy new delights,
efpecially moderate eafe. Therefore noble-
men in their age fhould live a retired kind of
life, as Cajfiodorus^ having been in great fa-
vour with the Gothifh Kings of Italy^ and
accounted the foul and life of their affairs,
when fourfcore years old retired to a monaf-
tery, where he died at the age of one hun-
dred and ten. But fuch retirernent fliould
be before the body is decayed and difeafed,
for then all changes, though for the befl:,
haften death : and a retired life being under-
taken, their minds and thoughts fhould not
be addi6led to idlcnefs, but employed in plea-
fant, delightful ftudies, or in building and
planting.

Lastly,

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 445

Lastly, the fpirits are recreated by la-
bour willingly undertaken, but confumed by
adion or labour performed with unvviliing-
nefs : therefore a free kind of life, contrived
by art to be at our own difpofing, and an obe-
dient mind, not refifting, but yielding to the
power of fortune, prolong life.
^ And for the better governing of the affec-
tions, the body mull not be foluble or loofe ;
for on all the affedions, except thofe arifmg
from melancholy, fuch laxity and loofenefs
has more power, than on the heart or brain.
This operation of making the fpirits con-
tinue youthful and lufty, not mentioned by
phyficians, has been more diligently handled,
bccaufe the readied and mofl compendious
way to prolong life is, by renewing the fpi-
rits, working fuddenly on the body, as va-
pours andpaffions work on the fpirits, in a
dired manner.

OK

446 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

ON THE

EXCLUSION OF THE AIR.

' I ^ H E excliifion of the air in two re-

fpefls lengthens life : firit, becaufe the
outward air animating the Ipirits, and being
healthful, docs, next to the inward fpirits,
devour the moifture of the body, growing
thereby dry and withered.

Secondly, by the exclufion of air, the
body being fliut and clofcd, and not breath-
mg forth at the pores, the detained fpirits by
their working, foften the hardnefs of it.

The rcafon is grounded on the infallible
axiom of drynefs, by the emiffion and ifliiing
forth of the fpirits; bat by their detaining,
melted and foftened. Befides, it is a pofition
that all kinds of heat properly makes thin
and m.oiftens, and only accidentally con-
trails and dries.

Dwelling in caves and dens, the air
there receiving no fun-beams, lengthens
life; for the air not being excited by heat,

cannot

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 447

cannot wafte and confume the body. And
by divers ancient tombs and monuments in.
iSic/'/v, and other places, it is clearly evident,
that the ftature of man was greater in former
ages than now. Epimenides^s cave is an an-
cient fable : and as living in caves was then
ufual, fo the Anchorites lived in pillars im-
penetrable by the fun-beams, and the air
therefore unchangeable. The Anchorites
Simeon^ St'dita, Daniel, and Saba, living in
pillars, were very long-lived: alfo modern
Anchorites have lived in walls and pillars
to a great age.

Dwelling on mountains is next to livlno;
in caves ; for the fun-beams do not penetrate
into caves; and on the tops of mountains
have no reflexion, and little ftrength: but
to dwell on mountains having a clear pure
air, and dry vallies, whence no clouds or
vapours afcend, like thofe mountains which
encompafs Barbary, whereon people live to
an hundred years of age, is wholefome.

Such an air, either in caves or in moun-
tains, is not naturally pra^datory, but ouf
common air being oi a heating qualitv,
through the heat of the fun, mull: be kept
out of the body.

The

448 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

The air is excluded by fiiuttiiig or filling
the pores.

Coldness of the air, nakednefsof thelkin^
wafhing in cold water, binders applied to it,
as maftick, myrrh, and myrtle, clofe the
pores of the body.

Baths alfo, made of aftringent mineral
waters, extracted from fteel and glafs,
ftrongly contra6t and clofe the Ikin, but mufl
be feldom ufed, efpecially in fummer.

Concerning filling; painting, ointments^
oils, and pomanders, preferve the fubftance
of the body, as oil-colours and varnifh pre-
ferve wood/

The Ancient Britons painted their bodies
with woodj and were very long-lived; and
fo were the Pi5f-s^ receiving their name frorn
painting their bodies.

The Virginums and BraJiUans paint them-
felves, and are very long-lived; for the
French Friars lately found there fome Indians
who could remember an hundred and twenty
years hncethe building of F<^r«^wi^/^r^.

John of 'Times living to three hundred
years of age, being alked what prefervatives
had made him hve fo long, anfwered, '* Oil
*' without, honey within."

I The

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 44^

The Wild IriJId alfo liv^e very long, being
tifed to anoint themfelves naked before the
fire with old falt-petre : and the Countefs of
Defmond bred teeth thrice, and lived to an
hundred and forty years of age.

The Iri/fj wear faffroned-lhien fhirts,
which continue long clean, and lengthen life;
for faffron being a great binder, oily, and
hot without Iharpnefs, is very comfortable
to the (kin. 1 remember that an EngliJJjman
going to fea, and having put a bag of fatfroii
within his doublet, next his breafl, to avoid
paying ofcuflom, was in that voyage very
healthy, having been formerly always fea-
fick.

Pure fine linen, according to the advice
t)f Hippocrates, fliould be worn in winter
next the ikin : in fummer coarfer linen and
biled; for the fpirits being then very much
exhaled, the pores of the ikin fhould be
clofed and filled.

Anointing the fkin at the firfl: rifing
but of bed with oil of olives, or of almonds,
mingled with bay- fait and faffron, is good to
lengthen life. But this mufl: be done lightly
tvith wool, or a foft fponge, not poured on

Vol. II. G g th^

45'^ HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH*

the body ; or inflead thereof oiled fhirts may
be worn.

But the Grecians and Romans^ except the
fencers, formerly iifing this anointing with
oil, now left off in Italy ^ only after bathing,
to clofe the pores, too open by the heat of
the baths, lived only to the ufual period ;
therefore bathing without anointing is un-
healthy, but anointing without bathing is
very good. Befides, precious ointments were
then ufed for delicacy and deUght, not for
health, or to lengthen life.

Anointing is good to keep out cold in
winter, and the fpirits in the fummer from
fcattering, and to defend them from the pras-
datory power of the air.
■ In anointing with oil, fourcautions, arifing
from four difcom^modities, are to be obferved.

The firft difcommodity is, that fuppreiling
fweat may breed difeafes out of thole excre-
mentltious humours, if not prevented by
purgations and glifters : for fweating, though
healthy, weakens nature, and fhortens life;
but moderate purgatives work on the hu-
mours, not the fpirits, as fweat does.

The fecond difcommodity is, that by
4ieating and enflaming the body, the enclofed

fpirits

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 451

fpirlts venting not forth by breathing, may
become hot. This inconvenience is prevented
by a cool diet, and by often taking fuch
coolers, as in the operation of blood fhall be
mentioned.

Thirdly, anointing may make the head
heavy, by ftriking back the obflrilded va*
pours towards it: but purgatives, ghfters^
and clofmg the mouth of the ventricle with
reflriclive binders, and combing and rubbiuo-
the head with lye to caufe the exhah.tions:^
and ufing exercifes to vent humours by the
pores of the ikin, all prevent this inconve^
nience.

The fourth difcommodity, being of a
more fubtle nature, is that bv detainino- the
old and continual generation of neXv fpirlts,
they would feed on, and wafte the body ; but
this aflertion is erroneous ; for the fpirits
from being confined are dull, and flow in
motion : befides, this inconvenience may be
remedied by coolers, fleeped in oil of rofes
and myrtle ; but calfia and heaters muft be
Ihunned.

The linings of apparel for exhaufting and

drawing the body, fhould not be of a watery,

G g 2 but

4:52 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH*

but oily fubftance; and therefore baize and
woollen linings are better than linen : and
fweet powders fooner lofe their fcent among
linen, than among woollens ; linen being
foft and clean, but not fo healthy as woollen.
The wild Ir'ijh beginning to grow lick,
take out the fheets of their beds, and after-
wards wrap themfelves in the woollen blan-
kets.

Carded wool worn next the fkin, iii
breeches and doublets, is very good.

Accustomed air waftes not the body {o
much as when changed. But in other re-
fpe6ls change of air is good to enliven and
refrefh the fpirits. So much for keeping out
and avoiding the praedatory power of the
air.

Th^

History of life and death, 45^

The operation on the BL00D>

AND

COOLING ITS HEAT.

'T^HE two operations following have the
fame relation to the former, as a£lives to
paffives, which endeavour to keep the fpirits
and air from w^afting the body; as thefe {hew-
how to make the blood, moifture, and body
lefs fubjeft to depredation and wafting.
Three powerful rules, concerning the opera-
tion on the blood, fhall be firft propounded.

First, blood, being cold, is lefs diffipable.
There are two coolers more agreeable to the
following Intentions, than julips or potions.

In youth, gliflers, not purgative or clean-
fnig, but only cooling and opening, made
of the juice of lettuce, purflain, liver-wort,
fevergreen or houfe-leck, flea-wort {eed,
with a temperate opening deco»5^ion, mingled
with a little camphire : but in age, inftead
of houfe-leek raid purflain, the juice of bo-
rage and endive may be ufcd ; and thefe glif"
ters mufl be an hour or more retained.

Gg^ Se.

454 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATl-f.

Secondly, in fummer a bath may be
ipade of fweet lukewarm water, and new
whey and rofes, hiftead of mallows, mercury,
milk, and fuch like mollifiers and fofteners.

The third rule only qualifies the fub-
ftance of the blood, making it firmer and lefs
fubje<St to diffipation, or to the working heat
of the fpirits.

To efFeCl this, drugs of wood may be
fafely and eflfeclually ufed in infufions and
deco£tions, being good to make the blood
fine, and not dangerous for breeding of ob-
ftrudlions ; and their infufions taken in diet
or drink, having no dregs, eafily pierce
into the veins.

Drugs of wood are, fanders, the oak, and
vine; but hot woods, having in them any
rofin or gum, are not good : but dry rofe-
mary flalks, being a fhrub as long-lived as
many trees, and fuch a quantity of ivy-flalks
as will not make the potion unfavory, may
be ufed.

Drugs of wood may he alfo boiled in
broths, infufed into ale or wine before they
are fettled or refined : but guiacum, and fuch
drugs, mufl be put in before the broths are
boiled, that thf fubflance of the firmer parts

of

I^ISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 455

pf the wood, being diflblved, may remain in
the broth : but whether afh is good in pon.
tions is uncertain. So much of the opera-
tion on the blood.

OPERATION ON MOISTURE of the BODY.

' I "WO kinds of bodies, formerly menti-
oned, are not eafily confumed : hard
bodies, as metals and ftones ; fat, as oil and.
wax.

Therefore the moifture of the body
rnuft be hardened, and made fat or dewy.

Moisture is hardened by firm food; by
cold, thickening the ftin and flefh ; and by
exercife, comparing the juice, that it may
not be lb ft and frothy, x^nimal and farina-
ceous fubflances are good for compading the
folids

Pure water, mingled with wine or drink,
hardens the moifture of the body; and be-?
caufe the fpirit of the water is dull and
piercing, nitre may be mingled with it.

G g 4 Man„

45^ HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

Many thick clothes on the bed, or back,,
vyeaken and foften the body.

Washing the body m cold baths leng-
thens life ; but hot baths are very bad. Bath si
of bhidmg rnineral waters were formerly
mentioned.

By an eafy idle life, without exercife, the
flefh is made difRpable and foft ; but by fl:out
exercifes, ufed without excefliye fweatingand
wearinefs, it is compared and hardened.
Swimming is alfo a good exercife, and gene-
ally all exercifes abroad are better than
within the houfe. Frictions fupply the want
p£ exercife, and diftribute nourifhment.

To make hard moiflure, oily and dewy is
a more perfect work than hardening, being
attended with no inconvenience; whereas
hardeners of moifture, by fliaying the con-
fumption, further, and by hindering the
reparation, and renewing of nourifhment,
prevent long life : but oil and juicy nourifli-
ment, by bedewing the body, is lefs diffi-
pable, and more reparable.
' To breed this ollinefs in the body, roafted
or baked meat is better than boiled or ftewed,
or drefled in any kind with water; more oil
being diftilled and extraded out of dry fubr

Itancea

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 457

{lances than moid. And generally all fweet
things moillen the body with this oilinefs,
as fugar, honey, fweet-almonds, pine-apples,
piftachio-nuts, dates, raifins, and figs: but
all four, fait, fharp meats, breed no dewy
oilinefs.

Also feeds, nuts, and roots, the Maniches
ufing no other diet, are good with meat and
in fauces; for all kinds of bread, being the
confirmer of meats, is made of feeds or roots.
But drink, as the vehicle carrying down
meat, efpecially moiflens and foftens the
body : therefore drinks not fliarp or four, but
ripe and clear, are beft, as wine being, as the
old woman faid in Plautus, " toothlefs with
" age:" alfo ftale beer and ale, not fharp,
but ripe and pleafant.

Metheglin, flrong and old, is a good
drink ; but incorporated with fugar inftead
of honey, which is iharp, would be better,
efpecially after a year, or fix months age ;
the rawnels of the water being then gone,
and tlie fugar grown fubtle and fpirituous.
But old wine and ftale drink, being fubtle,
and full of oilinefs, are alfo fpirituous and
iharp, and not fo good; therefore pork or
yenifon w^ell boiled, being laid in veflels of

wine.

45^ HISTORY OP LIFE AND DEATH,

wine, ale, or beer, the fpirits of thefe liquors
feeding thereon, will lofe their fharpnefs.

Also beer or ale, with bread of wheat,
barley, and peafe; potatoes, bur and other
fweet roots, to the quantity of a third part,
is better to prolong life, than drink made
only of grain.

Flowers alfo, being not fliarp or biting,
are good fauces and fallads for meat, as ivy-
flowers with vinegar, marigold-leaves, and
betony- flowers in broths.

To PROMOTE DIGESTION.

TTOW the ftomach, liver, heart, an4
brain, the principal parts and fountauis
of concoclion, may be comforted, and made
to perform their offices, by imparting nou?
riihment and fpirits to the feveral parts, and
renewing the body, phyflcal rules and pre^
fcriptions declare.

The fpleen, gall, reins, midriff, fmall
cuts, and lights, as members ferving the prin-r

cipal

HISTOPvY OF LIFE AND DEATPr. 4^()

clpal parts, are here to be conlidered, becaufe
their dileafes may be deriv^ed to the principal
parts ; but bv good digeflion, and the fouhd-
nefs and llrength of the principal parts, life
is prolonged, and the body nourifhed and
kept from decaying in old age.

But medicines and diets agreeable to the
ftate of bodies, and comfortable to the four
principal parts, are prefcribed in phytic : for
medicines cue neceffary to recover and pre-
ferve health; but life is chiefly lengthened
by a good phyfical diet, prefcribed in thefe
choice receipts following.

The ilomach, refembling the good man
of the houfe, and being the caufc of all con-
codion and digeftion, muft be fortified and
jlirengthened, by being kept temperately
warm, retentive, and clean, without oppref-
five humours ; not empty or failing, being
nourifhed by itfelf more than by the veins ;
and laftly, in appetite, whereby digeftion is
iharpened.

Warm drinks are alfo very eood: for a
famous phyfician would ufually at dinner
and fupper, eat a mefs of hot broth very gree-
dily, and afterwards wifJi that he could cafl

it

460 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

it Up again, faying, that he needed not broth,
but the warmth of it.

At fupper, the firfn cup of wine, beer,
ale, or any other kind of drink, muft be
always warmed.

Sops of bread dipped in wine wherein
rofemary and citron bark have been infufed
with fugar, are better in the middle of meals
than wine.

Quinces are good to ftrengthen the fto-
mach ; but fyrup of quinces taken alone
after meals, and with vinesiar before meals,
are better than quinces, which are too heavy
for the ftomach.

Rosemary, elecampane, madich, worm-
wood, fage, and mint, are exceeding good
for the ftomach. Pills of aloes, maftich,
and faffron, taken in winter before dinner,
are alfo very good ; the aloes being firft wafh^
ed in rofe- water, the infufion of dragant
in vinegar, and then diflblved in fweet frefh
oil of almonds.

An infufion of wormwood, with a little
elecampane and fanders, may be fometimes
'ufed in winter.

In fummer, a draught of white wine of
the infufion of powder of pearl, and powder

of

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 4.6 t

of river crawfifli fhells, and a little chalk,
Very much refrefhes and ftrengthens the
ftomach.

But all cold morning draughts commonly
ufed, as fyrups, decoctions, whey, beer, or
ale, are un^vholefome, coolers being not good
for an empty ftomach ; but iive hours after
dinner, and an hour after a light breakfaft
they may be ufed.

Fasting often is bad for long life; and
fo is ahb all kinds of thirft : for the ilo-
mach muft be kept clean, but always moift.

The anointing of the back-bone, over
againil the mouth of the flomach, with good
frefli oil of olives, in a folution of mithri-
date, is very comfortable for the ftomach.

A bag of w*ool fteeped in fliarp wine,
after the infufion of myrtle, citron bark, and
a little fatFron, is good to be worn always
next the lliomach.

The liver mufl: be kept from inflamma-
tion, being fubjedt to drynefs, and obilruc-
tions in age.

To the rules laid down, delivered in the
operation of blood, thefe choice prefcrip-
lions may be added.

POiME-

462 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH*

Pomegranate-wine, or pomegjranafe*
juice newly fqueezed into a glafs, may be
taken in the morning with fome fugar, and
•a little citron bark, and three or four whole
cloves, from February to the end of April.

Aloes wafned, and ally^/'x], is hurtful to
the liver; therefore not c- )m nonly to be
taken. Rhubarb diffolved in fweet oil of
almonds, and vo;e -water, are good for the
liver, being taken before meat, becaufe a
dryer, and at fevcral times, either alone
with tartar, or a little bay-falt, left by purg-
ing away the thin matter, the humours fhould
become tous;her and harder.

Take the dcco6lion of fleel twice or
thrice a year to loofei: obftru^tions and flop-
pages in the liver; two or three fpoonfuls
of oil being firfl: taken, and the body, efpe-
cially the arms and fore part of the ftomach,
afterwards ftirred by exercife.

Sweet drinks keep the liver from grow-
ing drv, efpecially incorporated and madf5
of fweet fruits and roots, as raifins, jujubs,
dry figs, dates, parfnips, potatoes, and li-
quorice. Alfo drink made of Indian maize,
and other fweet compounds is very good-.
It is an obfervation, that the keeping of the

liver

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH* 463

liver fat and foft lengthens life, and the
opening of the liver procures health, in
obftruclions joined with inflammations : fo
much of llrengthening the liver.

A good air is better known by experience
than figns. The befl: air is on a level, open
plain, , the foil being dry, not barren and
fandy, but naturally bearing wild betony,
featherfew, and wild mints, (haded with fome
trees, and black-berry-buihes, and watered
with no great river, but with clear gravelly
brooks. The morning air is more healthy
than the evening air, which is accounted
more plealant.

An air fomewhat rough, and ftirred with
a gentle wind, is better than a calm clear
air ; and in the morning the wefl wind is
befi:, but the north wind in the afternoon.
. Sweet odours and fmells are very com-
fortable to the heart, yet a good air hath
not always a good fmell ; for as peftilential
airs have no very bad fmell, fo oftentimes
wholefome airs are not very fwcet and frag-
rant, but the odour and fcent of a good air
fhould be interchangeably taken, for one
continual excellent odour or fcent oppreiTes
the fpirits. Nofegays are good in the open

air

4^4 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATlt.

air, but growing flowers yeild the beft odours
and fcents : alfo walking and fitting in fuch
fweet air is very good.

Cooling fmells are better for the heart
than hot fcents ; therefore in the morning,
and at noon, the fteam of perfumes made
of vinegar, rofe-water, and wine put into a
brafs-pan, being received into the brain, is
Very good. Wine poured on the earth
•when digged, yeilds a good fcent and fmelL
Alfo orange-flour water mingled with rofe-
water and brifk wine, being fmelled to, or
infufed into the noftrils, is very good.

Small pills made of amber, mufk. Lignum
Aloes, Lignum Rhodium, flower de luce roots,
rofes, rofe-w^ater, and Indian balfam being
chewed, and held in the mouth, are com-
fortable for the heart and fpirits.

Vapours arifing from medicines taken in-
wardly to ilrengthen and cherllh the heart,
mufl be wiiolelome, clear, and cooling, hot
vapours being bad, for wine yeilding hot
vapours, is like poppy in quality.

The chlc;feft cordials ufed in diet are am-
bergris, faffron, kermes, being hot and dry;
and for coolers buglofs and borage- roots,
lemons and apples.

j Observe

HISTORY OF LIFE AND. DEATH. 465

Observe alfo that great, conilaiit and
lieroical defires, ftreiigthen and enlarge the
heart.

Opium, nitre, and other inferior drugs
procurhig fleep, are good for the brain, be-
ing the feat and refidence of the animal fpirits,
and protefted or annoyed by the ftomach :
therefore ftomach cordials arc comfortable
alfo to the brain.

Bathe the feet every week in a bath made
of lye, bay-falt, fage, chamomile, fennel,
fweet marjoram, and angelica leaves.

SuFFUMiGATioNS alfo, or perfumes of
dry rofemary, dry bay-leaves, and lignum
aloes, (for fweet gums opprefs the head,) are
good every morning.

No hot drugs or fpices, except nutmegs,
may be outwardly apphed, to the head,
but to the foles of the feet, anointing the
head Hghtly with oil, rofe-water, myrtle-
water, fait, and faffron mingled together, is
very good.

A morning potion of three or four grains
of oil, ofBezoars ftone, with a little angelica
feed and cinnamon, once in fourteen days,
being taken in the morning jflrengthens

Vol. II. H h the

466 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

the brain, and thickens and quickens the
fpirits.

All thefe cordials taken in diet com-
fort the brain ; variety of medicines being
the daughter of ignorance ; many difhes
breeding many difeafes, and many medicines
effe6ling few cures. And fo much of the
operation on the principal parts for extru-
fion and driving out of nouriihment.

To PREPARE THE OUTWARD PARTS

FOR

ATTRACTING NOURISHMENTS.

/^^ GOD digeftion of the inward parts, be-
ing the chief caufe of good nouriihment,
the outward parts muft alfo perform their
offices and duties, by attrading the nourifli-
inent from digeflion.

The outward parts by bodily exercife
comfort edand warmed, chearfuUy attrad

nourifhment.

HISTORY OF LIFE AND TEATH. 467

nourlfhment. The exercifes attra6tlng new
moiflure to the limbs, being violent, loofea
them, and confume the old moifture.

Exercise, by chafing the limbs, is alfo
very good when moderate, for the body
muft not refpire, nor fweat too much by
rubbing or exercife. Therefore it is better
abroad than in the houfe, and in winter than
in fummer.

Exercise on a fafting ftomach by fweat-
ing, wafte the fpirits and moifture of the
body, and being unhealthful on a full
flomach, is beft after a light breakfaft, not
of phyfical morning potions, or raiiins or
figs, but plain meat and drink moderately
taken.

Exercise muft flir all the body, not the
knees or arms only, but generally all the
limbs of the body, and the pofture fhould
be every hour changed, except in fleeping.

H h 2 FOOD

46S HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH,

FOOD AND DIET.

PHILOSOPHERS might better than phy-
ficians follow common opinion, in con-
demning many fcrvices and mefles of meat,
as not lengthening life, but preferving
health; for a heterogeneous mixture of
meats, more readily nourifhes the veins,
breeding better moifture than one kind of
meat : moreover, variety excites the appe-
tite, and the appetite fliarpens digeftion.
So that a various kind of diet according to
the feafons of the year, is approved.

Good fauces are wholefome preparatives
to meat, preferving health, and prolonging
life.

Course fare requires flrong drink and
piercing fauces that may fink into the meat ;
but with fine fare, fmall drink is beft, and
fat fauces.

Boiled meat dreffed with moift cooling
fauces, does not moiften the body, though
good in hot fickneifes, but affording no oily

nourifhment ;

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH, 469

nourifhment ; boiled meats being not fo good
as roafted or baked with a quick fire.

Solid meats fo corned with fait, that lit-
tle or no fait need be eaten therewith at the
table, is good, fait meat being better for di-
geftion, than fait eaten with meat.

Bread well leavened, but lightly falted
in a very hot oven, is beft.

Meat and drink diffolved and mingled
together, is eafy of digeftion. Therefore
chickens, partridges, or phealants, firft par-
boiled with water and fait, then wiped,
dried and boiled to a jelly, in wine or ale
with fome fugar, makes a flrong comfortable
broth.

To exceed fometimes in the quantity of
meat and drink, and to water the body by
great feafls and liberal drinking, is fometimes
good.

H h 3 The

47^ HISTORY OF LIFE AMD DEATH.

The operation on the
' LAST ACT OF ASSIMILATION.

'T^HE nature of the lafl: a£l of affimilation
or converting into the like fubftancc,
being the intended efFe<5t of the three former
operations, may be opened and declared
without rules.

All bodie.s defire to affimilate and
convert fubflances into their own kind.
Flame, fpirit, and air, being thin and fpiri-
tuous, do courageoufly perform this work,
but thick and grofs fubftances very weakly;
this delire of aiiimilating being reftrained by
a ftronger defire of reft and eafe.

For this defire of aflimilating, reftrained
in the body, is ineffedual until it be by heat
and fpirit freed, excited and actuated ; and
therefore lifelefs bodies do not affimilate,
and living creatures ailimllate, digeft, and
convert into their own fubftance.

More heat is required to make hard bodies
affimilate and digeft, therefore the parts of
the body grown hard with age, muft be

foftened

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 47 1

foftenecl; and heat, then weak encreafed, for
helpmg digeftlon.

For increafnig heat take this rule or
axiom.

The a£t of affimilatlon incited and pro*
voked by heat, a very accurate fubtile mo-
tion, and moil: powerful, when bodily mo-
tion, the difturber thereof, ceafes. For a
fubflance of one kind will not feparate into
parts of divers kinds, being moved ; as curd
will not rife, nor the whey {ink down, the
milk being gently ftired. Alfo running
water, nor any water or liquor will not
putrefy, being continually moved and fhak-
ed. Therefore by this reafon this conclu-
sion is inferred.

Assimilation is performed and perfected
chiefly in fleep and reft, efpecially towards
morning, after good digeftion.

On making the BODY TENDER and
YOUNG.

BATHS and oils foften lifelefs bodies,
attracting and fucking In liquors,
but not living bodies. Therefore common
H h 4. molli-

472 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

mollifying, foftening baths, rather draw than
foften, and Iqofen rather than harden the
body.

Baths may be made of nourifhing fubflan-
ces, like man's body, as the fat of beef,
hogs and deer, oyfters, milk, butter, whites
of eggs, wheat-flour, fweet-wine, fugar and
metheglin.

With thefe ingredients, bay fait and old
wine may be mingled, to make them pene-
trate and pierce into the body.

Binding ingredients being oily and com-
fortable, faffron, maftick, myrrh, and
myrtle-berries make an excellent bath.

For the powerful working of this bath,
four rules are obfervable.

First before bathing, rub and anoint the
body with oil and falves, that the baths
moiflening heat and virtue, may penetrate in-
to the body, and not the watery part ; then
fit two hours in the bath ; after bathing
wrap the body in a fear cloth made of
maftick, myrrh, pomander, and faffron, for
ftaying the perfpiration or breathing of the
pores, until the foftening of the body hav-
ing lain thus in fear-cloth twenty-four
hours, be grown folid and hard. Laftly,

with

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 473

with anointment of oil, fait and fafFron,
the fear- cloth being taken t.lt, anoint the
body.

In bathing, a good diet muft be kept, and
warmth and warm drinks ufed.

On RENE WING THE MOISTURE
OF THE BOD Y.

Tj^OR thispurpofe diets of guiacum, farfa-
parella, china-root, and faffafras, being
long fl:ri6tly kept, do firft attenuate or make
thin, then confume or devour all the moif-
tureofthe body; for the French pox be-
ing grown to gumminefs, and being got
into the marrow and moifture of the body,
has been thereby cured. Some alfo by
fuch diets being made lean and pale, have
afterwards grown fat and frefh-coloured.
Therefore in the declining of age, fuch
diets are good to be kept once in two years,
thereby to grow young again, as the fnake
does by cafling his fkin.

It is my opinion, though I am no hereti-
cal puritan, that purgations often and fami-
liarly

474 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH,

liarly ufed, lengthen life more than exer-
cife or fweating. For as anointing the
body, flopping the pores, keeping out the
air, and keeping in the fpirits, lengthens
life ; fo by fweatings and outward brea-
things, the good fpirits and moifture be-
ing not eafily repaired, are exhaled and con-
fumed with the excrementitious humours
and vapours. But gentle purgatives not
griping the belly, being taken before meat
to prevent their drying quahty, woik chiefly
on the humours.

CAUSES a::d symptoms of DEATH.

'T^HE living ipirit fubfiits by due motion,
temperate, cooling and fit nourishment.
A flame needs only motion and nourifhment,
being a fimple fubftance ; the fpirit, a com-
pounded fubftance, deftroyed by approach-
ing nearer to the nature of flame.

Blood or phlegm getting into the ventri-
cles of the brain, caufes fudden death, the
fpirit hciving no place of refidence or motion.

Also

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 475

Also violent fra(flures and beating of the
head caufe fudden death, by ftraitening
the Ipirits in the ventricles of the brain.

Opium and other ftrong drugs, procuring
infenfibiiit, do by thickening the fpirits,
deprive them of motion.

Venomous vapours being hateful to the
fpirits are deadly poifons, by whofe malig-
nant quality the fpirits are opprelTed, depriv-
ed of their motion, and made unable to re-
fift fo flrong an enemy.

Extreme drunkennefs and gluttony have
caufed fudden death, the fpirits being op-
prefTed, not w^ith malignant vapours, but by
redundance of vapours.

With the fudden apprehenfion of grief
and fear, conceived at the relation of unex-
peded bad tidings, fome have died fuddenly.

The exceffive compreffion, and enlarging
of the fpirits, are both deadly.

Great and fudden joys have deprived
many of their life.

Also great evacuations of water, by inci-
fions for the dropfy ; or violent and fudden
fluxes of blood, are deadly.

Stopping the breath, is, through defed of
cooling, deadly, by choaking and ftrangling,

the

4/6 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

the motions of the fpirlts being not hindered,
but cooling defeaive; for exceirive hot air
drawn in for breath, choaks as foon as
flopping of the breath. As by burning
charcoal, or by the fmcll of new whited
walls in a clofe chamber, Jupman and others
have been choaked. Fnufa the wife of C^;?-
JlaJit'me the great, was rtranghd by the ftcam
of an exceeding hot bath.

For breath is drawn in by the lungs, and
breathed forth again every third part of a
minute.

The beating of the pulfe, and of tlic
heart, both by the fyftole, or backward mo-
tion, or diaflole or forward motion, is thrice
as fwift as breathing; for the beating of the
heart, being ftaid would caufe death fooner
than ftranghng.

Delian divers, and pearl fifhcrs, through
continual ufc will hold their brcatli ten tin^ea
longer than another.

l.iviNG creatures having lungs, hold their
breath a (horter or longer time, as they need
more or lefs cooling.

Fishes need Ids cooling than other crea-
tures, cooling and breathing themfelves at
their gills. And as other creatures cannot

endure

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 477

endure a hot clofe air; fo fifli in water
quite frozen over, and long covered with
ice, are choaked and ftrangled.

The natural heat of the fpirits is oppreff-
ed by another more violent heat, being ini-
able to endure them both without cooling,
as mav be ken in burning fevers, natural
heat being extinguiflied anddiffipated by hot
putrificd humours.

Want of lleep is a want of cooling. For
motion rarifies, makes thin, Sharpens and
encreafes the heat of the fpirits. But by
fleep their motion is allayed, and their wan-
dering redrained. For fleep ftrengthens
and excites the working of the inward parts
and fpirits, and all outward motion, but
makes the living fpirit reft from motion;
every 24 hours nature requires 5 or 6 hours
fleep. Though fome have miraculoufly re-
frained from fleep, for Meaemis flept not a
great while before he died.

Dead bodies kept from putrefa6lion, will
not decay for a long time ; but living bodies
cannot fubfift above three days, this fpeedy
confumption, being the work of the living
fpirit, repairing itfelf, or making the parts
need repairing ; and therefore living crea-'
I tures

47iJ HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

tures by fleq)ing endure longer without
food, flccp being the reception and colledion
of the living fpirit.

The ordinary ncccflltics of nature are
thcfc, continual motion of the fpirits in the
ventricles of the brain, beating of the heart
every third part of a moment, breathing
every moment, flcep and food within three
days, the decay after fourfcore years of age
of the faculties of digc ftion ; thcfc dcfe<fts
being not feafonably fupplied, death will
enfue. So that death has three d(X)rs, the
fpirits failing in motion, cooling, and
nourifhing.

The living fpirit is not like a flame, con-
tinually lighted and extinguifhcd, without
certain duration and continuance. Thcrc-
ft)re the living fpirit is of a middle nature be-
tween flame, being a momentary fubftancc,
and air being a fixed fubl>ance.

THEdcflruclionof the organs of the fpirits
either by dlfeafes or violence, is anotlier
door of death ; and fo much of the form ot
death.

Convulsions of the head and face, with
deep deadly fighing, being a kindof convul-
fion, and the extreme quick beating of the

pulfc,

HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. 4;'9

pulfe, the luart trembling with the pangs
ot death ; and Ibmetimes agaui beating
weakly and llowly as the heat begins to fail
and taint, are two chief figns of death.

The immediate figns of death are great
unquietnc fs, tumbling and ftriving, raking
with the hands, as if gathering locks of
wool, driving to take hold, and holding fafl^,
hard (hutting of the teeth, rattling in the
throatjtrembling of the under-lip, pale coun-
tenance, confufed mcniory, fpeechleflncfs,
cold fweats, ftretchingout the body, lifting
up the white of the eyes, and an alteration
of the whole face, (the nofe becoming Iharp,
the eyes hollow, and the checks falling)
with the contracllon and convullion of the
tongue, coldnefs of the lower parts, and
fometimes iirulng of blood, or feed, loud
fhrlcking, (hort breathing, the falling of tlie
lower jaws, and the like.

To raife and recover to life fuch as fiiint
and fall into a fwoon (in which fits many
without help would expire) iifc hot waters,
bend the body forwards, ftop the mouth and
noftrils hard, bend and wring the fingers,
pluck off hair from the beard or head, rub
and chafe the body, efpecially the face and

outward

480 HISTORY OF LIFE AND DEATH.

outward pints, cafl cold water fuddenly in
the face, fhriek out aloud, hold rofe-water
and vinegar to the noftrils : hurning
feathers and woollen cloth for the hyfterlcs,
alfo the fmoak of a hot frying pan is good in
fwooning, and keeping the hody clofe and
warm.

That many laid forth, coffined and hiiri-
cd, were only in a Iwoon, has been dilco-
vered by digging them up again, and finding
their heads beaten and bruifed with flrlving
in the coffin. Of fuch a livuig funeral,
John Scoius, that fubtile fcholar was a me-
morable example, who by his fervant
(abfeiit at his burial, but acquainted with
thofe fits wherein he falling, was fuppofcd
to be dead, and fo buried,) being digged
up again, was found in that manner,
with his head and other limbs beaten and
bruifed.

FINIS.