INTEREST and Profit are the great Diana of this World. These, saith an Ingenious Au­thor, like God, sit at the top of Jacob 's Ladder, and all our Actions are but Steps and Rounds to go up to them. To this Shrine the great­est part of Mankind are ready to of­fer Incense, and with this Golden Hook even the wisest and best of Men are apt to be caught. INTE­REST is of that Magnetick quality, that our affections are almost irresi­stably attracted by it: It is the Pole to which we turn, and we commonly [Page 2] frame our Judgements according to its direction. Men generally look more after the Dowry than the Beauty of Truth, its correspondency to their Interests, than its evidence to their understandings. An useful Error hath often found free admission, when important Truths, but contrary to Mens Preconceptions or Interests, have been forbidden entrance. Tem­poral Expectations bring in whole droves to the Mahumetan Faith; and we too well know the same holds thousands in the Romish. An Advan­tagious cause never wanted Proselytes. The Eagles will be where the Car­case is: And that shall have the faith o [...] most, which is best able to pay them for't. In all Ages of the World INTEREST govern'd Mankind; and therefore we see the wisest Law­ [...] [...] built upon this founda­ [...] [...]aking it the Interest of the Community to put their Laws in Ex­ [...]n; hence Plutarch reported So­ [...] to have said, That he had so [...] his Laws, that the Citizens [Page 3] were sensible, it was more their In­terest to observe them, than to Vio­late them. Almighty God, when he first gave Laws to his own People the Jews, was pleased to consider them as a Worldly, Covetous sort of People; and therefore to make their Obedience the more easie, he gives them a Constitution agreeable to their Genius, promising them all sorts of Temporal Blessings, such as possession of the Land, freedom from Bondage, &c. He very well knew, that World­ly Interest would go a great deal fur­ther than the pure, intrinsick worth of Vertue and Goodness; and there­fore that the surest way to enforce his Laws, was by striking upon their Affections. Thus is God fain to deal with Men, just as the Husband­man in the Gospel did; by proffer­ing his Penny, before he can prevail with them to work in his Vineyard. Christ observ'd, That the Multitudes throng'd after him more for the Loaves and Fishes, than for his Do­ctrine; intimating that few lov'd [Page 4] him Gratis, but to make advantage by him: And this the Devil knew too well, when he charg'd Job with it, saying, Does Job serve God for nought? In a word, Gain and Advan­tage is that which every Man aims at; Be the business never so bad, you may have it done for Money; and be it never so good, you cannot have it done without. Let us but cast our Eyes upon those two Religions, the Old Heathenish, and the Romish, and we shall soon see their Respective Priests offering Incense to the Un­righteous Mammon. No sooner was that, which was called by the name of Religion, planted among the Hea­then, but immediately a Pert, for­ward sort of Men, I mean their Priests, stood up, and insinuated to the People the absolute Necessity of Sacrifices; and that these Sacrifices could never be acceptable to the Gods, unless they were offer'd up by uncorrupt, Sanctified Hands, meaning their own. How beneficial these Sa­crifices were to the Heathen Priests, [Page 5] you may easily imagine; Since (ac­cording to the old Proverb) 'Tis an ill Cook that can't lick his own Fin­gers. And unless their Priests had found advantage by it, certainly they would never have enjoyned the Peo­ple such an unaccountable way of worship. For what a strange, and uncouth Belief was it, to think that the most proper way to attone and pacifie their Offended Gods, was by Slaying and Sacrificing Innocent Crea­tures? Thus in the first ages of the World did Men suffer themselves to be gull'd and chous'd by the Artifice of their Crafty and Ambitious Priests. But before I proceed, I must here (in my own defence) make a short Digression; by desiring the Reader to observe, that the Sacrifices I mention, are the Heathen Sacrifices; And there­fore if any one shall be so disingenu­ous, as to say that by an Innuendo I mean the Jewish Sacrifices; I have this to say in answer to such, That their want of Charity in judging that to be my meaning, which I ne­ver [Page 6] intended, is (I am sure) a much greater Crime, than any thing I have offer'd in the said Discourse. But since I have this Oportunity, I will now declare my thoughts as to the Jewish Sacrifices; This therefore I take to be the true and only reason why Almighty God commanded his Peo­ple the Jews the use of Sacrifices; not because he himself had any delight in them; but because the Jews had been us'd to this kind of Worship, while they were in Egypt; which had made a deep root in their minds; and that they were such an obstinate sort of People, that if they had not been comply'd with in this point of Sa­crifices, (which was a Religion some­what agreeable to their Idolatrous temper,) they could never have been brought off from their Idolatry, and Heathenish Religion: And therefore Almighty God allow'd the Jews the use of Sacrifices, as a thing rather agreeable to their Genius and Com­plexion, than any way suitable to his own pure, Divine Nature. He [Page 7] did not prescribe these things because they were best, (saith the Reverend Dr. Tillotson,) but because the Temper of that People would then admit of nothing better. But I beg pardon for this Digression, and do now proceed. Was it not also from the same root, I mean, the Covetous temper of the Heathen Priests, from whence sprung up the first Idolatry that ever was in the World? Those crafty, Covetous Priests knew well enough, that the celebrating many Gods, and the in­troducing several Worships of them, would turn much more to their profit and advantage, than the single Wor­ship of the Supreme God: And there­fore rather than want Gods, they took care to Coin a sufficient number of them; there being no less (according to Varro) than thirty thousand Hea­then Deities. And that the Priests (let them pretend to what they would) consulted not herein the good of the People, so much, as their own particular Interests, does most mani­festly appear; by the choice they [Page 8] made of their Gods; most of which (we know) were renowned for no­thing so much as for their Vices: Mars a bloody God; Bacchus a drun­ken God; Mercury a cheating God; and so proportionably in the several kinds all the rest; Nay, even their great capital God, Jupiter, was guil­ty of almost all the Capital Vices. And therefore no wonder, we find such gross and extravagant things in the old Heathenish Religion, when the very Gods, whom they Worshipp'd, gave such Encouragement thereunto by their lewd Example: And where the Gods are naught, who can expect the Religion should be good; for 'tis the nature of all Religions, to encline Men to imitate him whom they wor­ship. Another Artifice whereby the Heathen Priests us'd to make themselves esteem'd and valued, was that Invention of theirs, the setting up of Oracles. 'Tis hard to say, who were guilty of the greater folly, the Igno­rant Heathen, who believ'd those Pre­dictions to come from Heaven; or [Page 9] those Superstitious Christians, who thought they came from the Devil; since they were both under a gross mistake. For certainly to any Man, who is unbiass'd in opinion, and who dares suffer himself to think beyond the narrow Rules of his Education, they cannot appear to be any thing but the meer juggling and Imposture of the Heathen Priests; who upon all occasions were ready to flatter the Prince, and to insinuate to the Peo­ple the absolute necessity of comply­ing with the Ambitious Designs of their present Rulers. Hence then, whenever there was any extraordi­nary occasion for making use of the People, as in time of War, it was al­ways contriv'd that the Oracle should be Consulted, which never fail'd to Pronounce in favour of the Present Government, And therefore, no wonder the Priests were such Favou­rites at Court, since they were so use­ful to the Prince in the managing and steering of the common People. Thus it plainly appears, That Inte­rest [Page 10] was the Principle of those Hea­then Priests. Let us now see, whe­ther, when Popery came upon the Stage, the World was any thing mended; or whether the Popish Priests were Men more abstracted from Worldly Interest, or no. In after times, when Rome Pagan became Rome Christian, then sprung there up a new Set of Men, who for Craft and Subtilty did many degrees outgo their Predecessors, the Heathen Priests; These appeared but meer Bunglers, compared to this new Brood, whose very Religion was nothing else but Sacerdotal Interest. For whoever exa­mines the whole Fabrick of Popery, shall find that the Corner-stone of that Building is Interest: And were is not for the Profitable part, I que­stion not but the Foolish part of Po­pery would soon be laught out of doors. But since the true nature of Things is best to be learnt in their Minute Parts, we will lay aside Gene­rals, and descend to Particulars: To begin therefore with the very Ori­ginal [Page 11] of Popery, which you will find to be thus. As on the one hand it must be confess'd, that the Primitive Christians, who were generally Sub­jects of the Roman Empire, had a very great deference and respect for the Bishops of Rome, because t [...]at was the Imperial City; so on the o­ther hand, Church-History plainly shews, That, notwithstanding this great deference, the Bishops of Rome had no Authority or Jurisdiction out of their own Province, that is, beyond the Suburbicary Region of Italy, till after the Division of the Roman Em­pire into Eastern and Western. It was not long after that Division, and chiefly upon the weakness of the Western Empire, that that Power, which we now call the Papacy, grew up. As the Empire decay'd, so by degrees this encreased and gather'd Strength; the design being at first, not to set up a new Religion, but a new Monarchy in the place of the old then expiring. Thus while the Ro­man Empire was gasping for Life, [Page 12] did the Bishops of Rome force it to make what Will and Testament they pleas'd. Being thus Establish'd, and making Rome, whose name was still Venerable, the Seat of their Domini­on, they soon obtain'd a Supremacy over the Western World. In this manner, and with these Steps did the Papacy first advance it self; their Designs being apparently Secular, tending not to the Salvation of Mens Souls, but the Support of their own grandure. And therefore these Spi­ritual Machiavillians, according to the old Policy, are for preserving their Empire after the same way and man­ner as it was at first acquired. No wonder then that the chief Topick of Popery, is Argumentum ab Utili; which of all Arguments carries the greatest force in the Church of Rome: And this will more plainly appear, if we do but draw up the Curtain, and present you with Popery in its full light. 'Tis scarce within the reach of Arithmetick, what vast, prodigious Sums these several Do­ctrines [Page 13] [the Popes Supremacy, Pur­gatory, Indulgences, Auricular Con­fession, and the Celibacy of the Cler­gy] bring in to the Church; And therefore as one wittily expresseth it, They must maintain them, because they are maintained by them.

1. As to the Pope's Supremacy. How slight a Foundation this Do­ctrine hath, I think to any rational Man will soon appear; for supposing St. Peter was Bishop of Rome, (though the Learned Dr. Barrow, and many others are of opinion he never was there,) and that as Metropolitan there­of he had the precedency of the rest of the Apostles; what then? Could hence a sufficient Power be devolv'd on his Successor, to raise a real Mo­narchy, and to claim an absolute Ju­risdiction over the whole World, with a Power to dispose of Crowns and Kingdoms? This is certainly a Non Sequitur. Nor was St. Peter ever vested with any such Priviledges as these, nor did his Successors for many Ages ever Challenge them; And at [Page 14] last the only title the Pope had to them, was Usurpation. But how un­reasonable soever this Doctrine may appear to those who get not by it, his Holiness hath reason to keep it up, since it serves to the filling his Cossers; And if he should once part with it, he at the same time Lops off the best Branch of his Revenue.

2. As to Purgatory. This Doctrine was never so much as thought of till St. Austin's time, who both Said it, and Unsaid it, and at last left it doubtful; Nor did it come into any sort of Credit till about two hundred Years after, in the time of Pope Gre­gory the first. The Papists themselves are so divided as to all the points and Circumstances of this Doctrine, that possibly it will not a little entertain the Reader, to see the foolish variety of Opinions relating to this Doctrine. First as to the place, where they sup­pose this Imaginary Goal to be; Eckius will have it to be in the bot­tom of the Sea; Others will have it either in Mount Aetna, or Vesuvius; [Page 15] But Bernard de Bustis places it in an Hill in Ireland. Next, as to the Torments; Sir Thomas More will have them to be only by Fire; but Fisher, by Fire and Water; Lorichius neither by Fire, nor by Water, but by the violent Convulsions of Hope and Fear. Then, as to the Executioners, or Tor­menters; They do as little agree a­bout them; for Bishop Fisher will have them to be the Holy Angels; but Sir Thomas More to be the very De­vils. Then, as to the Sins to be there Expiated; Some will have them to be the Venial only; but others say the Mortal too. And for the time of the Souls continuance in that State; Dennis the Carthusian extends it to the end of the World; whereas Do­minicus â Seto limits it to ten Years; and others make it depend on the number of Masses, and Offices, that shall be said or done on their behalf. Lastly, as to the extremity of the pains; Aquinas makes them as violent as those of Hell; but the Rhemists, in their Annotations upon Revelations [Page 16] the 14th, Verse the 13th, say, That the Souls there are in a very fine condition: And Durandus, de Offic. Mortuor. Cap. VII. between these extreams, gives them some Intermissi­on from those terrible pains, upon Sundays, and Holy Days. So foolish­ly extravagant are these several fan­cies and conceits of Purgatory, that it may not be altogether impertinent to enquire into the Original and Source of this Doctrine. And this will pre­sently appear to any one who is in the least vers'd in the Heathen Poets and Philosophers. These were the first Hatchers of this Notion, and from thence was it first derived. Ho­mer, in the 2d. Book of his Odyss. en­tertains us with long Stories of Ulysses's descent into Hell, the Dia­logues of Ghosts, the Punishment of departed Souls, and the Sacrifices to be offer'd to relieve them; And here­in is he imitated by Virgil, who, in the Sixth of his Aeneids, brings in Anchises discoursing at the same rate. Nor were their Philosophers free from [Page 17] these sort of Dreams; witness Plato, who, in his Book de Anima, broaches the like Doctrine; And Cicero, in Scipio's Dream, harps upon the same string. Hence Bellarmin, urging seve­ral reasons for this Doctrine of Pur­gatory, his third is taken from the common opinion of all Nations, He­brews, Mahumetans, and Gentiles, both Philosophers and Poets. But to con­clude this point, as ridiculous as this Doctrine of Purgatory is, there is not any one Opinion in the Church of Rome, that the Romanists are more zealous in the asserting; Nor is it to be wondred that they are so, since herein they act upon Demetrius's Principle, Because thereby they have their gain; And therefore well may they be allow'd to be angry, and displeas'd at all those, who speak and write against it; for by that means their Craft is in danger to be set at nought. There being no Opinion in their Church, which brings in a bet­ter and more constant Revenue, by Masses, Dirges, Requiems, Trentals, [Page 18] and Anniversaries, besides Casualties and Deodands, by dying Persons, or their Friends, in hopes of a speedier release out of the pains of Purgatory. So that if this Opinion were once out of Countenance in the World, they would then lose one of the best Arts they have of upholding the Grandure of their Church. And it is very re­markable, That the fear of losing this Income, was one main Impediment to restrain the Pope from yielding to a Reformation.

3. As to Indulgences and Pardons. In the Primitive times, when the Christians had committed any heinous offence, as for example, either in denying their Faith, or Sacrificing to Idols, for fear of Persecution; the Parties offending were enjoyn'd some severe and long Pennance: And the rigour of this, the Bishops, or Pastors, in their respective Congregations, had power, (if they saw Cause) to mitigate at their discretion; which Mitigation, or Relaxation of Punish­ment, was called an Indulgence, or [Page 19] sometimes a Pardon. And this was derived from St. Paul, who releas'd the Incestuous Corinthian from the bond of Excommunication, upon his Hu­miliation, and serious Repentance. This manner of Indulgence was An­cient, and of long Continuance in the Primitive Church. The first ac­count we have of perverting this Custom, and the prostituting it to Secularends, was in the time of Pope Gregory the first, about the Year 600. And ever since that time, 'tis scarce credible what an immense Sum this Doctrine hath brought in to the Church. And certainly, of all the Arts that the Church of Rome hath for the raising of Money, this is the cleverest and neatest Contrivance; and therefore one wittily calls these Indulgences, Emulgences; and even by the Romanists themselves they are call'd, in their truest Signification, The Treasury of the Church. The Pope is the sole Dispenser and Disposer of these Indulgences; and therefore whenever he hath occasion, or a [Page 20] Mind to fill his Treasury, all that he needs to do, is, upon pretence of War against the Infidels or Hereticks, to send out, and proclaim Marts, and Sales for these Indulgences, upon con­dition that those, who would dis­burse any Sums of Money (which is all to be laid out (as he pretends) upon the said occasion,) should have Pardons and Indulgences for numbers of Years proportionable to the Sums they could, or would deposite; Nam aliter non absolvebantur, nisi tribuerent secundum Posse suam, & facultatem suum; For otherwise they could not be absolv'd, except they did disburse as much as their abilities would afford, as Henr. de Knighton, an English Hi­storian in Richard the Second's time, honestly and plainly tells us; And then as for the Poor and Indigent, truly they deserve our pity, when the Taxa Cameroe Apostolicoe deals thus plainly with them, Nota dili­genter quòd hujusmodi Gratioe non con­ceduntur Pauperibus; QUIA non ha­bent, ergò non possunt Consolari; Note [Page 21] diligently, That such graces are not granted to the Poor; Because they have not wherewithal, they cannot be com­forted. A very sad Case indeed! Thus, though our Saviour tells us, how, hard it is for a Rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; yet by the Religion of Popery the diffi­culty lies wholly on the Poor Man's side; and the only Sin capable of Damning a Rich Man, is that of Co­vetousness; for let him but see his Holiness well, and he may then safe­ly sing a Requiem to his Soul.

4. As to Auricular Confession. The necessity of this Doctrine was un­known to the Fathers of the Primi­tive Church. Nay, about a Thou­sand Years after Christ, it was held disputable in the Roman Church. And though the Practice of it was im­pos'd by Pope Innocent, in his Coun­cil of Lateran; yet even then it re­main'd disputable as to the Doctrine, till the Council of Trent gave it the Sanction of Divine Faith. At first it was voluntary, and only us'd in [Page 22] Case of a troubled Conscience, or a strong Temptation: But it is now made necessary at stated times, in all probability to make the Priest Master of every Man's Secrets. This is the main Curb of the Laity, whereby the Clergy hold them in awe; for by this means they have an Intelligencer in the breast of every Great Man of their Communion; Which is a thing of that vast Con­sequence, that if ever they part with it, then farewel Popery▪

5. As to the Celibacy of the Clergy. That this Custom was derived from the Heathens, will plainly appear; Clemens Alexandrinus tells us, That the Ancient Hereticks took occasion to condemn Marriage from the Pre­cepts and Practices of Pagan Philo­sophers. And St. Hierom saith, that the Athenian Hierophanta's to this day, by supping the Broth of Hem­lock, make themselves Chast (being forbidden Marriage,) before they were admitted into Sacred Orders, or ad­vanced to Prelatical Dignity. And [Page 23] Alexander ab Alexandro informs us, That the Priests of Cybele did ca­strate themselves, that they might be Chast. And he further adds in the same place, That those who per­formed their greatest Solemnities (or their Chief Priests) that they might continue in Chast Religion, and e­scape the Contagion of Women, did emasculate themselves with certain Herbs. And Euripides testifieth, That in Crete those whom they call'd the Prophets of Jupiter, do not only ab­stain from Flesh, but also from all savoury Meat. And the like did the Indian Magi, who were advanced to the Priesthood of the Sun: And a­mong the Assyrians, the Priests of Diana Ecbatana liv'd in perpetual Vir­ginity. To add more Testimonies is needless, since the Romanists are themselves so far from denying it, that several of them, as Pope Syri­cius, Medina, and others, urge it as an unanswerable Argument against the Marriage of Priests. But not­withstanding the great care the Hea­then [Page 24] Priests took as to their Chastity, yet we find it signified but little; And therefore Arnobius describing the single life of Priests amongst the Heathen, saith, Where are Whore­doms more frequently committed than by Priests, even in their Tem­ples, nay before the very Altars? And in the Conclusion he tells us, That their Lust was more frequently discharged in Chancels, than Brothel-Houses. But having shew'd this to be a Custom derived from the Hea­thens, and the effect it had; let us (now) see, whether the Primitive Christians had any such usage; and when, and by what means, it was at first introduced, and the Use that hath since been made of it. That there was no such Usage in the Pri­mitive Church, is most certain, for St. Ambrose in his Comment on 2 Cor. 11. testifies, that all the Apostles, except St. John and St. Paul, had Wives. And also Eusebius, Ruffinus, and Socrates, Ecclesiastical Writers of great Note, do all testify of several [Page 25] very Religious Bishops, who had Children by their lawful Wives, af­ter they were Bishops. And the Greek Church even to this day observes it for a Custom, not to admit any in­to Holy Orders, unless they were Married; as judging them then more stay'd, and less subject to Temptati­ons. The first account we meet with of prohibiting Wives to the Clergy, was not long before the Nicene Council: A foolish Opinion had then seiz'd the Heads of some of the Leading Men of the Church, That no Married Man was fit to officiate at the Altar; Whereupon the Question came to be started in the Council of Nice; Of which mat­ter the Ecclesiastical Historian Socra­tes, Lib. 1. Cap. XI. gives us this account, [...] &c. It pleas'd some of the Bishops to bring in a new Law into the Church, That those who were dedicated to the Holy Mini­stry, viz. Bishops, Priests, and Dea­cons, should not sleep any longer with their Wives. But this at first was [Page 26] most strenuously oppos'd, and parti­cularly by one Paphnutius▪ an Egyp­tian Bishop, who had formerly one of his Eyes pluckt out for the Testi­mony of the Blessed Jesus. Nor did this Doctrine advance it self into a Decree, till above fifty Years after, at which time Siricius Bishop of Rome first ordain'd it; though for many hundred Years after it was not much observ'd, till Gregory the Seventh, commonly call'd Hildebrand, began to put it in Execution; by excom­municating all such Married Priests, as would not immediately quit their Wives, and take the Oath of Conti­nency. And this hath been strictly observ'd ever since; The Council of Trent having denounced an Anathema against all those who shall say, That Clerks in Holy Orders may contract Matrimony; And that such a contract is valid, notwithstanding the Laws and Constitutions of the Church. But how little this Romish Celibacy signified a­mongst their Priests, as to the keep­ing them Chast, even their own Hi­storians [Page 27] can best inform us. Matthew Paris tells us, The Pope thought it almost a Miracle to hear a Candidate for a Bishoprick attested to be a pure Virgin; Alvarus Pelagius, a Portu­gal Bishop, in the 14th Century, in his known Book De Planctu Ecclesiae, amongst other crying Sins of the Roman Clergy of his days, Laments in an especial manner their Inconti­nency, wishing that the Spaniards and Regricolae especially, had never promis'd Continency: The Children of the Clergy being, in those Coun­trys, says he, more numerous than those of the Laity; and what is more detestable, for several Years together, from their Concubines beds they go straight to the Altar. And in another place, the very same Author com­plains of their debauching the Wo­men, who came to Confession. Al­fonsus à Castro tells us, That if they should attempt to conceal the Incon­tinency of the Clergy, their own Children would proclaim it. Johannes Aventinus affirms, that the Salacity [Page 28] of the Priests was so famous, that it was grown into a Proverb. Robert Holkot, who liv'd in the fourteenth Century, a Dominican by Profession, and born at Northampton, stiles the Priests of his days, Priests of Pria­pus and Baalpheor. Johannes Gerson, speaking of the Incontinency of the Priests, saith, That it was so rooted and Epidemical an Evil, that as things stood under the reign of Celibacy, if Priests were not allow'd the use of common Women they would (in several places) fall upon the Wives and Daughters of their Parishioners. Nay, even Albertus Pighius and Do­minicus Soto, as stout Assertors as they were of the Celibacy, yet were so ingenuous as to confess the leud­ness it Occasions. Thus could I, from several other instances of the like Nature, drawn from their own Historians, dilate upon this Subject; As also, by adding the remarkable Instances of the great Incontinency, or the unchast Celibate of several of their Popes themselves; as of Paul [Page 29] the Second, Sixtus the Fourth, Inno­cent the Eighth, Alexander the Sixth, Julius the Second, Leo the Tenth, Paul the Third, Julius the Third, &c. But I forbear this, since raking of Dunghills is an Employment more fit for a Scavenger than a Gentleman. That so great Wickedness should ever be Practis'd amongst such as serve at the Altar, is indeed a thing much to be lamented; but that e­ver any Christian Church should al­low and approve of such Practices, is matter of Astonishment; And yet that the Church of Rome does so, is most clear, and manifest. Hence we find it was one of the German Grie­vances, That such Priests as were dis­pos'd to live Chastly, and abhorred this Sin of Uncleanness, were compell'd to take Dispensations to keep Concubines. Nicolaus de Clemangis also makes the same sort of complaint; What a strange thing is it, says he, That in several Dioceses now a days the Rectors of Pa­rishes bargain with their Bishops for License to keep Concubines? That [Page 30] Great Angelical Doctor of the Church of Rome, Thomas Aquinas (whether from his own Complexion, or no, I know not) seems to be so great a favourer of this Vice, that he argues for it in a pretty odd sort of a Man­ner, in his 4th Book De Regimine Principum; Id facit in Mundo Mere­trix &c. A Whore in the World, saith he, is as the Pump in a Ship, or a Privy in a Palace: Take these away, and all will be filled with stench and annoyance. Most Incomparable Divi­nity! Sure if this Rule be true, no place for sweetness can compare with Rome, where, by the best Computa­tion, are reckon'd three Thousand Li­censed Harlots, which pay an Annual Tribute to his Holiness. But to re­turn to my Subject. Since it plainly appears, that this Doctrine of the Celibacy was never us'd, nor practis'd amongst the Christians of the Primi­tive Church, how came then this Innovation to be introduced into the Church of Rome? Cui bono, for what end and purpose hath it so many [Page 31] Ages been so very zealously asser­ted? In promptu causa est, the reason is very obvious, and a Man with half an Eye may see the Policy of it. This Doctrine then is maintained by the Policy of the Court of Rome, on purpose to make advantage of the Clergy, both while they live, and when they dye. Hence their great Espencoeus crys out shame of that execrable Custom of indulging Con­cubinage to Professors of Chastity, at a set annual rate; assuring us, That amongst the vast numbers of Delinquents in this kind, few, or none, suffer any other Punishment than that of the Pocket. But besides this, 'tis of great advantage to his Holiness, to disengage the Clergy from all Civil Interests, and thus to make them wholly depend upon the Court of Rome; which is a thing could never be effected, so long as the Clergy gave hostages of their si­delity to the Civil Government, by the Interests of their Families and Children. And therefore this Inven­tion [Page 32] was cunningly enough con­triv'd; That as the old Roman Soul­diers were forbidden Marriage while they received pay, lest their Dome­stick Interests should abate their cou­rage; So the Celibacy of the Clergy was strictly enjoyn'd, to make them more true and hearty to the Interests of the Court of Rome. And the vast advantages that accrue to his Holi­ness by this one Doctrine of the Ce­libacy of the Clergy, is scarce to be computed; since now the Church is the general Heir to all the Clergy.

Thus have I run over those five se­veral Gainful Doctrines in the Church of Rome; whereby it is most mani­fest, That, let them pretend what they will, Grandure and Secular In­terest is all they aim at; And there­fore let us no longer wonder at this Priest-Craft of theirs, but rather con­clude with that Ingenious Cardinal, who, when the People flockt about him, gave them his Benediction in these words, SI DECIPI VULT POPULUS, DECIPIATUR.

LEARNING does but serve to fill us full of Artificial Errors. That which we so much admire un­der the name of LEARNING, is only the knowing the fancies of par­ticular Men, Deliri veteris Meditontes somnia vana, in effect but like Gossip­ping Women telling one another their Dreams. The Romans were so far from esteeming Learning, as an essen­tial part of Wisdom, that with them the word Scholar was seldom us'd but by way of reproach. A Learned Man may not improperly be compared to Aesop's Crow, deckt with the Fea­thers that he had stoln from other Birds. He maketh (indeed) a great shew in the World, but he may thank others who are at the charge of it. [Page 34] In a word, There is not a simpler Animal, and a more superfluous Mem­ber of a State, than a meer Scholar; He is —Telluris inutile Pondus. And were I to give a description of a Pedant newly arrived from the U­niversity, I could not do it more to the life, than in the words of Ho­race;

No wonder then, that the Italians, in their Farces, always bring in a Pedant for the Fool of the Play. That Learning is no way serviceable to the life of Man, even daily experience sufficiently shews; for how many are there in the World, of high and low condition, that live pleasantly and hap­pily, who never trouble themselves with Learning▪ Neither is it service­able to Things Natural, which an ig­norant Sot may as well perform, as he that is vested with the greatest [Page 35] Learning; Nature is a sufficient Mi­stress for that. Nor doth it conduce to Honesty, and to make us better; Paucis est opus literis ad bonam Men­tem, little Learning is requisite for a good Mind: Nay, some are of o­pinion, it rather hindreth it; And that where Learning and Knowledge go in the Front, Pride and Ambition always follow in the Rear. Hence it is observ'd, That Rome for the first five hundred Years, when it Flou­rish'd in Virtue and Valour, was without Knowledge; And so soon as Learning came amongst them, they then began to degenerate, and to run into Factions. The best Esta­blish'd Government that ever was, and from whence have sprung the greatest Personages in the World, I mean the Lacedemonian, made no Profession of Learning; And yet it was the School of Virtue and Wis­dom, and was ever Victorious over Athens, the most Learned City of the World, the School of all Science, the Habitation of the Muses, and [Page 36] the Storehouse of Philosophers. Learn­ing then serves for nothing, but to invent Niceties and Subtilties, artifi­cial cunning Devices, and whatsoever is an Enemy to Virtue and Innocence. Atheism, Errors, Sects, and all the troubles of the World, have risen from the Men of Knowledge and Learning. If we search into the Morals of the most Learned amongst the Heathens, I mean their Philosophers, we shall find but little agreement betwixt their Practices and their Doctrines; And that the one did generally run counter to the other. Plutarch tells us, That not only Socrates and Pla­to, but also that the rest of the Phi­losophers, notwithstanding their out­ward shew and ostentation of some Virtues, were generally as intempe­rate, incontinent, and wicked, as any common or ordinary Slave. But of all other prophane Authors, Lu­cian paints them in the most lively Colours. For in his Dialogues he bringeth in Menippus speaking of the Philosophers thus; Because I was [Page 37] (saith he) uncertain what Course of Life to hold, I thought good to go to the Philosophers, and to take their advice, that they might direct me therein; not considering, that, as the Proverb saith, I cast my self out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire; for I found amongst them all things more uncertain than amongst any sort of Men, insomuch that the Life of the veriest Idiot, seem'd unto me more happy than theirs. For when I beheld their Lives, I perceiv'd they were clean Contrary to their own Precepts and Doctrine; those who taught that Money and Riches were to be con­temn'd, did gape after nothing more than Gain, lending to Usury, teaching for Hire, and doing all for Money; Those who in words seem'd most to contemn Glory, referr'd the whole Course of their Lives thereto; And to con­clude, Those who openly spoke most a­gainst Voluptuousness and Pleasure, se­cretly sought and embraced nothing else. Thus (we see) the Practices of Men do not alway hold an equal pace to their Theory—Video meliora, prob­que, [Page 38] Deteriora sequor. We naturally know what is Good, but naturally pursue what is Evil. Probitas lauda­tur, at Alget—All men are so just to Virtue as to commend her, but few are so just to themselves as to Pra­ctise her. But to return to my Subject. If we look back into the first Ages of the Church, we shall find that Philosophy was the chief Seminary of the main Errors broach'd in those times. And this (no doubt) Tertullian was highly sensible of, which made him style the Philoso­phers, the Patriarchs of Hereticks: And Cornelius Agrippa says, That no­thing more adulterates Divinity than Philosophy, forasmuch as all Heresie whatsoever hath had its first rise out of the Fountain of Philosophy. The Primitive Fathers of the Church, were wont to apply themselves with great diligence to the study of Hea­then Philosophy, on purpose to ena­ble them to fight the Heathens with their own Weapons, and to Baffle them with their own Arguments. [Page 39] Hence they chiefly consulted the Philosophy of Aristotle and Plato; but chiefly Plato's; Because that seem'd to speak plainer about the Divine Nature; and also, because the sweetness, and powerfulness of Plato's Writings, taught them at the same time the Art of Speaking, and the Strength of Reasoning. Having thus provided themselves against their Adversaries, they easily got the Victory over them: For tho' the Heathens, for so many hundred Years, had very zealously asserted the truth of their several Religions; yet now their Philosophers were so baffl'd by these Christian Doctors, that they had nothing to say; and at last were so ingenious, as to con­fess the ridiculousness of their Reli­gions, and to own the purity, and reasonableness of the Christian Wor­ship. And now, after so good a Beginning, who could expect so un­happy a Conclusion? For it so fell out, That the Christians having had such good success against the Religi­ons [Page 40] of the Heathens, by their own Weapons; instead of laying them down when they had done, unfortu­nately fell to manage them one a­gainst another. So many subtile brains having been set on work, and heated against a Foreign Enemy; when that was over, and they had nothing else to do, (like an Army that re­turns Victorious, and is not present­ly disbanded) they began to spoil and quarrel amongst themselves. Hence that Religion, which at first appear'd so innocent and peaceable, and fitted for the benefit of Humane Society, was miserably divided into a thousand intricate Questions, which neither advance true Piety, nor good Manners. And from hence sprung up the first Heresies in the Church. And thus we see how little Religion is promoted, or advantag'd by any assistance of Humane Learning, which the Apostle sufficiently inclucates, when he so wisely advises us, To a­void all vain Philosophy. And as Learning is of little use in making [Page 41] Men truly Religious; so it likewise signifies but little in making us ei­ther good Subjects, or great Politi­cians: Licinius, and Valentinian, Em­perours of Rome, were wont to say, That their State had no Poyson more dangerous, than that of Learning. Lycurgus also seem'd to be of the same opinion, when he Establisht Ig­norance in his Republick. Most Men do attribute the greatness of the Grand Seignior's, and the Duke of Muscovy's Power over their Subjects, to this one single piece of Policy, viz. their suppressing of Literature. And do we not see here in England, That in time of Popery, when that little stock of Learning that was a­mongst us, was cloyster'd up in Mo­nasteries and Abbeys, the ignorant Common People patiently crouch'd, and readily bore whatsoever burthen was put upon them. But as soon as ever Learning peept abroad in the World, and began to diffuse it self amongst the Vulgar; they then be­gan to expostulate with their Supe­riours, [Page 42] and immediately threw off that Yoak, which formerly they and their Forefathers had so long lain under. And indeed, upon this consideration it is, that Princes take so much care to keep their Subjects in Ignorance, by suppressing all such Books, as lay open and prostitute the Arcana Imperii to the Knowledge of the Vulgar. For Books give Men new Hints and Notions, and those Notions do often put Men upon such Actions, as are not always agreeable to the Interests of Princes. Hence that Subtle, and Crafty Prince, King James, (I mean the First, not the Second) would often say, That of all sorts of Subjects the Thinking Man made the worst. And even by daily Experience we find it confirm'd, that the High-flown Arbitrary Men (com­monly the Darlings of Tyrants) are not Men of the deepest Thoughts, nor of the greatest Foresight and Consideration; since if they were; they might easily discover, That the absolute Power of the Prince, can­not [Page 43] be made up of any other Ingre­dient, than the Slavery of the Sub­ject. But even in some tempers there is such a Natural love to Servitude and Vassallage, that they think no pleasure comparable to the hugging of their Chain; And with the Sla­vish French Man, their greatest Glo­ry is, Notre Roy est Absolu, the Grammatical Construction whereof is, We are Slaves. But that ever a­ny, who call themselves English-Men, should sink into such a meanness of Spirit, so degenerating from the Vir­tues of their Ancestors, (many of whom lost their Lives in the gene­rous Asserting of the English Liber­ties) is that, which as our Forefathers could never have dreamt of, so, for the Honour of the present Age, I hope, Posterity will never Remem­ber. But Monsters are the Product of every Age; And there is no Cli­mate without some Insects. Though Liberty be the Mistress of all Gene­rous Souls, and is that alone which gives a Relish to Humane Life; yet [Page 44] I say, there hath been lately found amongst us a sort of Animals, who have been as Industrious in giving up, as ever our Noble Progenitors were in Establishing our Liberties. But whatsoever Charms, these the more Gross, and Earthly part of Man­kind, may think there is in such a Lazy, Slavish Subjection, yet to Men of more refined Intellectuals, and whose Veins run with a Nobler sort of Blood, all that the World can give without Liberty hath no tast. It must be confess'd, That in the two last Reigns, this Precious Jewel of Liberty hath been little valued; Nothing hath been sold so Cheap by unthinking Men; But alas that doth no more lessen the real value of it, than the ignorance of the Foolish Indians, did that of their Gold, which at first they Exchang'd for the most inconsiderable Bawbles. 'Tis the hap­piness of our Constitution, That King and People are both Bounded; And Curst be the Man, who shall go about to remove either of these [Page 45] Land-Marks: The Crown hath Prero­gative enough to protect our Liber­ties; And the People have so much Liberty as is necessary to make them useful to the Crown: So that the King's Prerogative, and the Subjects Liberty, do naturally tend to the preserving of one another. It was the Observation of that Learned At­torney General, Sir Francis Bacon, That whilst the Prerogative runs within its Ancient and Proper Banks, the main Channel thereof is so much the Stron­ger, for Over-flows evermore hurt the River. Certainly it was no ill saying of Pliny the Younger, to the Em­perour Trajan, Foelicitatis est posse quantum velis, Magnitudinis velle quan­tum possis, It is an happiness for your Majesty to be able to do what you will, But your Greatness consists in doing what you justly may. And Co­mines (that honest French States-Man) notes, That it is more Ho­nourable for a King to say, J'ay des Subjects si bons & Loyaux, &c. My Subjects are so good and Loyal as to [Page 46] deny me nothing, than to say, I take what I please, and I will keep it. And those Courtiers (adds he) that Preach any other Doctrine, do not a little mistake the Interest of their Masters, and are so far from exalting their Grandure and Prerogative, that they make them indeed no Kings. For as Bracton says, Non est Rex ubi do­minatur Voluntas, It is not a King where Will and Pleasure bears sway; but rather some Cyclopick Monster, which eats and drinks the Flesh and Blood of Mankind. Nay, even King James the first (that high Asserter of Prerogative) in his Speech in the Star-Chamber, Anno 1609. saith, That no sooner does a King give over Go­verning according to Law, but he Ceases to be a King, and degenerates into a Tyrant. And the Lord Chan­cellor Bacon tells us, That the People of this Kingdom love the Laws thereof, and nothing will oblige them more, than a Confidence of the Free Enjoying them. What the Nobles of this Land upon an occasion once said, NOLUMUS [Page 47] LEGES ANGLIAE MUTA­RI, We will not have the Laws of England alter'd, is imprinted upon the Hearts of all English Men, who take themselves to have as good a Title to their Laws, as to the Common Air they breath in. And therefore Sir Walter Raleigh (a man of no Vul­gar Observations) tells us a great Thing, and in no wise to be slighted, That the Kings of England have ever­more sustained more loss by one Rebel­lion, than by a hundred years Obser­vance of MAGNA CHARTA. 'Tis observed of the Camel, that it lies quietly down till it hath its full Load, and then riseth up, but the English Mobile is a kind of Beast, which riseth up soonest when it is over-loaden; And therefore (to con­clude this Point) as an English Mo­narch may (so long as he observes the Laws) be the happiest Prince in the World; So if he will turn Phaeton, and drive furiously, he will in the end find himself a King not of Men, but of Devils. But to proceed. That [Page 48] Men of Learning are not always the greatest Politicians, even the Expe­rience of all Ages does sufficiently shew. That great and Learned An­tiquary, Mr. Selden, informs us, That when Constantine became Christian, He had so great an Affection for the Clergy, that he put great part of the Civil Government into their hands: But after 3 or 4 years Expe­rience, he was very sensible how fa­tal this Error had like to have been; Whereupon he took new Measures; and in the Posts of these unhappy Politicians, he was fain to put in a Set of Lay-Men, who having truer and better Notions of Government, soon corrected, and amended their Errors and Mistakes. That the Clergy of England have since the Reformation been much abridg'd of their former Power, is what I think every Man will grant. And there­fore that such of them as love to be Great and Powerful, have still a han­kering after that old Constitution, I for my part cannot so much ad­mire. [Page 49] But how comes it, that the Clergy are not now allow'd to have as great Power, as in times of Po­pery? The Reason is very apparent; Because we found by Experience, That when they were vested with such great Power, no sort of Men ever carried it more Arbitrarily, and Tyranically, nor (indeed) committed greater Solecisms in Politicks than they did: And therefore the History of those times does sufficiently warn us against running into the same Error. When men act out of their own Sphere, who can expect any good will come of it? And therefore we find it seldom happens, That the Statesmen are more fortu­nate in meddling with Religion, than the Churchmen with State affairs; Each mars all with tampering out of their Provinces. Christ's King­dom is not of this World; Nor ought the Divines [...], to meddle in this Political Province; And when they do, no sort of Men prove so unfortunate. Let us hear [Page 50] what the ingenious Andrew Marvel, says as to this Point. Whether it be, that the Clergy are not so well fit­ted by Education, as others for Poli­tical Affairs, I know not; though I should rather think (said he) they have advantage above others, and if they would but keep to their Bibles, might make the best Ministers of State in the World; Yet 'tis generally ob­serv'd, that things miscarry under their Government. If there be any Counsel more precipitate, more violent, more rigorous, more extream than other, that is theirs. Truly I think, the rea­son God does not Bless them in Affairs of State, is because he never intended them for that Employment. Or i [...] Government, and the Preaching of the Gospel, may well concur in the same Person, God therefore frustrates him, because, though knowing better, he seeks and manages his Greatness by the les­ser and meaner Maxims. Upon these therefore, and such like Considera­tions, the wise Venetians have so slight an Opinion of the Politicks of [Page 51] their Church-Men, that whenever any thing that is of a considerable nature, occurs to be debated in the Senate, before any Suffrage passeth, they cause Proclamation to be made, for all Priests to depart; and the proper Officer, with a loud and au­dible Voice, pronounceth these words, Fuora I Preti, Out Priests. And it is further remarkable, That he who in this Common-wealth is called the Divine of the State (an Ecclesiastical Person to be advised with in mat­ters of Religion) is commonly cho­sen such a One, as is reputed the least addicted to Bigottry. That no sort of Men have prov'd more fatal in their Counsels to Princes, than the Political Divines, is a truth too much confirm'd by Experience to be deny'd. That which these Men chiefly aim at, is to render them­selves acceptable at Court; as know­ing▪ that the best Preferments come from thence; And therefore if they can but sooth and please the Prince, they value not whether their Do­ctrine [Page 52] be true, or false. Hence then their chief business is to give a help­ing hand towards making the Prince Arbitrary: And their way to do this, is by entitling him to all those Re­galia's or Prerogatives, that the Kings of Juda, or Israel, ever enjoy'd or usurp'd; as if the Judicials of Moses were calculated for all Seasons, and all Meridians. And thus arose that Doctrine, That Monarchy is Jure Di­vino. But this way of proceeding is no new Invention, for we find it very usual amongst the Ancient Heathens, whenever they had a mind to ob­trude any odd Belief upon the Com­mon People, they presently trumpt up a Jus Divinum; and after this manner we see both their Laws and Religions were establisht. Thus So­lon's Laws were said to come from Minerva; Lycurgus derived his Laws from Jupiter; Numa Pompilius, the first Founder of the Roman Rites and Ceremonies, declar'd he received them from the Goddess Aegeria; and Ma­homet pretended his Religion was im­parted [Page 53] to him, by the Angel Gabriel. There is not any thing whatsoever, that derives so great an Authority amongst Men, as the opinion of Di­vine Favour, or Heavenly Designa­tion: And therefore St. Austine, speak­ing of that Custome amongst the Heathen, of deriving the Pedigree of their Heroes from the Gods, says, That he lookt upon it to be of great use; in as much as it made valiant Men, fancying themselves to be Hea­ven-born, upon the confidence there­of, to undertake high attempts the more boldly, intend them the more earnestly, and accomplish them the more successfully. And Ludovicus Vives says. That another great ad­vantage which accrued to the Heroes by this Belief, was the readiness which hereupon they found in the common People to submit to what­soever they commanded, as thinking their very Commands to be Sacred, and Divine. This therefore made Scipio, that he cultivated and improv'd that opinion of the People, viz. [Page 54] That he was begot by some God; and Alexander in Lucian tells us, That it further'd him in many great designs, to be accounted the Son of Jupiter Hammon; for hereby he was fear'd, and none durst oppose him, whom they held to be a God. Thus we see, that that piece of Policy, which many of our Court-Flatterers in the late Reigns have been so fond of, viz. Their asserting Monarchy to be Jure Divino, is but borrow'd from this old Heathen Custom; the Ori­ginal design whereof was, first to flatter the Prince, by making him believe his Power was absolute, and his Will was uncontrolable; and then to impose upon the People, by mak­ing them believe, That a Prince (though a Tyrant, and the very worst of Men) was not to be oppos'd or resisted. But from what I have now said, let no Man think I am an Enemy to Monarchy; for I do most Solemnly, and Unfeignedly declare, That of all sorts of Governments, Monarchy is the most agreeable to [Page 55] my Genius; and that of Monarchies, the pure and unmixt would please me best (it being that by which the Almighty governs the Universe) could Humane Nature be long trusted with it; and could we be as certain, that his Vicegerent on Earth would as easily imitate those Divine Attributes of Wisdom and Goodness, as they are prone to lay claim to his other Attribute of Power and Greatness. But alas, Kings are but Men; they are not exempted from Error; They have their Vices and Infirmities, their Sallies and Enormites, like the rest of Mankind: And indeed, con­sidering the unhappiness of their E­ducation, and their being continual­ly surrounded with Sycophants and Flatterers, 'tis a wonder they prove at the common rate of other Men. Hence therefore that great Man of Wisdom and Experience, Philip de Comines tells us, That a Vertuous Prince is worthy of more than ordinary ap­plause. Thus (as a late ingenious Au­thor observes) the fault is not in the [Page 56] Government as Absolute, but in Hu­mane Nature, which is not often found sufficient, at least for above one or two Successions, to support and manage so unlimited a Power in one single Person, as it ought to be. And now, to return to my Subject. Since Learning therefore is a thing of so little value, and use to Man­kind, as we have made it appear to be: how vain are those, who extol it to such a degree, as to make it the Standard both of Happiness and Wisdom; by concluding, that no Man can be either Happy, or Wise without it: Though the Scripture tells us, That he who encreaseth in Knowledge, encreaseth in Sorrow; and daily Experience shews us, That folly and Learning do often Cohabit in the same Person. The ingenious Montaigne, enquiring into the reason, why Men of Learning do generally seem to be more uncouth in their Discourse, as also more unfit for bu­siness than other Men, saith, I can­not conceive the true Cause hereof, [Page 57] unless it be, that as Plants are choakt by over-much Moisture, and Lamps are stifled with too much Oile; So are the Actions of the mind overwhelm'd by over-abundance of matter and Study: And in a diversity of Things, as in a mist, the Mind is apt to lose it self. Thus we see that Learning is so far from contributing to Wisdom, that if it be not well manag'd, it really hinders us in the pursuit of it. And a great part of that which we call Learning, is like Cobwebs, which though they seem fine and artificial, are of no manner of use. For what is a Man the wiser for knowing the Genitive Case in Jupiter? Or whe­ther we should write Faelix, or Felix; or what are we the better for know­ing how many knots there were in Hercules's Club; or whether Penelope was honest or no? And yet as ri­diculous as these things are, Many of those Men, whom the World hath call'd Learned, have trifled a­way their time in these, and such like Enquiries. In a word, it is not [Page 58] the knowing much, but the know­ing what is useful, makes a Man a Wise Man. And therefore if a Man have all other Points of Knowledge and Learning, yet if he wants that one of Sibi Sapere, all his other Knowledge is but Impertinence, and a gawdy sort of Ignorance. There are indeed some Men, who are ar­riv'd to a sort of Lip-Wisdom, as I may so call it; who have a knack of talking like Wise Men: By their Discourse you would judge of them, as the Ancient Heathens did of their Heroes, That they were sprung from the Gods; But if you search into their Actions, you would ra­ther think them a-kin to the Horse or Mule which have no understand­ing. Odi Homines iganavos operâ, Philosophos sententiâ, was the saying of a Great Man; I hate Men that Act like Fools, but speak like Philoso­phers. He who speaks, but does not Act like a Wise Man, is at best but like a Tinkling Cymbal, which makes only a pleasant noise. Certainly of [Page 59] all parts of Wisdom, the Practick is the best. To conclude then, It is not a Man's cloistering himself up in his Study, nor his continual Po­ring upon Books, that makes him a Wise Man: No; this property is to be acquired only by Meditation and Converse. For Reading may very properly be compared to Eating, and Meditating to Digesting; as there­fore to one huor Eating, we allow many hours for Digesting; So to one hours Reading we should assign a sufficient time for Meditating, and Digesting what we have read. Or else, as the one by breeding ill hu­mours, and obstructing the passages, impairs the Health of the Body; So will the other be of no less pre­judice to the understanding, by oc­casioning Diseases to the mind. Thus do many Men, through their not observing this Rule, instead of im­proving, really impair themselves by their Studies. For by over-much Reading they clog and oppress their Minds, and so digest nothing. They [Page 60] stuff themselves so full of other Mens Notions, that there is no room for their Faculties to display themselves. Whereas the Man of Thought and Meditation, moves in a larger Sphere; He does not thus pinion his Fancy, but puts it upon the Wing, which seldom returns home without some noble Quarry. And did Men but know, how much the pleasure of Thinking transcends all other plea­sures, they would certainly put a greater value upon it. For nothing is comparable to the pleasure of an active, and a prevailing Thought: a Thought prevailing over the diffi­culty and obscurity of the Object, and refreshing the Soul with new Discoveries, and Images of things, and thereby extending the bounds of Apprehension, and (as it were) enlarging the Territories of Reason. But the Learned Man that daily plods on in his Reading, and that never makes use of this thinking Faculty, by reflecting upon what he hath read, quite loseth this Intel­lectual [Page 61] Enjoyments; Nor is he sensible of that Suavissima Vita, as the Poet calls it, of Descending into himself, and being daily sensible of his own Im­provement: But like the Carriers Horse, he still keeps the old Track; and his Learning (to continue the Si­mile) like the Pack is but a Burthen to the Beast that carries it. But now, after all that hath been said against Learning, thus much I must own, and acknowledge, That Learning when it meets with an ingenuous temper, and is joyn'd to a pregnancy of mind, is then of excellent use and Advan­tage: For there is no Man but will speak the better, where he knows what others have said upon the same subject. And sometimes the Consci­ousness of his inward knowledge, gives a graceful Confidence to his outward behaviour. But on the other hand, if Learning happens to be in the pos­session of a Fool, 'tis then but a Baw­ble, and, like Dr. Donne's Sun-Dial in the Grave, a trifle, and of no use.

WE suck in the first Rudiments as we do the common Air [facili haustu] as the Lord Bacon ex­presseth it, without Discrimination or Election, of which indeed our ten­der, and unexercised Minds are not capable. And, I confess, 'tis neces­sary we should do so; nor were there any hurt in this innocent easi­ness, did not most Men all their Lives worship the first thing they saw in the Morning of their Days, and ever after obstinately adhere to those unexamined Receptions. But this is the mischief, when we are Children we are apt to believe every thing; and when we are grown Men, we seldom examine Things, but settle in their first Impressions, without giving [Page 63] our selves the trouble to consider, and review them. And these prejudices, by Custom and long Acquaintance with our Souls, get a mighty Inte­rest, and shut them up against every thing that is different from those I­mages of Education.

said the Heathen Poet; the first seasoning Principles and Prejudices, which we receive in our Youth, stick closely to us for a long time after. The Wise Philosopher tells us, That the Soul of Man is Rasa Tabula, like a white Sheet of Paper, out of which therefore it must be more than common Art, that can so clear take out the first Writing, as to su­per-induce a new Copy fair and le­gible. This is the true reason why any Person finds it so difficult to quit those Notions of Religion, which have been established in his mind [Page 64] from his early Infancy. There is a marvellous agreement, and natural kindness to those Opinions, which we suck in with our Milk; They are like Foster-Brothers, to whom it has been observed, There is as strong an Inclination as to the Natural; we play and converse with them from our Cradles, and as soon as we can go alone, we take them by the hand; we sleep with them in our bosoms, and contract an insensible Friendship with them, a pleasing Familiarity, which takes off all De­formities; we love them, and we like them, and their very Blackness is a Beauty, as it is with the Afri­can Nations, to whom even that which we judge Deformity, appears more lovely than the most delicate European Beauty. Thus it was truly said of Philo, That every Man's own Religion seem'd to him the best, because he judgeth of it not by reason, but by affection; like those Philosophers, of whom Cicero spake, who liked no Discipline but their own. Hence we find [Page 29] and, that the best account many can give of their Faith, is, that they were bred in it; And the most are driven to their Religion by Custom and Education, as the Indians are to Baptism, that is, like a Drove of Cattle to the Water. Thus do we judge all things by our anticipations, and condemn, or applaud them, as they differ, or agree, with our first opinions. 'Tis on this account that almost every Country censures the Laws, Customs, and Doctrines of every other, as absurd, and unrea­sonable, and are confirmed in their own follies beyond possibility of Conviction. In a word, there is no­thing so absurd, to which Education cannot form our tender Youth; It can turn us into shapes more Mon­strous than those of Africk. For in our Childhood, we are like the melt­ed Wax to the prepared Seal, capa­ble of any Impression from the docu­ments of our Teachers. The Half-Moon, or Cross, are indifferent to us; and with the same ease can we write [Page 66] on this Rasa Tabula, Turk or Chri­stian. Hence therefore it is, That we find no Religion so irrational, but can boast of its Martyrs; Nor no Opinion so silly and ridiculous, but has had some Philosopher or o­ther to support and defend it. And because there is not any thing more strange, than the great diversity of Laws and Customs in the World; I shall not here think it impertinent to transcribe some of those which are most remarkable; as for Instance, To account it a most pious and Reli­gious Act, to kill their Parents, when they come to such an Age; and then to eat them: In one and the same Nation Virgins go with their Privy Parts uncovered, and married Women carefully cover and conceal them: Where Children are excluded and Brothers and Nephews only in­herit: Where Chastity, in unmarri­ed Women, is in no esteem; for such may prostitute themselves to as many as they please, and being got with Child, may lawfully take Phy­sick [Page 67] to make themselves miscarry; but Married Women keep themselves Chast and Faithful to their Husbands. Where the Custom was, that every Bride should be prostitute to all Com­ers the first Night, and she who had entertain'd most, was most honour­ed: Where they have no Marriages, and therefore Children only own their Mothers, not being able to guess at their Fathers: Where Baw­dy Houses of Young Men are kept for the Pleasure of Women, as there are of Women for the Necessities of Men: Where the servile condition of Women is look'd upon with such contempt, that they kill all the Na­tive Women, and buy Wives of their Neighbours to supply their use: Where they boil the bodies of their Dead, and afterwards pound them to a pulpe, which they mix with their Wine, and drink it: Where the greatest Oath they take, is to Swear by the Name of some Dead Person of Reputation, laying their handup on his Tomb: Where the [Page 68] ordinary way of Salutation is, by putting a finger down to the Earth, and then pointing it up towards Heaven: Where it is the Fashion to turn their backs upon him they sa­lute, and never look upon the Man they intend to honour: Where, whenever the King spits, the great­est Ladies of his Court put out their hands to receive it: And where also the most eminent Persons about him stoop to take up his Ordure in a Linnen Cloth. Thus have I Col­lected, and Copied out several of those Customs, which to me seem the most extravagant, and uncouth; whereby it plainly appears, that there is no Opinion or Imagination so idle or ridiculous, which is not established by Laws and Customs, in some place or other. Thus, in a word, do we see the mighty power of Custom and Education; which is so great, that the rankest follies are counted Sacred, if Customary: And the Fashion is always handsom and a­greeable, though never so uncouth, [Page 69] or ridiculous to an indifferent Be­holder. In short, we are civil or uncivil, good or bad, foolish or wise, or any thing else according to Cu­stom, which Erasmus calls the Mono­syllable Tyrant, because 'tis form'd Mos in Latine; though Pinder stiles her the Queen and Empress of the World. Seneca says, That we go­vern our selves not by Reason, but by Custom, accounting that most honest, which is most practised; and Errour serves us for a Law, when it is become publick. Custom we know is of so great account among Phisi­cians, that according to the great Hip­pocrates, there is no one thing ought more to be regarded: Nay, says he, whatsoever a Man is us'd to (altho' it be bad) is less harmful than what we are not accustomed to, although in it self it be better. And among the Lawyers we see, there is nothing more esteemed of than Custom: Pre­scription is always counted the best Title; and the Common Law, which is nothing but several Customs esta­blished [Page 70] by time and experience, has always the preference of Statute-Law, and is esteem'd the Nobler part. Again, Custom governs our very Affections; and we love rather by Custom, than by Reason Hence Mothers more tenderly effect their Children with whom they common­ly converse, more than Fathers do; and Nurses more than some Mothers. Custom hath likewise such a Power over the Imagination, that when we are asleep, we often dream of those things, which our minds most run upon when we are awake. And what a mighty Influence has it up­on the outward Sences? which may be perceived in those Persons, who (after they have been for some time kept in a dark place) come into a full and open light; not being able to bear that luminous Body, which by its glaring seems to dazle and of­fend their sight. And hence it is, That those who live near the Cata­racts of Nile, as also those several Tradesmen whose noise displeases us [Page 71] so much, and who dwell in Mills and Forges, Custom has made it so familiar to them, that they are no ways disturbed with this constant clattering, but rest and sleep as qui­etly with noise, as others do without it. Thus doth Custom sufficiently shew its own Force and Power, which is stronger than Nature, in­asmuch as it both alters and destroys Nature, and is so poweful that it cannot be destroyed but by it self. To conclude then, the Power of Cu­stom is much greater than most men imagine; and therefore it is, that through mistake we often call that the Law of Nature, which really is but the effect of Custom. That af­fection, which we say every Man naturally bears to his own Country, whence comes it? Is it not from Cu­stom? I know indeed, some tell us, that this love to our Native Soil, is by the instinct of Nature, as Beasts love their Dens, and Birds their Nests. But I rather think it is from civil institution, as being accustomed to [Page 72] the same Laws, the same Ceremo­nies, the same Temples, the same Markets, and the same Tribunals. No wonder then, that the Generali­ty of Mankind is so influenced by Custom, since that Idea which most Men have of Truth and Reason, is no other, than what Custom dispen­seth to them. And hence it is, that we often are so strangely deluded, and imposed upon. For Custom, says Montaigne, veils from us the true aspect of things. Miracles appear to be so, according to our ignorance of Nature, and not according to the essence of Na­ture. The continually being accustomed to any thing, blinds the eye of our Judgment. Hence therefore it is, That as the Greeks and Romans for­merly called all Barbarians, who fol­lowed not their Laws and Fashions; so we still keep up the same humour, by judging all those who differ from us in their Customs and Usages, to be at least Ridiculous, if not Barbarous. Though (after all) the Barbarians are no more a wonder to us, than we are [Page 73] to them; nor (it may be) with any more reason. Those Americans, who kill their old decrepit Parents, instead of believing themselves Parricides, call us Cruel for letting ours con­tinue so long in the Miseries of old Age: And as for that Practice of theirs (which to us seems so unna­tural) of eating their own Parents, they think they do thereby give them the most noble sort of Sepul­ture, by burying them in their own Bodies, in a manner reviving them again, and regenerating them by a kind of Transmutation into their Living Flesh, by the means of Di­gestion and Nourishment. And to say the Truth, there are many Laws and Customs, which seem at the first view to be savage, inhumane, and contrary to all Reason, which if they were without Passion, and so­berly consider'd, though they were not found to be altogether just and good, yet at least they might be plausibly defended by some kind of Reason. A wise Man therefore ought [Page 74] to suspend his Judgement, and not to be over-forward in Censuring and Condemning the Practices and Cu­stoms of other Nations: which sort of narrowness I find many are sub­ject to, and with the Hermite, are apt to think the Sun Shines no where, but in their Cell; and that all the World is darkness but themselves. But this certainly is to measure Truth by a wrong Standard, and to Cir­cumscribe her by too narrow a Scantling. But to proced, Since Custom hath so great a sway in all our Actions, we may well look up­on it, as another Nature; nay, some­times we see it Conquers Nature; Thus by Custom did Mithridates render Poyson so familiar to himself, that it lost its noxious Quality; and we find whole Nations in India, that live upon Toads, Lizards, and Spi­ders. Custom then is no slight thing; it is that which ought in the first place to be regarded, since it exercises so absolute dominion over us. Plato reproving a Boy for play­ing [Page 75] at some Childish Game, Thou reprovest me (says the Boy) for a very little thing: Custom (replyed Plato) is no little Thing. And (says Montaigne) He was in the right; for I find our greatest Vices derive their first Propensity from our most tender Infancy▪ and that our Princpal Edu­cation depends upon the Nurse. And therefore since Education carries so great force and Authority along with it, how much does it behove such Parents, who have any regard to Vertue and Wisdom, to give their Children a vertuous and sober Edu­cation? though (indeed) this does not always prove successful. For Nero, notwithstanding his two ex­cellent Tutors, Seneca and Burrhas, receiv'd but little Improvement. Ci­cero's Son to the stupidity of his Na­ture, added Drunkenness, and re­turn'd from Athens and Cratippus as great a Blockhead as he went. Marcus Aurelius provided fourteen of the most approved Masters to Educate Commodus, yet could not rectifie his [Page 76] froward and Barbarous humour. Thus, as Sir Henry Wotton observes, There is in some Tempers such a natural Barrenness, that like the Sands of Arabia they are never to be cul­tivated, or improved. And accord­ing to the old proverb, Ex quovis ligno non fit Mercurius—There are some [...]rab-Stocks of such a nature, that all the Ingrafting in the World can never correct or amend. But these Monsters of Nature are not of­ten to be met with: For we usually observe, that the Culture of the mind, as of the Earth, doth deliver it from the Barrenness of its Nature; And that the toughest, and most unbended Natures by early and pru­dent Discipline, may be much cor­rected and improved.

AS we should not be so fondly conceited of our selves, and the extraordinary Abilities of the Present Age, as to think every thing that is Ancient to be obsolete; or, as if it must needs be with Opini­ons, as it is with Cloaths, where the newest is for the most part best; so neither should we be so Supersti­tiously devoted to Antiquity, as to take every thing for Canonical, which drops from the Pen of a Father, or was approved by the consent of the Ancients. Antiquity is ever vene­rable, and justly challenges Honour, and Reverence; but yet there is dif­ference between Reverence, and Su­perstition; We may assent unto them as Ancients, but not as Oracles; [Page 78] They may have our minds easie and inclinable, but there is no reason they should have them Captivated and Fetter'd to their Opinions. As I will not distrust all which without manifest Proof they deliver, where I cannot convince them of Error; so likewise will I suspend my Belief upon probability of their Mistakes; and Where I find reason to dissent, I will rather respect Truth than Au­thority. As there may be Friend­ship, so there may be Honour, with diversity of Opinions; nor are we bound therefore to defie Men, be­cause we reverence them We wrong our Ancestors more by admiring than opposing them in their Errours; and our opinion of them is very dis­honourable, if we think they had rather have us followers, of them, than of Truth. The greatest respect we can shew the Ancients, is by following their Example: which was not Supinely and Superstitiously to sit down in fond admiration of the Learning of those that were before [Page 79] them; but to examine their Writ­ings, to avoid their Mistakes, and to use their Discoveries, in order to the further Improvement of Know­ledge: This they did; and never any Man took a greater Liberty in censuring and reproving the supposed Errors and Mistakes of the Elder Philosophers, than Aristotle himself; And therefore I do not see any rea­son, why he should be allow'd grea­ter priviledge, than what he himself thought good to allow to those be­fore him. Veritas nec mea est, nec illius, aut ullius, says Saint Austine, No man can say I am infallible; for as we are men, so we are subject to Error. As for the Truth of Things, Time makes no Alteration; Things are still the same they are, let the time be past, present, or to come. Those things which we Reverence for Antiquity, what were they at their first Birth? Were they false? Time cannot make them true: Were they true? Time cannot make them more true. The Circumstance therefore [Page 80] of Time, in respect of Truth and Errour, is meerly impertinent. For as Antiquity cannot priviledge an Error, so Novelty cannot prejudice Truth. I know in all Ages there have been those, who with a great deal of Zeal and Elegance have de­claim'd against New Things, setting forth the great danger of Alteration and Novelty. But let us not be frightn'd with Shadows: If to be the Author of New Things, be a Crime; how will the first Civilizers of Men, and Makers of Laws, and Founders of Governments escape? Whatever now delights us in the Works of Nature, that excels the rudeness of the first Creation, is New. Whatever we see in Cities, or Houses, above the first Wildness of Fields, and Meanness of Cottages, and Na­kedness of Men, had its time, when this imputation of Novelty might as well have been laid to its charge. It is not therefore an Offence, to in­troduce New Things, unless that which is introduced prove pernicious [Page 81] in it self; or cannot be brought in, without the extirpation of others, that are better. If Novelty should always be rejected, neither would Arts have arrived to that perfection, wherein now we enjoy them, nor could we ever hope for any future Reformation: though all Truth be in it self Eternal; yet in respect of Mens Opinions, there is scarce any so Ancient, but had a beginning, and was once counted a Novelty; and if for this reason it had been con­demned as an Error, what a general darkness and ignorance would then have been in the World, in Compa­rison of that Light which now a­bounds. The great Architect of the World hath been observ'd not to throw down all Gifts and Knowledge to Mankind confusedly at once, but in a regular Parsimonious method, to disperse them by certain degrees, periods, and progress of time, leav­ing Man to make industrious re­searches and investigations after Truth; He left the World to the [Page 82] Disputations of Men, as the wisest of Men says, who in acquisition of Na­tural Truths went from the Hysope to the Cedar; One day certifieth ano­ther, and one Age rectifieth ano­ther, and the Morrow hath more Experience than the preceeding day. Those times which we term Vulgar­ly the Old World, was indeed the Youth of it, and though if respect be had to the particular and personal Acts of Generation, and to the re­lation of Father and Son, they who fore liv'd and preceeded us may be called our Ancestors, yet if you go to the Age of the World in general, and to the true length and longae­vity of Things, we are more pro­perly The Ancients, and the present Age is the greatest Antiquity: Hence, as the Lord Bacon observes, we ge­nerally have a wrong notion of An­tiquity; For (says he) to speak truly, Antiquitas Seculi, Juventus Mundi; That which we commonly call An­tiquity, is but the Nonage of the World: And in this respect the [Page 83] younger Brother may be term'd more Ancient than his Elder, because the World was older when he entred into it. The admiring of former Ages, was a Vanity that possess'd all times as well as ours; and the Gol­den Age was never the present. They who went before us, have not pre­vented us, but have opened a door, that we may enter into the Recesses of Truth: He that comes last hath certainly the best advantage in the Inquiry. Our Ancesters have done wisely and well in their Generati­ons, but they have not done all; much work still remains behind, and he that lives a thousand Ages hence, shall not have reason to complain, that there are no hidden Truths fit for him to enquire after. There are more Worlds to conquer: Every day brings a new Light, and by a wise and careful Labour we may improve what our Fore-Fathers spy'd, when they peept through the Cre­vices. If the latter Ages could be abstracted from the mixtures of In­terest, [Page 84] and the Engagement of their Party, they are in many things bet­ter able to teach the People, than the Ancients. There is certainly a truer, and more certain Knowledge of Things now than formerly: But that which spoils all is, Men are grown a great deal more cunning, and few there are, who take any other aim, than that of Interest; So that hence it is, that many times it proves safer to rely on the Au­thority of former Ages, though more ignorant, than of latter Ages, which though more knowing, yet more dangerous to follow, in respect of that Design and Artifice, which now a days Men use, on purpose to promote their own private Interest. In short, it behoves every one in the search of Truth, always to preserve a Philosophical liberty: Not to be so enslaved to the Opinion of any Man, as to think whatever he says to be infallible. We must labour to find out what things are in themselves by our own Experience, [Page 85] and a through examination of their Natures, not what another says of them. Non tam authoritas in dispu­tando, quam rationis moment a quoeren­da sunt, said Cicero; A Man ought not so much to regard the Person who speaks, as the Thing that is spoken. But it is the unhappy hu­mour of too many Men, jurare in verba Magistri, servilely to tye them­selves to the Authority of particular Men, and to see with other Mens Spectacles: The greatest part of the World being rather led with the Names of their Masters, and with the Reverend respect they bear their Persons or Memories, than with the Soundness and Truth of the Things they teach. Men first take up a Confidence of the Learning or San­ctity of a Person, and then all his Notions are receiv'd implicitely, and are strictly embraced, without the least examination: And this Admi­ration of Mens Persons, has in all Ages been of huge mischief, and ve­ry pernicious; It has nurs'd up pri­vate [Page 86] fancies into Solemn publick Er­rors, and given an unhappy Perpe­tuity to many Heterodox Opinions, which would else have expir'd with their first Defenders. Men do not any where more easily erre, than where they follow a Guide, whom they presume they may safely trust. Belief, without evidence of Reason, must be only there absolute, where the Authority is unquestionable; and where it is impossible to erre, there only it is impious to distrust. As for Mens Assertions, Quibus possibile est subesse falsum, what one said of Friendship, Sic ama tanquam osurus, Love with that Wisdom, as to re­member you may be provoked to the Contrary, is more warrantable and advantagious in Knowledge, Sic crede tanquam dissensurus, so to be­lieve, as to be ready, when Cause requires, to dissent. It is a too much straitning of a Man's own under­standing, to enthral it unto any; And besides, there is not any thing which hath bred more distempers in [Page 87] the Body of Learning, than Factions and Sidings; when as Seneca said of Cato, That he would rather esteem Drunkenness a Virtue, than Cato Vi­cious. To conclude, There is no one thing hath more stunted the growth of Learning, than a stiff ad­hering to the dictates of the Anci­ents; For he who makes Plato or Aristotle the Standard of Humane Knowledge, cannot possibly transcend the Learning of Plato or Aristotle▪ the utmost he can do, he may come up to that height, but (like water) he can never rise higher than the Source. Now if we enquire the reason why the Mathematicks, and Mechanick Arts, have so much got the start in growth of other Scien­ces; this may very well be thought to be one considerable cause of it, That their Progress hath not been retarded by this Reverential owe of former Discoveries; Herein Men have acted freely, without laying any restraint upon themselves, or Embargo upon their Intellectuals: [Page 88] No man ever thought it an Heresie to out-limn Apelles, or to out-work the Obelisks: It was never imputed to Galilaeus as a Crime, That he saw further than the Ancients, and that he chose rather to believe his own Eyes, than either Aristotle or Ptolomy. Those famous Optick Glas­ses, which are now so serviceable to us, are not a jot the less valued, be­cause they were not us'd by the An­cients; nor do we give the less cre­dit to their Informations, because they were hid from Ages. The Po­lar Vertue of the Loadstone, was un­known to the Ancients; this was reserv'd for latter days; and yet no Man is so silly, to think the vast advantages, which accrue to Man­kind by that noble Invention, are (therefore) the less to be esteem'd. And had the Author of that Inven­tion (one Flavius Goia, a Neapolitane, who liv'd about three hundred years ago) been of this narrow Principle, That we are not to transcend the Bounds of the Ancients; we must then [Page 89] (for want of this Discovery) have committed our selves to the sole con­duct of the Stars; and (as the An­cients did) must we always have been creeping near the Shoar: Then the fourth part of the Earth had been yet unknown, and Hercules's Pillars had still been the World's Neultra: Seneca's Prophecy had been an unfulfilled Prediction, and one moiety of our Globes an empty He­misphere.

THat the World doth daily de­cline, is an Opinion so Uni­versally believ'd, that whoever goes about to defend the Contrary, pre­sently shall be thought to maintain a Paradox. But that thing call'd [Page 90] Universality, is so slight an Evidence of Truth, that even Truth it self is asham'd of it; For what is Uni­versality but a quainter word to sig­nifie the Multitude: Now Humane Authority at the strongest is but weak, but the Multitude is the weak­est part of Humane Authority: It is the great Patron of Error, the most easily abus'd, and the most hardly disabus'd. The beginning of Error may be, and generally is, from Private Persons, but the maintainer and Continuer of Error is the Mul­titude. To infer the truth of a Re­ligion, from the Number of its Pro­fessors, is falsely to conclude the fineness of the Cloth from the large­ness of the Measure. How vain and Ridiculous then is it in the Papists, who think this argument of Univer­sality, so invincible a Proof of the truth of their Religion. If Multitude be an Argument that Men are in the right, in vain then hath the Scripture said, Thou shalt not follow a Multitude to do evil: For if this [Page 91] Argument signifie any thing, the greater Number can never be in the wrong. Indeed could wishing do a­ny good, I could wish well to this kind of Proof; Sed nunquam it a bene erit rebus humani [...], ut plures sint melio­res, It will never go so well with Man­kind, that the Most shall be the Best. In short, the best that can be said of Argument and Reason drawn from Universality and Multitude, is this, such Reason may perhaps serve well to excuse an Error, but it can never serve to warrant a Truth. Notwith­standing therefore, that the opinion of the World's constant Declining is so firmly radicated in the minds of most Men, yet this is no sufficient reason, why we should acquiesce in such a belief; Nor can any thing be more unphilosophical, than an Implicite Faith in this matter. And therefore we shall now presume to enter upon the Subject. There are two extreams common amongst Men: the one proper to young Men, who always value themselves above their [Page 92] Predecessors, and like Rehoboam, think their own little finger stronger than the whole Body of their Fathers; the other peculiar to Old Men, who always extol the time past above the present. To speak impartially, Old Men, says Dr. Brown, from whom we should expect the greatest Example of Wisdom, do most exceed in this point of folly; Commending the days of their Youth, which they scarce remember, at least well understood not; extolling those times, which in their younger Years they heard their Fathers condemn, and condemning those times, which the Gray Heads of their Posterity shall com­mend. And that Old Men always were of this temper, we may un­derstand from Horace, who makes the same Complaint of them. Now, the reason why Old Men are so much out of humour with the pre­sent times, I take to be this; They being for the most part much al­ter'd from what they were in their Youth, as to their temper and Complexion, and being full of sad [Page 93] Melancholly thoughts, this makes them think the World is chang'd, whereas in truth the Change is in themselves. It fares with them in this Case, as with those whose Mouth is out of tast, or whose Eyes are bloodshot, or are troubled with the Jaundise, the one imagining all things bitter or sour, which they tast, and the other red or yellow which they see.

Themselves being launch'd out in­to the Deep, the Trees and Houses seem to go backward, whereas really the Motion is in themselves, the Houses and Trees still standing where they were. Seneca tells us a pleasant Story of Harpaste his Wife's Fool, who being all of a sudden struck blind, would by no means be per­swaded of her own blindness, but still cry'd out how dark the Room was grown. Such for the most part is the Case of Old Men, who, by [Page 94] reason of the Infirmities of their Bo­dies and Minds, no longer finding the same gust and pleasure in the delights of the World, that they found in their Youth, lay the fault upon the World, instead of imputing the same to themselves, as they ought to do. For God creates not Souls now with [...] advantages than formerly; He is [...] liberal of his Favours to us of this Generation, as ever he was to any before us; And Nature being still as wise and powerful as here­tofore, and the Universal Causes the same, their Operations must be like­wise as perfect, and their Effects as excellent in these days, as they have been in any. Let not Men therefore deceive themselves, and think that we live in the Dregs of Time, and what mighty advantages the Anci­ents (as they call them) had over us; for if Antiquity be to have the preference, the advantage will then be of our side: For Antiquity con­sists in the old Age of the World, not in the youth of it. 'Tis we [Page 95] are the Fathers, and of more Au­thority than former Ages; because we have the Advantage of more time than they had, and Truth (we say) is the Daughter of Time. And besides, our Minds are so far from being impair'd, that they im­prove more and more in acuteness; and being of the same Nature with those of the Ancients, have such an advantage beyond them, as a Pigmy hath upon the Shoulders of a Gyant; from whence he beholds not only as much, but more than his Supporter doth. But since the Que­stion now to be handled, is rather of Fact than of Right, the best way of discussing it, will be by compa­ring the past Ages with the present, and that in these three Respects, of Vertue, Learning, and long Life.

1. First then, if we survey the Vices of former Times, they will certainly appear more Barbarous and Epidemical, than such as now Reign in the World. Even to this day, do we not esteem it an unparallell'd [Page 96] piece of wickedness, That no stran­ger could enter Sodom, without be­ing defiled by the Lust of the more than bruitish Citizens? A Crime so foul, that nothing but Fire and Brim­stone could purge the stench of it from the World. After this, among the Aegyptians was that of the Strawless Tax. The Graecians under their wisest Lawgivers approv'd of Theft, if it were committed with Art and Cunning. And Drunken­ness was so usual a Vice among them, that from thence Pergraecari, signi­fies to be mad with Drink. The Ro­mans had two Rules of Drinking, which they commonly observ'd; The one was, to Drink down the Evening Star, and Drink up the Morning Star, ad Diurnam stellam matutinam potantes, saith Plautus; The other commonly practised a­mong them, was the Drinking so many Healths, as there were Letters in their Mistresses Name, according to that of Martial:

Nor were their very Women free from this excess; Nay, Seneca assures us, that even in Drinking, they sometimes out-did the Men. But to proceed. Have we any so vain as Xerxes, that would think to whip the Sea into Calmness? or so Prodi­gal as was Alexander, who, accord­ing to Plutarch, spent twelve Milli­ons of Talents upon Hephoestion's Fu­neral? Such a prodigious Sum, that many question whether at that time the Revenue of the whole World would amount to it. Or, what Prince is there in these days so pro­susely extravagant, as Heliogabalus, the Emperour, who was possess'd ra­ther with a Madness, than excess of Prodigality; he fill'd his Fish-Ponds with Rose-Water; he supplied his Lamps with the precious Balsam, that distils from the Trees in Ara­bia; [Page 98] he wore upon his Shoos Pearls and Precious Stones engraven by the hands of the most skilful Artists; his Dining-Room was strew'd with Saffron, and his Portico's with the dust of Gold: And he was never known to put on any Garment a second time, whether it was of the richest Silk, or woven with Gold. Then as for the Cruelty of former Ages, we shall find it many degrees to transcend any thing that is done in these days; even amongst the Jews, who by their Religion preten­ded to more preciseness, what more common amongst them, than In­cest, Fratricide, Parricide, Sawing Men to Death, and the most Barba­rous sorts of Cruelties, oftentimes committed only for the diversion, and entertainment of Princes? What Action did ever carry in it so much of Inhumanity, as that of the thirty Athenian Tyrants, who caused the Daughters of some of the Slain Ci­tizens to dance, in the Blood of their own Parents, who had newly been [Page 99] Murder'd by them? Lucius Florus tells us, that the German Women, in their Wars with the Romans, would very commonly take their Naked Sprawling Infants, and throw them in the face of those they fought with; thinking that so Inhumane a Spectacle might daunt the Roman Courage. Was there ever since then, any thing like the Ten Persecutions? What but Nero's Luxury, could ever compare with Nero's Cruelty? And yet Domitian, in one particular, out­went him; for he took delight in seeing those Torments executed, which Nero but commanded. What shall I now say of Servius Galba, who, when he was in Spain, having assembled together the Inhabitants of three Cities, to consult (as he pre­tended) about their common safety, at one stroke cut off seven thousand of them, among whom were the very Flower of their Youth? I might also tell you of Licinius Lucullus, who, contrary to express Articles, put to the Sword twenty thousand [Page 100] of the Caucaei, after they had sur­render'd: And of Octavianus Augustus, who, after the taking of Perusia, at one Sacrifice offer'd up the lives of three hundred of the Principal Ci­tizens at the Altar of his Uncle Ju­lius: And of Antoninus Caracalla, who being incensed against the Citizens of Alexandria upon the account of some jests they had made of him, entred into the City in a peaceable manner, and summoning before him all the Youth, he surrounded them with his Souldiers, who, upon the Signal given, fell immediately upon them and slew every Mothers Son of them; and afterwards using the like Cruelty upon the rest of the Inhabitants, he utterly destroy'd that most Spacious, and Populous City of Alexandria. Thus could I easily give many more instances, to shew the wickedness of former Ages, not on­ly in respect of their Barbarous Cru­elties, but of their other Vices; but I forbear this, since I very well know, that the Character of those Times [Page 101] cannot be better described, than is already by the Apostles, in their se­veral Epistles: For what a Monstrous Catalogue of Sins do we meet with in the first Chapter to the Romans; Sins of so deep a dye, and of so horrid a nature, and such an Inven­tory of all sorts of Wickedness, That one might very well imagine the Apostle had been rather describing some Vision of Hell, than the Seat of the Roman Empire. To conclude then this Point, let us not imagine that ever any Age was, or will be free from Vice and Enormities; while Humane Nature continues, there will be Frailties: Vitia erunt donec Homines erunt, saith Tacitus, Vice hath always had a being in the World, and will continue as long as Men are upon Earth. How unrea­sonable is it, to think that Man can be better out of Paradise, than he was in it? Nemo sine Crimine, The best of Men have their Imperfections. We are no Angels upon Earth, but are always transported with some In­firmity [Page 102] or other; and 'twill be so, while these frail, fluxible humours reign within us. This as I conceive is that Black Bean, which the Tur­kish Alchoran speaks of, when they feign, That Mahomet being asleep a­mong the Mountains of the Moon, two Angels descended, and ripping open his Breast, they took his Heart, and wash'd it in Snow, and after­wards pull'd out a Black Bean, which was the portion of the Devil, and so replaced the Heart. All things here below run in a kind of Circle; And as in Arts and Sciences, so like­wise in the Manners of Men there is a Vicissitude and Revolution. Vir­tue and Vice have no setled Habi­tation; every Climate hath had its turn: Sometimes one Countrey car­ries it for Vertue and Learning, and sometimes another. Athens, which was formerly the only place for Learning and Civility, is now quite over-run with Barbarism and Igno­rance. Every Nation hath its Achme, or highest pitch of Elevation; And [Page 103] when once the spoke of the Wheel is uppermost, it soon whurries to the bottom. As a Kingdom rises in Em­pire, so it enlarges both in Vertue and Vice; and when it declines, so the Declension of these is proportio­nable. And though as to particular Kingdoms, one time may be either better or worse than another; yet take the World in Gross, and lump it together, we shall find that Hu­mane Nature is much at the same Standard, as it was formerly; And as we commonly observe of the Sea, That as it gets in one place, it loses in another; so every Age may make the same Observation of the Vertues and Vices of Man­kind.

2. The next thing to be consi­der'd, is, whether former Ages ex­cell'd the Present in respect of Learn­ing. Of all the Ancients there were none more esteem'd for Learning than the Aegyptians: The old Aegyp­tian Learning was so Famous, that the Spirit of God, sets forth the E­minency [Page 104] of Moses's Knowledge by his skill in it, and the Matchlessness of Solomon's Wisdom by its exceeding it; And therefore we may very well conclude, that the Aegyptian Learn­ing in those days, was conversant about more generous and more use­ful Notices, than afterwards; such as Geometry, Astronomy, Policy, Phi­sick, and other such like Arts, which either were perfective of their Rati­onal Faculties, or did Minister to the Uses and Necessities of Nature: as is generally reported by all Anci­ent Historians. But had the old Primitive Learning of Aegypt been the same it was in latter Ages, it had been as great a disparagement to Moses, as 'tis now justly reputed a Commendation, That he was ac­complished in all the Aegyptian Learning, and had amounted only to this, That he was a vain trifling, Superstitious Fellow. And what the Egyptian Priest objected to the Greeks, That they were always Children, might [Page 105] be more truly applied to themselves, if it be the property of Children to value trifles. What Childish Foole­ries their Hieroglyphicks were, Learn­ed Men now prove from the lost la­bour, and fruitless industry of Kir­cher's Oedipus Aegyptiacus. Certainly, if they had design'd to abuse and debauch this humour, they could scarce have contriv'd more fond and extravagant Emblems; and indeed their Courseness, and unlikeness to the things they should resemble, sufficiently discover them to have been but the rude Essays of a Bar­barous and undisciplin'd Fancy. These Hieroglyphicks, says the Learned Bi­shop Wilkins, seem to be but a slight, imperfect Invention, suitable to those first and ruder Ages; much of the same Nature with that Mexican way of Writing by Picture, which was a meer shift they were put to, for want of the Knowledge of Letters. And it seems to me questionable, says the same Author, whether the Aegyptians did not at first use their Hieroglyphicks [Page 106] upon the same account, namely, for want of Letters. It is scarce credible what a mighty noise this Hierogly­phick way of Philosophizing hath made, though there is so little of substance in it, and how exceeding­ly it took in the Infancy of the World; as it is the property of Children, to be taken more with sensible Forms, Shadows, or Pictures, which please the Fancy, than with solid Reason. Indeed, to a Man that considers it, nothing could ever seem more preposterous to the design of Learning, than these Hieroglyphicks, or Mystical Representations, which were unavoidably clogg'd with two Inconveniencies, very unsuitable to the propagation of Knowledge, which were Obscurity and Ambiguity: For it not only cost them a great deal of Time to gather up such Symbo­lical Things, which might represent their Conceptions; but when they had pitch'd upon them, they were lyable to a great variety of Inter­pretations, as is evident in all those [Page 107] remainders of them, preserved by the Industry of some Ancient Wri­ters. I cannot therefore imagine a­ny rational Man could think that Study worth his pains, which at the highest can amount but to a Conjecture; and when it is come to that with a great deal of pains, it is nothing but some ordinary and trivial Observation. Certainly (saith the Learned Stilling fleet) this kind of Learning deserves the highest form among the DIFFICILES NU­GAE, and all these Hieroglyphicks put together, will make but one good one, and that should be for LABOUR LOST. I might here (if it were not too great a Digression) shew how very Pernicious the use of these Hi­eroglyphicks were to the Vulgar, who seeing the Attributes of God repre­sented under the shapes of Animals and Plants, took occasion to adore those Corporeal Things, and so be­came the most Superstitious of all Nations, going so far as to deifie Garlick, Onions, Rats, and Toads. [Page 108] But to proceed: The truth of it is, the Egyptians seem to have had on­ly Knowledge enough, to know that their Neighbours had none at all, and cunning enough to pretend an inspection into strange and abstruse Mysteries; knowing that others by reason of their Ignorance could not controul them, and by reason of their Credulity would be very apt to credit them; And thence they continually abus'd the Credulous Grecians with Tales and Fables. The Learned Stilling fleet tells us, There want not grounds of Suspicion, that the old Egyptian Learning was not of that Elevation, which the pre­sent distance of our Age makes us apt to think it was. And the Learned Conringius, in his Book de Hermeticâ Medicinâ, hath endeavour'd to shew the great desects there were in it. Nor can it, I think, be deni­ed, saith Stillingfleet, but according to the reports we have now concerning the old Aegyptian Learning, some parts of it were frivolous, others obscure, a [Page 109] great deal Magical, and the rest short of that Improvement, which the acces­sion of the parts and industry of af­ter Ages gave unto it. It were easie to shew, how much even those parts of Learning, wherein the Aegyptians and the other Ancients did most ex­cel, have been improved in these latter Ages; But this Task having been performed by abler Pens, I shall only touch upon three Things, so very useful to Mankind, viz. Ana­tomy, Geography, and Navigation; to shew what a mighty improvement they have received in this last Age. First then, as for Anatomy; This Art, was doubtless in very little use a­mong the Ancients. I know indeed, there are some who tell us, that the Aegyptians were very accurate in the Knowledge of Anatomy; but when I consider how excessively curious and Ceremonious, or rather Superstiti­ous they were in preserving their Bodies entire and unputrified, I can­not but conceive their opening them was rather for the Embowelling, than [Page 110] the Anatomizing of them. As for the Grecians, this Art could not well be in practice among them, because their usual Custom was to Burn their dead Bodies, as we find it attested by Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Plutarch; and besides, had Ana­tomy been in use among the Grecians, there is no dispute but the works of Hipocrates, yet extant, would have discovered it, which we do not find in any place they do: Nay, so far from that, that Hippocrates himself going one time to visit De­mocritas, he happen'd to find him busie in Dissecting several Beasts, who asking him what he meant by his being so employ'd, Democritus (by way of Apology) makes him this reply, Haec Animalia quae vides proptereà seco, non Dei opera perosus, sed fellis bilisque naturam disquirens. Now, if he apprehended that the Dissecting of Beasts might be lookt upon as an hating of Gods works, he might much more have feared that censure, had he cut up the Bodies [Page 111] of Men. Nor does it appear by a­ny thing extant in the Writings of Galen, that that other Father of Phi­sicians, ever made any Anatomy of Humane Bodies. Nor was this Art practised among the Romans, nor in­deed could it be, forasmuch as they held it unlawful, Aspicere humana exta, (as Pliny in his Preface to his 28 Book tells us) to look upon the Entrals of Mens Bodies, And Dion in his 55th Book says, That it was allowed to Tiberius to touch the Body of Augustus, Quod nefas aliàs erat, which otherwise had been un­lawful. And that the Primitive Christians favour'd not the Practice of Anatomy, will plainly appear from Tertullian, who in the 4th Chapter of his Book de Anima, speaking of one Herophilus, doubts whether to call him Medicum or Lanium, a Physician or a Butcher, Qui Hominem odiit, ut nosset, saith he, Who hated Man, that he might know him: And St Augustine in his 22th Book de Crv. Dei. Cap. 24. runs much up­on [Page 112] the same strain. And among o­thers we find Pope Boniface the 8th such a profess'd Enemy to this art of dissecting Humane Bodies, that he threatens immediately his Thun­derbolt of Excommunication to all such as should do any thing of this nature. Thus we see how very shie and unacquainted the Ancients were with this most excellent Art, which certainly is one of the most useful in humane Life, as tending most to the Eviscerating, and disclosing the secrets of Nature. But now in these latter Ages, we have taken off this thick Veil of Superstition, and there is scarce any Man, who has not a desire to know, How curiously and wonderfully he is made. Hence then Anatomy hath of late been a free and general Practice; and particu­larly in this Age it hath receiv'd wonderful Improvements. For proof whereof I need not take much pains, since there is no Man that hath the least insight into Physick, but knows how much the Learned Dr. Harvey [Page 113] in that excellent Treatise of his, De Generatione Animalium, hath tran­seended all that went before him, in that full and satisfactory account he there presents the World with, concerning the Constitution, Stru­cturer, and Nutrition of Humane Bodies: What a mighty name hath he justly got in the Orbis Literarius, by that wonderful and surprizing discovery of the Circulation of the Blood; a Doctrine so Universally embraced, and so unquestionably true, that a Physician would be thought a Heretick primae Classis, who should in the least dispute it? How much is the whole Colledge of Physicians indebted to the me­mory of the Famous Dr. Glisson, for giving them a more true and per­fect account of the Nature of San­guification, Bilification, Separation of Urine, and other Humours from the Mass of Blood, than ever the World was formerly acquainted with? And does not the Incomparable Dr. Willis deserve to be reckon'd among [Page 114] the Benefactors of Mankind, for those great Discoveries he hath made of Nutrition, Generation, and Sepa­ration of the Succus Nervosus, and Animal Spirits, with their praeter­natural affections? How glimmer­ing a light, and how imperfect a no­tion had the Ancients of the nature of the Saliva, and other Juices that are convey'd into the Mouth, toge­ther with their Passages; until our Learned and Famous Country-Man, Dr▪ Wharton, and of late the Learn­ed Steno so happily disclos'd those Secrets of Nature? Did any of the Ancients ever imagine, that the Lungs consisted only of Vessels and Bladders? That the Liver, Spleen, and Reins were Conglomerate Glandu­les; and yet that these are so, that expert Anatomist, and great Natu­ralist, Malphighius, hath informed the World? Which of the Ancients e­ver dreamt, That the Testicles of the Male should be nothing but a Conglomeration of Vessels; and the Female Testicles, Ovaries; was not [Page 115] this Discovery also an honour re­serv'd for the present Age, and to the Industrious and Learned De Graef are the thanks due? Who a­mong the Ancients ever rightly in­form'd us as to the Operation of Cathartick Medicines in Humane Bodies; or as to the Reason of the different Colours of the Excrements, that are observ'd to be evacuated by them, until that great Anatomi­cal light, Sir George Ent, imparted it to the World? Which was it of the Ancients, that ever had a true notion how the Chyle was convey'd into the Mass of Blood? We very well know, they told us it discharg'd it self through the Meseraick Veins into the Liver; but as to its true Passage into the Blood, they were as little able to give an account of that, as they were to demonstrate the Commixture of the Air there­with; and yet they had the confi­dence to teach it in their Schools as an Ens Rationis, though they had never made any Proof, or Experi­ment [Page 116] for the truth of this Assertion. In what a high Measure then did that great Antomist Dr. Lower, oblige the World, by his great In­dustry and indefatigable pains, who in that rare and admirable Tract of his, De Corde, hath not only more punctually shew'd the true passage of the Chyle through its Lacteals, Receptacle, and Chyliferous ducts, than formerly; but hath plainly de­monstrated that it is impossible there can be any other, by which it should have its discharge into the Mass of Blood? Nor are his Arguments less nervous and cogent, for proving the Commixture of the nitrous Particles of the Air with the Mass of Blood. Thus have I given you an account of several of the most considerable Improvements made in this present Age, in that part of Physick relat­ing to Anatomy; All which ingeni­ous and excellent Inventions, are of great use, as affording us better Hy­potheses in Physick, and by Con­sequence tending to a better and [Page 117] more effectual way of Curing Dis­eases.

The next thing that falls under our Consideration, is to shew how much Geography hath lately been Improv'd. The Ancients were so very defective in this Art or Science, that the Learned Varenius tells us, That the most General and Neces­sary Things belonging thereunto, were then unknown; as the Flux and Reflux of the Sea; the Habita­bleness of the Torrid Zone; the Poplar property of the Magnet; the Diversity of Winds, the true Dimen­sion of the Earth; Nor had they any true Descriptions of remote Countries, concerning which both the Greeks and Romans had very sa­bulous Relations; they knew not that the Earth was encompassed by the Sea, and might be salled round; They were totally ignorant of A­merica, and both the North and South parts of this Hemisphere; yea, and understood very little of the remoter parts of their own Asia; [Page 118] That part of the Indies that lies on the other side of the River Ganges, was in a manner a Terra Incognita to them; they knew little or no­thing of the vast Kingdom of China, nothing of Japan, or the numerous Oriental Islands, and these made a great, if not the best part of Asia. But that which to me seem'd stran ger, or more remarkable, is, That neither Thucydides nor Herodotus, nor any other Greek Author Cotempo­rary with them, have so much as mention'd the Romans, though then growing up to a dreadful power, and being both Europeans. Budoeus in his 4th Book De Asse, tells us, That the Grecians were so utterly ignorant of the Spaniards, that E­phorus, one of their most accurate Geographers, took Spain, which he calls Iberia, to be a City. It was in former times counted so dangerous a thing to believe the Antipodes, that Boniface, Archbishop of Mentz, by chance seeing a Treatise written by Virgilius, Bishop of Salizburg, touch­ing [Page 119] the Antipodes, thinking that some Damnable pernicious Doctrine might be couched under that strange Name, complain'd first to the Duke of Bo­hemia, and afterwards to Pope Za­chary, Anno. 745. By whom the poor Bishop (whose great misfortune was to be Learned in such a blockish Age) was condemn'd as a Heretick. Nay, even St. Austin, Lactantius, and some other of the Ancient Writers, do by no means allow of the Anti­podes, but look upon it to be a ri­diculous, incredible story; And Ve­nerable Bede is much of the same Opinion. The Learned Fracastorius saith, That our Ancestors knew lit­tle Westward beyond the Fortunate Islands, and Eastward as little be­yond Catygara, now call'd Canton, the Richest City in China; So that (as that Learned Author informs us) of the whole Habitable World, scarce one half was known to the Anci­ents. Now, by the account I have here given, it plainly appears, how grosly ignorant the Ancients were [Page 120] in the knowledge of Geography, at also what a vast Improvement i▪ hath received in these latter Days For our Navigation is far greater, our Commerce is more general, our Charts more exact, our Globes more accurate, our Travels more remote, our Reports more intelligent and sincere; and consequently, our Geo­graphy far more perfect, than it was in the Elder Times of Polybius and Possidonius; yea, than in those of Ptolomy, Strabo, and Pomponius Mela, who lived among the Coesars. And if this Art was so very defective in the flourishing times of the Ro­man Empire, there is no dispute but it was much more so, in the days of Aristotle and the Groecians: And therefore no wonder the Macedonian Youth was no better instructed, than to believe he had Conquer'd the whole World: when (God knows) there were Nations enough, both before him and behind him, to have swallow'd up the Young Commander, and his Triumphant Armies, at a Morsel.

[Page 121] I am now come to the last Pa­rallel, and that is, to shew what vast Improvements the Art of Na­vigation hath received in these last Ages. Cardan, a great searcher in­to the Curiosities of Nature, tells us, That among other late Noble Inven­tions, that of the Mariners Compass is the most worthy of Admiration, as being of the greatest use and Con­venience to Mankind. By the help hereof, we are now able to find out a way through the vast Ocean, in the greatest Storms and darkest Nights, where is neither Path to follow, nor Inhabitant or Passenger to enquire; It points out the way to the skillful Mariner, when all o­ther helps fail him, and that with greater certainty than the wit of Man can possibly do. By means hereof, are the Commodities of all Countries discover'd, Trade, Traf­fick, and Humane Society main­tain'd, their several Forms of Go­vernment and Religion observ'd, and the whole World made as it were [Page 122] one Common-Wealth, and the most distant Nations, Fellow Citizens of the same Body Politick. But the best way to make us rightly value the blessing of this Invention, is, by considering the many shifts and In­conveniencies the Ancients were put to, for want of it. We may easily imagine, how inconvenient the An­cients found it to sail by the gui­dance of the Stars: For in dark Cloudy weather, when their Pleiades, Helice, and Cynosura were not to be seen, the Pilot was always at a loss for his Guide, and knew not how to steer his Ship, but lay expos'd to the casual conduct both of Winds and Tides. And for this reason, the Ancients seldom or never durst ven­ture into the main Ocean, but were fain to go creeping along by the Shoar side: And no more than this (as we have reason to believe) did the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, the Tyrians and Sydonians; who though renowned in History for great Na­vigators, yet by the most Learned [Page 123] are thought to have perform'd their Voyages only by Coasting, and not by Crossing the Ocean. Hence there­fore it was, That the Commerce and Communications of those days were very inconsiderable; Their famed Travels in Comparison were nothing: And that renowned ten years Voyage of Ulysses (so highly celebrated by the Poets of Old) was much short of what many of our Merchants do now every Year per­form. Thus you see how very de­fective the Ancients were in this Art of Navigation, the Benefits and Advantages whereof are so very Considerable, That the Wealth and Strength of a Nation are really to be computed in Proportion to their flourishing herein. It was long since a wise and true Observation of Ci­cero, Qui Mare tenet, eum necesse est RERUM potiri, He that commands the Sea, must necessarily enjoy all things. There is not any thing can be a greater Demonstration of the Flourishing of a Nation, than when [Page 124] its Genius lies towards Naval Affairs, and when by its Industry it is ar­riv'd to a Soveraignty of the Seas; This is the true Characteristical mark of the greatness of Empire: For whoever is Master of the Ocean, does ipso facto command the Trade of the World, and whoever hath the Command of that, hath the Abso­lute disposal of the Riches of the World, and that Money is that which governs Mankind, is a De­monstration as clear as any in Euclide. Thus without the least straining of the Argument, we see it naturally follows, That nothing is more vain or ridiculous, than for a Prince, or State, to pretend to an uncontrola­ble Greatness, that hath not first laid their Foundation in the Deep. And who can be a better instance of this than that Great Emperour Charles the Fifth, whose carelessness in his Naval concerns not only broke his own Design as to the Uni­versal Monarchy, but likewise termi­nated in the ruine of his Successor? [Page 125] And this oversight or neglect (though too late) that great Prince was sen­sible of, when he so strictly gave it in Charge to his Son Philip, That if either he would be happy at Home, or considerable Abroad, he should take care to make himself Great at Sea. By his Example then, let no Prince, who aspires to be great, slight or neglect this Watry Element; since 'tis but a jest in Po­liticks, and an Utopian Fancy, to think to arrive at the utmost height of Empire, without Fleets and Ar­mada's: And that Prince who thinks to give Law to Mankind, must be sure in the first place to make the Sea his Friend. This (without a Figure) is to build upon a Rock, whose Foundation will stand firm and sure. And therefore that Spirit of Laziness, which makes the Spaniard so much slight this Rule, is that, which (in spight of the Wealth of the West Indies) keeps him so poor and beggarly: And while he sits idle at home, swelling with his own Pride, the English and Dutch (by [Page 126] their Industry) grow Rich by his Spoils, and with his Treasure of the West Indies do they carry on the Trade of the East. Thus you see, the improving of Trade and Com­merce, is no such slight matter; Nor is it to be wonder'd, that this does so often prove the Ball of Con­tention; for men may well be al­lowed to be zealous, when their in­terest is so nearly concern'd; and this, that Wise and Glorious Princess, Queen Elizabeth, very well knew, when she so narrowly ey'd and ob­serv'd the Dutch, whom she was al­ways jealous of, lest they should grow too great in Navigation, and so by that means might prove our Competitors both by Sea and Land. Since then Commerce and Naviga­tion bring such mighty advantages to a Nation, 'tis no wonder, I say, that the greatest and wisest States, and Governments, have been so very sollicitous for the improving it. Trade is the very Life and Soul of the Universe, which, like the Vital Blood in the Body, Circulates to the [Page 127] Health, and well-being of the whole and when by the failure of Industry, there is a stop put to Commerce, it often proves as fatal to the Body Po­litick, as the stagnating of the Blood does to the Natural Body. What were the World but a rude and dull Indigested Lump, a noisome and pe­stilential Mass, did not Commerce, like the Sun, by its Universal Rays, exhale all its malignant and noxious Vapours, and by a continual Motion and Transaction, render it wholesome and profitable? What would become of the Busie Soul of Man, had she not found out variety of Imployment for its Exercise? And therefore Nature wisely did foresee the many and great Inconveniencies of Idleness, how that it would Con­vert the World into another Chaos, making the Earth but as one dull and useless Mass, when she hid her Rarities and Treasures in the secret Bowels thereof, and buried them in the Watry Deep, and lodg'd them at so vast and remote a distance, that so their Worth and Value might [Page 128] be a Spur to Labour and Industry to fetch them thence. Nay, God him­self is particularly call'd the God of the Isles, as looking on them, by Virtue of their skill in Navigation, to be the best Factors for the Com­mon Good; and as a Blessing upon their Industry, we find most Isles and Maritime places exceed all In-land Cities and Countries in Riches, and Variety of Plenty. We see then, 'tis not the vastness of Territory, but the Convenience of Situation; nor the Multitude of Men, but their Address and Industry, which improve a Nation. Now, since we have hi­therto discours'd of Trade in gene­ral, and the several Advantages that accrue from thence; possibly the Reader may not think it altogether impertinent, if we entertain him with an Account of the Original of Trade, and shew how, and by what steps and Methods Commerce hath advanc'd it self amongst Mankind. The first of all Humane Race, when they were dispers'd into several Lands, were at first sustain'd by the [Page 129] Fruits of the Earth, which fell to their share. These at first they che­rish'd, and us'd, not by any Rules of Art, but by that Natural Saga­city, which teaches all Men to en­deavour their own Preservation. And that they might peaceably enjoy these, they thought the best Course they could take, was to Associate themselves into Families, and to en­ter into little Leagues, and thus be­gun Civil Government. But finding that no Place was so fruitful as to produce all Things necessary for Humane Life; this put them up­on a Necessity, either of taking by force what their Neighbours possess'd, or else of Exchanging the several Productions of their respective Soils. This then was the way and Method of Trading, in the first Ages of Mankind; when one had eaten or spent what was his own, he re­pair'd to his Neighbour for more, at the same time accommodating him with some other Thing whereof he stood in need, by way of Ex­change, [Page 130] the respective value of the Things being limited according to their estimation of their goodness and scarcity, in the first place; and then of their Beauty or Comeliness. And because Oxen and Sheep af­forded them the most Commodities, as their skins for Clothing, and their Milk and Flesh for Food, besides o­ther uses to which they were ser­viceable, they made all their Traf­fick with Cattle, in which their whole wealth consisted. But because 'twas too troublesome a thing for Man to drive always a Flock of Sheep before him, or lead a Cow by the Horn, for making of pay­ment; the Industry of Men encrea­sing, they cast their Eyes upon that which was in the next degree of most use to them, and most dura­ble; and finding that nothing was of more general use than Iron and Copper, and especially that the latter was the fairest, and easiest to be melted, and cast into Kettles and other Domestick Utensils, they made [Page 131] choice thereof, mutually giving and receiving it, by weight, for other things they needed, and divided it by Pounds, which word still remains amongst us, to signifie Twenty Shil­lings, which is very near the just value that a Pound of Copper had in those days. And to save the Labour of weighing this Pound, and the parts of it, they stamp'd upon one side the Figure of a Ship, with the weight and value; and on the o­ther side the Picture of one of those Beasts, which are design'd by the word Pecus, whence Money came to be call'd Pecunia. Afterwards the Arms of the Prince were substituted instead of the Ship, and Cnostantine put a Cross in the place of the Beast. Now because, in the old Gaulish Language, a Ship was call'd Pile (whence the Word Pilote remains to this day) the side of the Coin on which the Ship was is still call'd Pile, and the other Cross, how diffe­rent stamps soever have succeeded since. This was the first Original [Page 132] of Trade, which from a narrow Commerce between the Hills, the Vallies, the Woods, the Plains, and the Rivers, that border'd one upon another, is since extended to the whole Compass of the Earth. And now, 'tis high time to dismiss this Subject of Navigation and Trade; and therefore having already demon­strated, how much the Present Age hath transcended Former Ages in those three parts of Learning, viz. Anatomy, Geography, and Navigation, I now proceed.

If from the first Ages of the World we turn our Eyes to latter Times, I mean, to the Times of Popish Darkness, we shall Compara­tively find that great is the light we now enjoy. Ignorance (we know) is the Mother of their Devotion and the very Essence of Popery, therefore no wonder that before the Reforma­tion Learning was at so low an Ebb. King Alfred in his Preface upon the Pastorals of St. Gregory (which he translated into English) says, That [Page 133] when he came first to his Kingdom, He knew not one Priest on the South side of the River Humber, that understood his Service in Latine, or that could Translate an Epistle into English. Vignier in his Ecclesiastical History affirms, That Gerbertus the first Archbishop of Rhemes and Ra­venna, afterwards Pope, under the name of Silvester the Second, was re­puted a Magician, because he was well skill'd in the Mathemathicks. (Thus, saith Dr. Fuller, do Ignorant People count all Circles above their own Sphere to be Conjuring, and pre­sently cry out, those Things are done by the Black Art, for which their dim Eyes can see no Colour in reason. And in such Cases, when they cannot fly up to Heaven to make it a Miracle, they fetch it from Hell to make it Magick.) And how low Learning ran in England amongst the Native Nobility, in the Reign of King Henry the Sixth, too plainly appears by the Motto on the Sword of the Martial, Earl of Shrewsbury, [Page 134] which was, Sum Talboti, pro Occi­dere in imicos meos, the best Latin that Noble Lord, and perchance his Chaplains too (in that Age) could afford. Erasmus tells us, That some Divines in his time undertook to prove, That Hereticks ought to be put to Death, from those Words of the Apostle, Haereticum Hominem devita, which it seems they under­stood, as if he had said, De vitâ tolle. I have read of two Fryars disputing whether God had made any more Worlds than One; the One wisely alledging that passage of the Gospel touching the ten Le­pers which were cleans'd, Annon Decem facti sunt Mundi? As if God had made Ten Worlds; the other (with great gravity) looking into the Text, replies as wisely, with the words immediately following, Sed ubi sunt Novem? But what is become of the Nine? So as from thence he would prove but one to be left. An old Priest in Henry the Eighth's time, being reprov'd for reading in [Page 135] his Service Book Mumpsimus Domine, instead of Sumpsimus, reply'd, He had now us'd Mumpsimus these thirty Years, and for his part he would not leave his old Mumpsimus for their new Sumpsimus. At any time when their Priests were taken breaking Priscian's head, their common De­fence was, those words of St. Grego­ry, Non debent verba coelestis Oraculi subesse regulis Donati, The words of the Heavenly Oracles ought not to be Subject to the Rules of Donatus. But these are Stories so well known, that I ought to Apologise for in­sisting so long upon them; and there­fore to proceed to the last Question, viz.

Whether Men do now live to as great an Age, as they did formerly? It must be granted, That in the first Ages of the World, both before and for some time after the Flood, Men did generally arrive to a much grea­ter Age, than they have done since. But this is certainly to be attributed to some extraordinary Cause, and not [Page 136] to the Ordinary Course of Nature. The World (we know) was then to be replenish'd with Inhabitants, which could not so speedily be done, but by an extraordinary Multiplica­tion of Mankind; Neither could that be done, but by the long lives of Men. And again, Arts and Sci­ences were then to be planted, for the better effecting whereof, it was requisite, that the same Men should have the Experience and Observa­tion of many Ages. We know it was the Complaint of Hippocrates, Ars longa, Vita brevis; And there­fore Almighty God, in his Wisdom did then proportion Mens Lives to the length of Arts: And as God gave them this special Priviledge to live long; so 'tis probable he gave them withal a Temper, and Con­stitution of Body, answerable there­unto. As also the Food wherewith they were nourish'd, especially be­fore the Flood, may well be thought to have been more wholesome and nutritive, and the Plants more Me­dicinal: [Page 137] And happily the Influence of the Heavens was at that time, in that Climat where the Patriarchs liv'd, more benigne and favourable. These (as far as we poor Mortals can Conjecture) might be the rea­sons, why Divine Providence did assign to those first Inhabitants so long a lease of their Lives. But in after-times, when the World was fully Peopl'd, and Arts and Sciences were Propagated, then it pleas'd the same Divine Providence to curtail, and abrige the Life of Man; inso­much that in Moses's time the com­mon Standard of Humane Life was Seventy, or at most Eighty Years. And so it was ever after counted. Hence also Herodotus sets the longest Bounds of Man's Life to be but Eighty Years. Barzillai was said to be a very Old Man, and yet he liv'd but to fourscore: And David was full of Days, yet but Seventy Years Old. Solomon, as Divines Con­jecture, was not Sixty, yet it is said, when Solomon was Old. The Learned [Page 138] Joannes Jonstonius tells us, That in all the Records of the Roman, Greek, French, and German Emperours, there were but four who liv'd to be four­score. And our English Chronicle informs us, That Queen Elizabeth out-liv'd all her Predecessors from William the Conquerour. Petrus Crinitus saith, that the Aegyptians by a subtile Conjecture, taken from the Weight of the Heart, found out within what bounds the Life of Man was included; they affirming, That it was scarce possible for a Man to live above a Hundred Years: For, said they, the Heart every Year till Fifty increased two Drams, and from thence to an hundred Years it decreas'd as much, and so return­ing to its Original Weight, it can then make no further Progress. Now, though this Observation does certainly carry in it more of Curio­sity than Truth, yet doth it plainly shew, That the common Opinion of the Ancients, was, That Men did seldom live above a Hundred [Page 139] Years. And we find, the Learned Varro was also of the same Belief, and therefore he tells us, They call'd the space of a Hundred Years, Se­culum, from Senex, an Old Man, because they thought that was the utmost Period of Mans life. Thus then we see, That Men live now as long as they did formerly; and that for these three Thousand Years at least there hath been no Alteration. It is the Observation of that great Philosopher, the Lord Verulam, Decur­sus Seculorum, & Successio Propaginis, nihil videntur omninò demere de Diu­turnitate vitae; The Course of Times, and Succession of Ages, seem to have no whit abated from the length of Mens Lives. No doubt, says that Noble Lord, There are times in all Countreys, wherein Men live either longer or shorter; longer, most com­monly when the Times are Barbarous, and the Diet more plain, and more given to Bodily Exercise; Shorter, when they are more Civil, and there [Page 140] is more Luxury and Idleness; But in these Things there is a Vicissitude and Revolution; The Succession of Genera­tions alters it not. If it did, the first Man in reason should have liv­ed longest, and the Son should still come short of his Fathers Age: So that whereas Moses tells us, That the Days of Man in his time were Threescore Years and Ten, by this reckoning they might well enough by this time be brought to ten or twenty, or thirty at the most. In a word, we will not say, but that Accidents, Accidental Occurrences, Intemperance, ill and noxious Efflu­via from the Earth, Waters, and intemperature of the Air, and other Accidents may in these latter Ages of the World produce some such Diseases, and accidental Disorders, as may possibly more infest Man­kind, and occasion more Mortality, than in former Ages: But as to the regular and ordinary Course of Natural Procedure and State of [Page 141] Things with Mankind, yea and o­ther Animals, there seems to be little or no decay, or Variation from what hath been formerly.

'TWas the usual saying of a very Ingenuous Person, That Passionate Men, like Torkshire Hounds, are apt to over-run the Scent. They have not the Patienee to pause and deliberate, but Quicquid in Buccam venerit, whatsoever they think they speak; and therefore it is, they of­ten run into such gross Absurdities; for as Aristotle well observes, Qui citò pronunciat, ad pauca respicit. A mind transported with Passion, rejects the best Reasons, and retains the worst Opinions; like a Bolter, which lets the Flour pass, and keeps no­thing [Page 142] but the Bran. Therefore Plato speaking of Passionate Persons, says, They are like Men who stand upon their Heads. They see all things the wrong way. How inconsistent Passion and Reason is, Seneca seems to intimate, by that Expression of his, Nemo consilium cum Clamore dat: And how incompatible the Spirit of God and Passion is, the Holy Scriptures themselves do plainly shew; For when Elias was upon the Moun­tain, there came a Whirlwind, and God was not there; then an Earth­quake, and God was not there; But at last came a still Voice, and God was there. The Scripture like­wise exhorteth us, To possess our Souls in Patience; intimating, ac­cording to the Lord Bacon's Para­phrase, That whosoever is out of Pa­tience, is out of the Possession of his Soul: Well therefore might the Poets call Anger a short Madness: For look upon an Angry Man, when he is in the height of his Rage, and you may see all Africa, and its Prodigies [Page 143] in him; He is more savage than the Tygers there; Blow him into a Flame, and you may see Vulcano's, Hurricans, and Borasco's in him. And certainly were he (while his Passion was thus raging) forc'd to look him­self in the Glass, those very Con­vulsions and Distortions his Anger had put him into, would soon shame him into a better temper. In short, there is no surer Argument of a Great Mind, than not to be trans­ported to Anger by any Accident whatsoever; The Clouds and Tem­pests are form'd below, but all above is quiet and serene; which is the true Emblem of a Brave Man, that surpasses all Provocations, and lives within himself. This made a Great Philosopher say, that a Wise Man ought to be like the Caspian Sea, which is said never to Ebb or Flow. But from this excess of the Passions to infer an utter uselessness of them, to me seems very unreasonable: For I cannot think Nature is such a se­vere Step-Dam, as that by her [Page 144] Planting these Passions in us, she de­sign'd only to Plague and Torment us: I therefore conclude, There is an honest and an innocent use of them. As Bias once said of the Tongue, that it was the best and worst part of Man, so may we of the Affections; Nec meliores unquam servos, nec Dominos sentit Natura De­teriores, They are the best Servants, but the worst Masters that Nature can have; like the Winds, which be­ing moderate, carry the Ship; but drown it, being tempestuous. And as it is observed in greater States, so does the same hold true in Man's little Common-wealth, That those who are the fittest for Service, if once they become Mutinous, always prove the most dangerous sort of Enemies: And thus the old Rule, Corruptio Optimi P [...]ssima, holds true. I know there have been several Modern Stoicks, who with a zeal much transcending their Knowledge, have declaim'd against the Passions; Nothing less than an utter Extirpa­tion [Page 145] will satisfie these Men: They are not contented with our keeping them under, and retaining them up­on the same terms, as Abraham did those Domesticks he bought with his Money, whom the Scripture saith, He both Circumcis'd, and kept as Ser­vants; But they tell us, that the Mind ought to deal with its Affecti­ons, just as Pharaoh would have dealt with the Jews-Males, whom he thought it best to cut off, for fear they might (some time or other) be in a condition to make head a­gainst him. But whether this be reasonable or no, let any Man judge: Because the Passions are now and then disorderly, must we therefore wish there were no Passions? No certainly; for this would be every whit as unreasonable, as to wish there were no Rivers in the world, because it sometimes happens, that by their overflowing we receive great Detriment. When I consider, That our Blessed Saviour, who took upon him all our Natural Infirmities, but [Page 146] none of our Sinful, has been seen to Weep, to be Sorrowful, to Pity, and to be Angry; I cannot but then conclude, That a Man may be Angry and Sin not. It is not the bare Agi­tation, but the Sediment at the bot­tom that troubles and defiles the Water. The Passions are so far from being always hurtful, that we read of several that have receiv'd great advantages from them. For Wit proceeds from Active Spirits, or a good Degree of Heat in the Brain; And therefore they, who have been deny'd by Nature this Faculty, and will not take the Pains by Study and Exercise to improve their Parts, do oftentimes encrease their Heat by some high Passion, and so appear more Witty and Ingenious than at other times, when their Spirits (being as it were benumm'd with Cold) are not able to exert themselves; And from hence came that known saying, Vexatio dat In­tellectum. Seneca, hearing a dull Orator make a most Eloquent Ha­rangue [Page 147] the very day his Son dy'd, cry'd out, Magna pars Eloquentiae est Dolor; so Polus the Actor, to enable him to make a more lively Repre­sentation of the Grief of a Father upon the body of his Deceased Son, brought in an Urne the Ashes of his own Son newly Dead. So much for the Passion of Grief. Then for Anger, Si Natura negat, Facit In­dignatio versum. Archilochus and Hipponaux were two very indifferent Poets, yet in meer Spleen and Ma­lice, to be revenged of two Persons that had injur'd them, invented those Doggrel sorts of Verses, Iambicks and Scazons, which they did to such a Perfection, that their Adversaries despairing of ever being able to an­swer them, made away themselves. And as for the Passion of Love, let the Smith of Antwerp pass for an Instance; who being rejected by his Sweet-Heart because of his dirty Profession, chang'd his Hammers and Anvil, for Pencils and Tables, and so from an Inconsiderable Black-Smith, [Page 148] he became the most noted Painter of his time. Thus we see, the Passions, if rightly manag'd, are of great Use and Service to us; But if once we suffer them to grow headstrong, Lions, Wolves, and Ty­gers are more governable. We too well know, there is not any one thing hath done more hurt to the Christian Religion, than the Spirit of Passion; as is most evident by those many late unhappy Disputes and Controversies amongst us. 'Tis strange, that Men cannot talk of Religion, but at the same time they must Quarrel too; as if the best way of establishing the Law of God, was by violating the Laws of Charity. I thank God my Charity is of an Extensive Nature; I refrain no man's Company, because his O­pinion comes not up to mine; Nor do I think it reasonable, that a dif­ference in Opinion should divide an Affection. Mens Understandings are not all of one Size and Temper; and therefore it cannot be imagin'd, [Page 149] there ever will be such a Consonan­cy, and Uniformity of Judgment amongst all Men, no, not amongst Wise and Good Men, but that in many things, yea, and those some­times of great Importance, they may and will dissent one from ano­ther unto the Worlds end. But it is one thing to Dissent from, and another, to be at Discord with, a Man: Ita dissensi ab illo (says Tully concerning himself and Cato) ut in disjunctione sententiae, conjuncti tamen amicitiâ maneremus. 'Tis an excellent Rule, saith Bishop Wilkins, to be ob­serv'd in all Disputes, That Men should give soft words, and hard Ar­guments: That they should not so much strive to vex, as to convince an Enemy. If this were but diligently practis'd in all Cases, and on all sides, we might in a good Measure be freed from those vexations in the search of Truth, which the Wise Solomon, by his own Experience, did so much complain of, when he told us, That in much Wisdom there is [Page 150] much Grief, and he that encreas­eth Knowledge, encreaseth Sorrow. There is nothing so impertinent in Disputes and Controversies, as An­ger and Passion: For every Man is fond of his own Notion, and no Man cares to be Huff'd and Hector'd out of it; And therefore this Bluste­ring way is so far from inclining us to yield to Mens Opinions, that it rather hardens us against them, by giving us a prejudice to their Persons. They are the gentle In­sinuations which pierce, as Oil is the most penetrating of all Liquors; And the best way of Proselyting Men, is to gain their Affections. If Disputes could be manag'd with Temper and moderation, Men might certainly reap great benefit by them: But our unruly Passions do so much get the Ascendant over our Under­standings, that this is a thing rather to be wish'd, than to be expected. Upon this Consideration was it, That the great Montaign was for suppres­sing and hindering all Disputes and [Page 151] Controversies: And much of the same Mind was the Philosopher Pla­to, who in his Republick prohibits this Exercise t [...]o Fools and ill-bred People. I think, there is not any Man so ignorant, but knows, That nothing hath been a greater scandal to the Reformed Religion, either a­mong Heathens, Mahometans, or Papists; nay, nor hath given a fairer occasion for bringing in of Atheism and Infidelity, than our Divisions and Animosities, which proceed from our many Controversies and Disputes of Religion. Indeed, our Contro­versies about Religion, saith the Learned Stilling fleet, have brought at last even Religion it self into a Controversie: For weaker heads, saith he, when they once perceive the Battlements shake, are apt to suspect the Foundation it self stands not firm; And if they see any thing call'd in Question, they presently conclude, there is nothing certain. Luther, observing how prejudicial School-Divinity had been to the [Page 152] Christian Religion, crys out, Quam primùm apparuit Theologia Scholastica evanuit Theologia Crucis. I wish the Disputes of this Age, have not done as much mischief. When Men will be wiser than God, and in their foolish Wisdom think it fit to add their strength to Gods weakness, as a speedier and surer way to establish the Truth; then does God, to con­vince them of their folly, suffer that strong Man, the Enemy of the Gospel, (whom none but his Al­mighty Arm can bind and Master) to come, and Sow his Tares of Di­vision, which soon over-runs the good Seed of the Church, and so brings all to Confusion. Thus then, by our foolish Notions and Concep­tions do we often stain and dilute the very Fountain it self. And as the Jews dealt with the Blessed Je­sus, so do we now with his Holy Religion, by platting its head with a Crown of Thorns. And this is that, that hath robb'd the Christian World of its Unity and Peace, and [Page 153] made the Church the Stage of Ever­lasting Contentions. For nothing puts Men more out of humour one with another, than Schisms and un­necessary Breaches of Church Com­munion: This naturally sours the Tempers of Men, and alienates their Affections to the highest Degree; for both Parties endeavouring to vindicate themselves, are forc'd to recriminate, and these Recriminati­ons always end in Heat and Passion; And so, like two Flints struck to­gether, they will be continually sparkling and spitting fire at one another, till they have kindled the Quarrel into an inquenchable Flame. Thus we see, how much even Reli­gion suffers by these unhappy Dis­putes and Quarrels among us: For there is nothing does more abate the inward strength of Religion, than when it is rarified into Airy Notions and Speculations; This (in­deed) gnaws and consumes the very Vitals, and in a short time will quite destroy the substance of it. [Page 154] It was the Motto of the Primitive Christians, Non magna loquimur, sed vivimus, our Religion consists not in Talking, but in Doing Great Things. But may not the Reverse of this be properly apply'd to the Present Age, viz. Non vivimus, sed Magna Loquimur. Religion is now become one of the Artes Sermocinales, a Talkative Mystery, an Art not to govern the Mind, and to regulate the Actions, but to Frame and Fa­shion Discourse. And now to con­clude, 'tis no wonder, that our Dis­putes and Controversies have so ill an effect, when our unruly Passions have so great a share in them. For, as we have said before, the Passions if not moderated, are the Brutish Part in us; and therefore, when we transform our selves into Beasts, it is not to be suppos'd we can Act like Men.

ALL our several Opinions are no­thing but the meer various Tasts of several Minds, framed part­ly by our several Natures, partly by our different Educations, and In­structions, and partly by the various Encounters, which we have met with in our ways of Life. Hence it is, that Quot Homines, tot Sen­tentioe, Opinions are as numerous as Mankind it self; and that the seve­ral Constitutions of our Minds, dif­fer no less than those of our Bodies. There are as many Internal Forms of the Mind, as there are External Figures of Men: And the Soul of Man hath its Palat, as well as the Body; Opinion being nothing but the Gusto or Relish of the Soul: Nay, some have been so Critical, as [Page 156] to affirm, That there is so great a Correspondence betwixt the one and the other, that those who are of a different Diet, are generally observ'd to be of different Opinions; and the Learned Dr. Harvey gives this for the reason, Because (says he) a dif­ferent Diet sends up different Steams to the Head, and according to these Steams are Mens Opinions. But this sounding more like a Notion than a Truth, we shall lay no stress upon it, but proceed. There is (then) a certain Congruity of some Opinions to the particular Tempers of some Men; and therefore we see, how readily such Doctrines, as suit them­selves to the particular Inclination of the Mind, or Understanding, are embraced, and received; whereas those that are opposite to it, are commonly rejected with the grea­test contempt imaginable. Thus do we Love, and Hate without be­ing able to give a Reason why. Some Faces both of Persons, and Things, we admire and doat on; to [Page 157] others, much better deserving our esteem, we can scarcely afford a com­mon Civility. Indeed, the dull and unactive Spirits, that concern not themselves in Theory, give not them­selves the trouble to examine Mat­ters, but taking Things in the Gross, follow the Common Belief, and are for keeping the beaten Road; But those, whose Minds are of a Brisker, and more Vigorous Constitution, will fall into that of their particu­lar Crasis. Hence then, I say, is it, we find Men taking in some particu­lar Opinions with strange Pleasure and Satisfaction, upon their very first Proposals; when at the same time they will not hearken to o­thers, though they recommend them­selves with a much greater strength of Reason. In a word, almost e­very one is satisfied, That there is a particular Genius, or special In­clination in Mens Minds, and that some Opinions do naturally make a much greater impression than others; But the vexata Quaestio is, how, or [Page 158] from whence this Temperament of the Mind proceeds. Some therefore tell us, That this great Diversity of the Operations of the Mind, is to be ascribed to the Souls Depen­dance upon the Body, and that a Good, or Bad Disposition of the Or­ganical Parts, does certainly render the Soul either Vigorous or Unactive in its several Operations. Whatsoe­ver defect (then) we may perceive in some Men, we are not to think it proceeds from any Deficiency in the Soul, but from the Coexistence it has with a Body ill dispos'd for Assistance and Information. For he who is carried in a Coach, (as the Body is Vehiculum Animoe) though he himself could go much faster, must yet receive such Motion as that affords; And Water, which is convey'd through Pipes and Aque­ducts, though its Motion by it self would have been otherwise, must yet then be confin'd and limited by the Posture and Proportion of the Vessels through which it passes. [Page 159] Hence we are told, That some Men are even by Nature, and Complexi­on, inclin'd to Vertue and Goodness; As it was said of Clitus, (whom Alexander in a Drunken humour slew,) That he had Vertues by Na­ture, and Vices by Accident; And that others, even by the oddness of their particular Make and Contexture, are determin'd to Actions of Vice. It was a received Opinion among the Ancients, That outward Beauty, was an infallible Argument of inward Beauty; and so on the contrary, That a deformed Body was a true Index of a deformed Mind, or an ill Nature. Hence was that of the Poet:

As also that of Martial, Lib. 12. Epigram 54.

It was also the saying of Victorinus, In distorta Membra virtus cadere non [Page 160] potest: And Pythagoras was so bi­gotted to this Opinion, that he would never admit into his School any that had the least Natural Ble­mish or Deformity. Upon this ge­neral Opinion was grounded that common saying, Cave tibi ab iis, quos Natura Signavit, which we may render thus, Whom God hath Markt, let Man Mark. And therefore Ho­mer, speaking of the several ill Qua­lities of Thersites, takes care to fit him with a Body suitable to such a Mind. Now, the reason (possibly) why Nature for the most part or­ders it so, may be this; the Method she takes (though imperceptible to us) is Regular and Mathematical, and therefore probably nothing may more break and disorder that Sym­metry she observes, than by match­ing a good Soul with a deformed Body; for this seems to be Impar Congressus, putting things unequally together. But yet this Rule is not so general, as to admit of no Excep­tion, as we may see in the Emperour [Page 161] Galba, a Prince of an unhappy out­ward Figure, of whom it was said, In­genium Galbae malé habitat; The same may be also observ'd of Agesilaus, and some others, (though not many;) and therefore Seneca tells us, Ex casà vir Magnus exire potest, & ex deformi hu­milique Corpusculo formosus Animus & Magnus. I grant indeed, several Ex­amples there are of Great Persons, whose outward Deformities have been very remarkable, and yet we find their Vertues and good Qualities highly celebrated; But yet (possibly) did we but make a narrow search in­to their Lives, we should find the difference and alteration was chiefly wrought by Education or Custom, which often-times over-sways Nature. Thus we see, what a great Corre­spondency there is betwixt the Soul and the Body, which is such, that they manifestly participate the Affe­ctions one of the other: And there­fore if the Body be sick, the Soul is alter'd in its Operations, as we see in high Fevers, and other acute Dis­eases: [Page 162] And on the contrary let the Soul be sad or joyful, the Body is so too. Therefore the Sophisters of old were wont to Purge themselves with Hellebore; when they would dispute best. For though in its Essence the Soul depends not on the Corporeal Organs, yet it depends upon the same in its Operations, which are different according to the diverse structures of the Organs; which, if they were alike dispos'd, their Actions would be alike in all, and at all times. Whence saith Aristotle, if an old Man had a young Mans Eyes, he would see as clear as a Young Man. That Ingenious Master of Poetry, Mr. Dryden, speaking of the mutabi­lity of Man, says, That our Minds are perpetually wrought on by the temperament of our Bodies: which (saith he) makes me suspect, they are nearer ally'd, than either our Phi­losophers, or School Divines will al­low them to be. I have observ'd, says Montaign, That when the Body is out of Order, its Companion is [Page 163] seldom at ease: An ill Dream, or a Cloudy Day, has power to change this wretched Creature, who is so proud of a Reasonable Soul, and make him think to day what he thought not ye­sterday. The Learned Dr. Henry More. says, That our Imagination alters, e­ven as our Blood and Spirits are alter'd; And therefore, says he, as Dreams are the Fancies of those that sleep, so Fan­cies are but the Dreams of Men awake; And these Fancies by Day, as those Dreams by Night, will vary and change with the Weather, and present Tem­per of the Body. But to proceed; Others are of Opinion, that this great Diversity proceeds from ano­ther Cause, to wit from the Climat. Peter Heylin, speaking of the Disper­sion of the Families of the Sons of Noah, says, That though they all de­scended from one Common Root, yet by the Situations of their several Dwellings, they came to be of several Tempers and Affections; in which they were so different from one ano­ther, that they seem'd rather to have [Page 164] been made at first out of several Prin­ciples, than to have been deriv'd from one Common Parent. The Ground or Reason of which difference (says Heylin) is to be attributed to the dif­ferent Tempers of those Countries in which they liv'd, and to the different Influences of the Heavenly Bodies on those several Countreys; which do continue still the same, though many times the Countreys shift and change their Old Inhabitants. Thus, if we enquire into the old Characters, which either Florus, Coesar, Tacitus, or Ju­venal gave of the old Brittains, Gauls, Germans, Normans, &c. we shall find that the same Vertues, and Vices, do still prosper under the same Climats, notwithstanding in most of these Places the old Inhabitants, or their Breed, are quite wore away. 'Tis ob­serv'd, That where the Heaven is al­ways in the same Posture, as toward the Poles; or where the Sun heats al­most in the same Degree, as near the Equator, (which makes the Days and Nights equal,) the Manners and In­clinations [Page 165] of the People are also e­qual: And on the contrary, Those that by the several Remotions and Ap­proaches of the Sun have different Constitutions of Air, receive suitable impressions from the same, which are afterwards manifested in their Acti­ons. As (therefore) Fruits and Beasts differ according to the several Coun­treys, in which they are; so are Men born more or less Warlike, Just, Tem­perate, and the like, according to their several Climats. And therefore Plato thankt God, That he was an Athenian, and not a Theban. Plutarch tells us, That those of the higher part of the City of Athens were of a quite contrary humour to those that dwelt about the Gate of Pyreus; and it is observ'd, that those who dwell on the Noth-side of a Moun­tain, differ as much from those that dwell on the South side, as they do both from those in the Valley. Now, from this Diversity of Mens Tem­pers, proceed the several Forms, and Constitutions of Government; and [Page 166] thence it is, that in the same Coun­treys we find little Variation as to Government, but that in all Ages they have still kept to much one and the same Form; the same Genius or Temper ever continuing under the same Climat: And whenever any Country, either by perswasion, have Voluntarily, or by force have been compell'd to quit their old Form of Government; yet in process of Time they naturally return into the old Channel. This then is the reason, why those who inhabit the most In­temperate Climes, are always for pre­ferring the Despotick, Arbitrary Rule; whereas those who live under the more temperate, and less severe Cli­mats, especially in Europe, have affe­cted and preferr'd more gentle and mo­derate Governments, running ancient­ly much into Common-Wealths, and of latter Ages into Principalites, cir­cumscrib'd by Laws, which differ not so much in Nature as in Name. The natural reason whereof, says that Ac­complish'd Author, Sir William Tem­ple, [Page 167] I take to be this, viz. That in the more Intemperate Climats, the Spirits either exhal'd by Heat, or comprest by Cold, are render'd faint and sluggish, and by that reason the Men grow tamer and fitter for Servitude: That in more temperate Regions, the Spirits are stronger and more active, whereby Men become bolder in the Defence or Recovery of their Liberties. Now by what we have already said, it plainly appears, That the great Variety of Mens Acti­ons and Opinions cannot proceed from the Diversity of their Souls, which are accounted all equal, but from that of their Bodies; wherein according to the various Tempers thereof, the Soul produces that varie­ty of Manners. Let us not then any longer wonder, to find so great a Di­versity of Opinions in the World; since it is a thing wholly impossible for all Men to be of the same mind: For so long as Mens Organs are of se­veral makes, and we live under divers Climats, we must necessarily have different Sentiments, and Apprehen­sions [Page 168] of Things. Nor would there be any harm in this Diversity of Opinions, could Men but divest themselves of that Pride and Arro­gance, which makes them so fond of Propagating their own Notions, But while every Man pretends to the Spirit of Infallibility, and must be a Dictator to the rest of Man­kind, then there is nothing but Confusion and Disorder to be expect­ed. And this was that, which made such Disturbance, and Embroilments amongst us in the late times: every Opinion was made an Article of Faith, and every Article became a Ground of a Quarrel, and every Quarrel made a Faction, and every Faction was zealous, and all zeal pretends for God, and whatsoever is for God cannot be too much; and indeed, we were come to that pass, That we thought we lov'd not God, unless we hated our Brother, and that we had not the Vertue of Re­ligion, unless we persecuted all Re­ligions but our own. But let us not [Page 169] deceive our selves, for, whatsoever some may think, this is not the vio­lence that gains Heaven; Nor is there any thing that makes us more unlike God, who is the Father of Mercies, and the God of all Consolation, than a Furious, Hot, and Persecuting Spi­rit. His appearance was in the soft and still Voice, not in Whirlwinds and Hurricanes; and where there is Spiri­tus Procelloe, we may satisfie our selves it proceeds from another Principle. The Holy Ghost was pleas'd to appear not in the Form of a Vulture, (a ra­venous and devouring Creature) but in the shape of a Dove, the Emblem of Meekness. The true Church is styl'd by the name of the Lilly a­mongst Thorns: The Lilly does not Scratch and Tear, that's the Proper­ty of Thorns and Briars, the most inconsiderable sort of shrubs. (And indeed, let us but reflect who were the chief Promoters of our late Per­secutions, and we shall find they were the slightest of the Clergy, and the most Profligate of the Laity: None [Page 170] being so fit to make Shipwrack of o­ther Mens Consciences, as those who have none of their own.) The most natural and effectual way (then) of Promoting the Blessed Gospel, is by following its own Rules, and Pre­cepts of Meekness and Moderation. Sweetness and Ingenuity will more command Mens Minds, than Passion, Sourness, and Severity: As the soft Pillow sooner breaks the Flint, than the hardest Marble. Therefore, when we would convince Men of a­ny Error by the strength of Truth, we should do it with all the tender­ness, and in the most obliging man­ner we are able. For Truth and Love are two the most Charming Things in the World; and when these go hand in hand together, there is no Humane Force can with­stand them. But that which proves very mischievous to many, is their taking that to be zeal for God and Religion, which really is nothing but their own violent and surious Passion. True zeal then is a sweet, [Page 171] Heavenly, and gentle Flame, which makes us active for God, but always within the Sphear of Love. It ne­ver calls for Fire from Heaven, to Consume those who agree not with us in all Points and Circumstances. It is much of the Nature of that kind of Lightning, (that the Philoso­phers tell us of) which melts the Sword within, but never sindgeth the Scabbard: It strives to save the Soul, but at the same time hurteth not the Body. In a word, we may learn what kind of Zeal it is we should make use of in promoting the Gospel, by an Emblem of Gods own, given us in the Scripture, those Fiery Tongues, which upon the Day of Penticost sat upon the Apo­stles; and that these were Innocent Flames, no Man can doubt, for we do not find, that they did so much as sindge an hair of their heads. This then is true Zeal, and whatso­ever is more than this, proceeds from evil, and is no other than a Fever in the Soul. There is not [Page 172] any thing that drives Men more furiously, nor that hath more di­sturb'd the Peace of Mankind, than Mistaken Zeal. Odia Religionum sunt acerbissima, is now grown into a Proverb; of all Hatreds, there are none more furious and unnatural, than those which arise out of Con­trarieties in Religion; and it is ge­nerally observ'd, That the less Ma­terial their Difference, the more im­placable is the Hatred: As the Turks think it more acceptable to God, to kill one Persian, than seventy Christians. Nothing so vehement­ly alienates Mens Affections, as vari­ety of Judgment in matters of Re­ligion; Here they cannot disagree, but presently they must fall together by the Ears; and when once Reli­gion divides Mens minds, no other common Interest can unite them; and where Zeal dissolves Friendship, the ties of Nature are not strong enough to reconcile it: And there­fore our Saviour tells us, That in this Case Men would forget all the [Page 173] Bonds of Natural Obligation; inso­much that the Father would deliver up his own Child, and the Children their Parents unto Death: As we find, that the bloody Hatred of Cain against Abel arose from the different Acceptance of their Sacrifices. Nor indeed is it to be wonder'd, if that enmity grow excessive, which hath zeal to kindle it, and pretence of Religion to warrant it: For when that which should restrain, and set limits to a Passion, is made a Party to engage it, and fuel to foment it, no wonder if a Passion, which hath no Bounds from Religion, do impose none upon it self. And this occasion of mutual Hatred, we find observ'd even in the ridiculous Su­perstitions of Aegypt, when one Town would kill and eat the Flesh of ano­ther, in zeal to the Calves, or Sheep, or other Creatures, which they did severally worship. Now, having shew'd how much mischief Mistaken Zeal has done in the World, I need not spend much time in shewing the [Page 174] ill Success that Persecution hath con­stantly been attended with; the Hi­story of all Ages has done this to my hand. Sanguis Martyrum, semen Ecclesiae, is a Truth will last to the Worlds End. For there is scarce any Man so void of Humanity, but hath good Nature enough to com­passionate those that are in misery, and at the same time to shew their abhorrence to the Authors of such Cruelties: And therefore, no wonder that Persecution doth rather en­crease, than lessen the number of Martyrs; for as it gives most Men a prejudice to the Persecuting Party, so it enclines them to commiserate the Suffering Party; and this kind­ness to their Persons, does often ter­minate in the favouring their Opi­nions. How preposterous then is it in any State, or Government, to endeavour to force their Subjects to Unity in Religion; when, alas! the experience of all Ages shews how impracticable the Thing is. 'Tis true, a State may sometimes force [Page 175] all its Subjects, to submit to an outward Uniformity in all Things that concern Divine Worship; but yet they must know, that every publick Disturbance in the Common­wealth, breaks all those Bonds asun­der of dissembled Obedience, and that such Compulsions do both be­get and ripen all Disorders. Thus we see, that it is Mens being so fond of their own Opinions, which gives the greatest disturbance to Mankind; and while we are so highly conceited of our own Parts and Abilities, it cannot be other­wise. Now, the only cure for this sort of Vanity, is to reflect upon the uncertainty of Humane Know­ledge. The reason then, why wise Men do never appear so peremptory, and Dogmatical as others, is, be­cause they very well know, there are but few things so certain, as to create much boldness, and confidence of Opinion. It was probably upon this Consideration, that the wise Ro­mans shew'd so much Modesty, when [Page 176] they gave their Sentiments and O­pinions, concluding still for the most part with these two words, IT A VIDETUR. 'Tis the Observati­on of the witty Montaign, That as amongst wise Men he is the wisest, that thinks he knows least; So amongst Fools he is the greatest, that thinks he knows most. Humane Nature is very fallible, the wisest of Men do sometimes erre, and therefore at the very instant a Man seems most po­sitive, how does he know but he may be most Mistaken? Do not e­ven our very Senses sometimes de­ceive us? And yet most of our Conceptions are taken from the Senses, and we can scarce judge of any thing but by the help of Material Images, that are thence convey'd to us, according to that old Rule, Nihil est in Intellectu, Quod non fuit prius in sensu. Since therefore our Senses are so very fallacious, and from them result most of Humane Knowledge, how fond and ridiculous is it in any [Page 177] Man to pretend to such an Assu­rance? Est in ipsis rebus Obscuritas, & in judiciis nostris Infirmitas, saith Tully; so slight a Thing is Humane Knowledge, That the most incon­siderable, and minutest Works of Nature, serve to Puzzle, and Con­found it. Plato says, That in Man there is no such Thing as Science or Knowledge, 'tis but barely Opi­nion: And in another place he calls Opinion, a middle Thing betwixt Ignorance and Knowledge. Indeed, while we are in this World, we do but behold by the favour of a Glim­mering-Light, the Phantasms and Shadows of Things, which Custom makes us take for Bodies and Truths: In a word, we may properly be said to see the wrong side of the Hangings; and let us pretend to what we will, the utmost of Humane Knowledge, is but a fair and hopeful Conjecture. Our Demonstrations are rais'd upon Principles of our own, not of Uni­versal Nature; and, as the Lord Bacon notes, We take up Opinions, suitable [Page 178] rather to the Analogy of our selves, than that of the Universe. How unrea­sonable then are those Men, who are so positive and Dogmatical in their own Opinions, that rather than ad­mit of the least Contradiction, chuse to make the whole World an Acelda­ma and a Babel? And thus, have we not by sad Experience found it most true, That all the Miseries, which have attended the variety of Opini­ons since the Resormation, have pro­ceeded from this Grand Mistake, the making our own private Opinions the Standard of infallible Truth? Whereas all wise Men ought to con­sider, That truth is a thing not cer­tainly known; Nay possibly, the All-Wise God thinks it too dazling a Thing for the Eyes of us poor Mor­tals, and therefore reserves it for our Glorified Faculties.