,transcribed from the #ahic ,cassell    
,company edition by ,david ,price1 email
  ccx#jgdpglaf4org      ,transcriber's  
note3  ,changed 8considering that the   
most barbarous1 rude1 and unlearned     
times have been most subject to tumults1
 seditious1 and changes0 to             
8considering that the most barbarous1   
rude1 and unlearned times have  been    
most subject to tumults1 seditions1 and 
changes04                               
,,cassell',s ,,national ,,library4      
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,the                                   
,,advancement                           
,,of                                    
,,learning4                             
,,by                                    
,,francis ,,bacon4                      
,picture3 ,decorative graphic           
,,cassell  ,,company1 ,limited3         
,,london1 ,,paris  ,,melbourne4         
#ahic4          ,,introduction4         
8,,the ,,tvvoo ,bookes of ,francis      
,bacon4  ,of the proficience and        

aduancement  of ,learning1 divine and   
humane4  ,to the ,king4  ,at ,london4   
,printed for  ,henrie ,tomes1 and are to
 be sould at his shop at ,graies ,inne  
,gate in  ,holborne4 #afje40   ,that was
 the original title-page of the book now
 in  the reader's hand--a living book   
that led the way to a new world of      
thought4  ,it was the book in which     
,bacon1 early in the reign of ,james the
  ,first1 prepared the way for a full   
setting forth of his ,new ,organon1 or  
instrument of knowledge4    ,the        
,organon of ,aristotle was a set of     
treatises in which ,aristotle had       
written the doctrine of propositions4   
,study of these treatises was a  chief  
occupation of young men when they passed
 from school to college1  and proceeded 
from ,grammar to ,logic1 the second of  
the ,seven ,sciences4  ,francis ,bacon  
as a youth of sixteen1 at ,trinity      
,college1 ,cambridge1 felt  the         
unfruitfulness of this method of search 
after truth4  ,he was the son  of ,sir  

,nicholas ,bacon1 ,queen ,elizabeth's   
,lord ,keeper1 and was born at  ,york   
,house1 in the ,strand1 on the #bbnd of 
,january1 #aefa4  ,his mother was  the  
,lord ,keeper's second wife1 one of two 
sisters1 of whom the other  married ,sir
 ,william ,cecil1 afterwards ,lord      
,burleigh4  ,sir ,nicholas ,bacon  had  
six children by his former marriage1 and
 by his second wife two sons1  ,antony  
and ,francis1 of whom ,antony was about 
two years the elder4  ,the  family home 
was at ,york ,place1 and at ,gorhambury1
 near ,st4 ,albans1 from  which town1 in
 its ancient and its modern style1      
,bacon afterwards took  his titles of   
,verulam and ,st4 ,albans4    ,antony   
and ,francis ,bacon went together to    
,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge1  when    
,antony was fourteen years old and      
,francis twelve4  ,francis remained  at 
,cambridge only until his sixteenth     
year2 and ,dr4 ,rawley1 his chaplain  in
 after-years1 reports of him that       
8whilst he was commorant in the         

,university1 about sixteen years of age 
7as his lordship hath been pleased  to  
impart unto myself71 he first fell into 
dislike of the philosophy of            
,aristotle2 not for the worthlessness of
 the author1 to whom he would  ascribe  
all high attributes1 but for the        
unfruitfulness of the way1 being  a     
philosophy 7as his lordship used to say7
 only strong for disputatious  and      
contentions1 but barren of the          
production of works for the benefit of  
the life of man2 in which mind he       
continued to his dying day40  ,bacon was
  sent as a youth of sixteen to ,paris  
with the ambassador ,sir ,amyas ,paulet1
  to begin his training for the public  
service2 but his father's death1 in     
,february1 #aegi1 before he had         
completed the provision he was making   
for  his youngest children1 obliged him 
to return to ,london1 and1 at the age   
of eighteen1 to settle down at ,gray's  
,inn to the study of law as a           
profession4  ,he was admitted to the    

outer bar in ,june1 #aehb1 and about    
that time1 at the age of twenty-one1    
wrote a sketch of his conception of  a  
,new ,organon that should lead man to   
more fruitful knowledge1 in a  little   
,latin tract1 which he called 8,temporis
 ,partus ,maximus0 78,the  ,greatest    
,birth of ,time074    ,in ,november1    
#aehd1 ,bacon took his seat in the      
,house of ,commons as member  for       
,melcombe ,regis1 in ,dorsetshire4  ,in 
,october1 #aehf1 he sat for  ,taunton4  
,he was member afterwards for           
,liverpool2 and he was one of those  who
 petitioned for the speedy execution of 
,mary ,queen of ,scots4  ,in  ,october1 
#aehi1 he obtained the reversion of the 
office of ,clerk of the  ,council in the
 ,star ,chamber1 which was worth #a1fjj 
or #b1jjj a year2 but  for the          
succession to this office he had to wait
 until #afjh4  ,it had not  yet fallen  
to him when he wrote his 8,two ,books of
 the ,advancement of  ,learning40  ,in  
the ,parliament that met in ,february1  

#aeic1 ,bacon sat as  member for        
,middlesex4  ,he raised difficulties of 
procedure in the way of  the grant of a 
treble subsidy1 by just objection to the
 joining of the  ,lords with the        
,commons in a money grant1 and a desire 
to extend the time  allowed for payment 
from three years to six2 it was1 in     
fact1 extended to  four years4  ,the    
,queen was offended4  ,francis ,bacon   
and his brother  ,antony had attached   
themselves to the young ,earl of ,essex1
 who was their  friend and patron4  ,the
 office of ,attorney-,general became    
vacant4  ,essex  asked the ,queen to    
appoint ,francis ,bacon4  ,the ,queen   
gave the office to  ,sir ,edward ,coke1 
who was already ,solicitor-,general1 and
 by nine years  ,bacon's senior4  ,the  
office of ,solicitor-,general thus      
became vacant1 and  that was sought for 
,francis ,bacon4  ,the ,queen1 after    
delay and  hesitation1 gave it1 in      
,november1 #aeie1 to ,serjeant ,fleming4
  ,the ,earl of  ,essex consoled his    

friend by giving him 8a piece of        
land0--,twickenham  ,park--which ,bacon 
afterwards sold for #a1hjj--;equal1 say1
 to #ab1jjj in  present buying power4   
,in #aeig ,bacon was returned to        
,parliament as member  for ,ipswich1 and
 in that year he was hoping to marry the
 rich widow of  ,sir ,william ,hatton1  
,essex helping2 but the lady married1 in
 the next  year1 ,sir ,edward ,coke4    
,it was in #aeig that ,bacon published  
the ,first  ,edition of his ,essays4    
,that was a little book containing only 
ten essays  in ,english1 with twelve    
8,meditationes ,sacr10 which were essays
 in ,latin  on religious subjects4      
,from #aeig onward to the end of his    
life1 ,bacon's  ,essays were subject to 
continuous addition and revision4  ,the 
author's  ,second ,edition1 in which the
 number of the ,essays was increased    
from ten  to thirty-eight1 did not      
appear until ,november or ,december1    
#afab1 seven  years later than these two
 books on the 8,advancement of          

,learning20 and  the final edition of   
the ,essays1 in which their number was  
increased from  thirty-eight to         
fifty-eight1 appeared only in #afbe2 and
 ,bacon died on the  #ith of ,april1    
#afbf4  ,the edition of the ,essays     
published in #aeig1 under  ,elizabeth1  
marked only the beginning of a course of
 thought that  afterwards flowed in one 
stream with his teachings in philosophy4
    ,in ,february1 #afja1 there was the 
rebellion of ,essex4  ,francis ,bacon   
had  separated himself from his patron  
after giving him advice that was        
disregarded4  ,bacon1 now ,queen's      
,counsel1 not only appeared against his 
old friend1 but with excess of zeal1 by 
which1 perhaps1 he hoped to win  back   
the ,queen's favour1 he twice obtruded  
violent attacks upon ,essex  when he was
 not called upon to speak4  ,on the     
#beth of ,february1 #afja1  ,essex was  
beheaded4  ,the genius of ,bacon was    
next employed to justify  that act by   
8,a ,declaration of the ,practices and  

,treasons attempted and  committed by   
,robert late ,earle of ,essex and his   
,complices40  ,but ,james of  ,scotland1
 on whose behalf ,essex had intervened1 
came to the throne by the  death of     
,elizabeth on the #bdth of ,march1      
#afjc4  ,bacon was among the crowd  of  
men who were made knights by ,james ,i41
 and he had to justify himself  under   
the new order of things by writing 8,sir
 ,francis ,bacon his ,apologie  in      
certain ,imputations concerning the late
 ,earle of ,essex40  ,he was  returned  
to the first ,parliament of ,james ,i4  
by ,ipswich and ,st4 ,albans1  and he   
was confirmed in his office of ,king's  
,counsel in ,august1 #afjd2 but  he was 
not appointed to the office of          
,solicitor-,general when it became      
vacant in that year4    ,that was the   
position of ,francis ,bacon in #afje1   
when he published this  work1 where in  
his ,first ,book he pointed out the     
discredits of learning  from human      
defects of the learned1 and emptiness of

 many of the studies  chosen1 or the way
 of dealing with them4  ,this came1 he  
said1 especially  by the mistaking or   
misplacing of the last or furthest end  
of knowledge1  as if there were sought  
in it 8a couch whereupon to rest a      
searching and  restless spirit2 or a    
terrace for a wandering and variable    
mind to walk  up and down with a fair   
prospect2 or a tower of state for a     
proud mind to  raise itself upon2 or a  
fort or commanding ground for strife and
  contention2 or a shop for profit or   
sale2 and not a rich storehouse for  the
 glory of the ,creator and the relief of
 man's estate40  ,the rest of  the      
,first ,book was given to an argument   
upon the ,dignity of ,learning2 and  the
 ,second ,book1 on the ,advancement of  
,learning1 is1 as ,bacon himself        
described it1 8a general and faithful   
perambulation of learning1 with an      
inquiry what parts thereof lie fresh and
 waste1 and not improved and  converted 
by the industry of man2 to the end that 

such a plot made and  recorded to memory
 may both minister light to any public  
designation and  also serve to excite   
voluntary endeavours40  ,bacon makes1 by
 a sort of  exhaustive analysis1 a      
ground-plan of all subjects of study1 as
 an  intellectual map1 helping the right
 inquirer in his search for the right   
path4  ,the right path is that by which 
he has the best chance of adding  to the
 stock of knowledge in the world        
something worth labouring for2 and  the 
true worth is in labour for 8the glory  
of the ,creator and the relief  of man's
 estate40                               
,h4 ,m4          ,,the  ,,first ,,book  
,,of ,,francis ,,bacon2  ,,of ,,the     
,,proficience ,,and  ,,advancement ,,of 
,,learning1  ,,divine ,,and ,,human4    
,to the ,king4    ,,there were under the
 law1 excellent ,king1 both daily       
sacrifices and  freewill offerings2 the 
one proceeding upon ordinary observance1
 the  other upon a devout cheerfulness3 
in like manner there belongeth to kings 

from their servants both tribute of duty
 and presents of affection4  ,in  the   
former of these ,i hope ,i shall not    
live to be wanting1 according to  my    
most humble duty and the good pleasure  
of your ,majesty's employments3  for the
 latter1 ,i thought it more respective  
to make choice of some  oblation which  
might rather refer to the propriety and 
excellency of your  individual person1  
than to the business of your crown and  
state4    ,wherefore1 representing your 
,majesty many times unto my mind1 and   
beholding you not with the inquisitive  
eye of presumption1 to discover  that   
which the ,scripture telleth me is      
inscrutable1 but with the  observant eye
 of duty and admiration1 leaving aside  
the other parts of  your virtue and     
fortune1 ,i have been touched--yea1 and 
possessed--with an  extreme wonder at   
those your virtues and faculties1 which 
the  philosophers call intellectual2 the
 largeness of your capacity1 the        
faithfulness of your memory1 the        

swiftness of your apprehension1 the     
penetration of your judgment1 and the   
facility and order of your  elocution3  
and ,i have often thought that of all   
the persons living that ,i  have known1 
your ,majesty were the best instance to 
make a man of ,plato's  opinion1 that   
all knowledge is but remembrance1 and   
that the mind of man  by ,nature knoweth
 all things1 and hath but her own native
 and original  notions 7which by the    
strangeness and darkness of this        
tabernacle of the  body are sequestered7
 again revived and restored3 such a     
light of ,nature  ,i have observed in   
your ,majesty1 and such a readiness to  
take flame and  blaze from the least    
occasion presented1 or the least spark  
of another's  knowledge delivered4  ,and
 as the ,scripture saith of the wisest  
king1  8,that his heart was as the sands
 of the sea20 which1 though it be one of
  the largest bodies1 yet it consisteth 
of the smallest and finest  portions2 so
 hath ,god given your ,majesty a        

composition of understanding  admirable1
 being able to compass and comprehend   
the greatest matters1 and  nevertheless 
to touch and apprehend the least2       
whereas it should seem an  impossibility
 in ,nature for the same instrument to  
make itself fit for  great and small    
works4  ,and for your gift of speech1 ,i
 call to mind what  ,cornelius ,tacitus 
saith of ,augustus ,csar3 ,augusto      
profluens1 et qu  principem deceret1    
eloquentia fuit4  ,for if we note it    
well1 speech  that is uttered with      
labour and difficulty1 or speech that   
savoureth of  the affectation of art and
 precepts1 or speech that is framed     
after the  imitation of some pattern of 
eloquence1 though never so excellent2   
all  this hath somewhat servile1 and    
holding of the subject4  ,but your      
,majesty's manner of speech is1 indeed1 
prince-like1 flowing as from a          
fountain1 and yet streaming and         
branching itself into ,nature's order1  
full of facility and felicity1 imitating

 none1 and inimitable by any4  ,and as  
in your civil estate there appeareth to 
be an emulation and  contention of your 
,majesty's virtue with your fortune2 a  
virtuous  disposition with a fortunate  
regiment2 a virtuous expectation 7when  
time  was7 of your greater fortune1 with
 a prosperous possession thereof in the 
due time2 a virtuous observation of the 
laws of marriage1 with most  blessed and
 happy fruit of marriage2 a virtuous and
 most ,christian desire  of peace1 with 
a fortunate inclination in your         
neighbour princes  thereunto3 so        
likewise in these intellectual matters  
there seemeth to be  no less contention 
between the excellency of your          
,majesty's gifts of  ,nature and the    
universality and perfection of your     
learning4  ,for ,i am  well assured that
 this which ,i shall say is no          
amplification at all1 but  a positive   
and measured truth2 which is1 that there
 hath not been since  ,christ's time any
 king or temporal monarch which hath    

been so learned in  all literature and  
erudition1 divine and human4  ,for let a
 man seriously  and diligently revolve  
and peruse the succession of the        
,emperors of ,rome1  of which ,csar the 
,dictator 7who lived some years before  
,christ7 and  ,marcus ,antoninus were   
the best learned1 and so descend to the 
,emperors of  ,grcia1 or of the ,west1  
and then to the lines of ,france1       
,spain1 ,england1  ,scotland1 and the   
rest1 and he shall find this judgment is
 truly made4  ,for it seemeth much in a 
king if1 by the compendious extractions 
of other  men's wits and labours1 he can
 take hold of any superficial ornaments 
and  shows of learning1 or if he        
countenance and prefer learning and     
learned  men2 but to drink1 indeed1 of  
the true fountains of learning--nay1 to 
have  such a fountain of learning in    
himself1 in a king1 and in a king       
born--is  almost a miracle4  ,and the   
more1 because there is met in your      
,majesty a  rare conjunction1 as well of

 divine and sacred literature as of     
profane  and human2 so as your ,majesty 
standeth invested of that triplicity1   
which  in great veneration was ascribed 
to the ancient ,hermes3 the power and   
fortune of a king1 the knowledge and    
illumination of a priest1 and the       
learning and universality of a          
philosopher4  ,this propriety inherent  
and  individual attribute in your       
,majesty deserveth to be expressed not  
only  in the fame and admiration of the 
present time1 nor in the history or     
tradition of the ages succeeding1 but   
also in some solid work1 fixed          
memorial1 and immortal monument1 bearing
 a character or signature both of  the  
power of a king and the difference and  
perfection of such a king4    ,therefore
 ,i did conclude with myself that ,i    
could not make unto your  ,majesty a    
better oblation than of some treatise   
tending to that end1  whereof the sum   
will consist of these two parts3 the    
former concerning  the excellency of    

learning and knowledge1 and the         
excellency of the merit  and true glory 
in the augmentation and propagation     
thereof2 the latter1  what the          
particular acts and works are which have
 been embraced and  undertaken for the  
advancement of learning2 and again1 what
 defects and  undervalues ,i find in    
such particular acts3 to the end that   
though ,i  cannot positively or         
affirmatively advise your ,majesty1 or  
propound unto  you framed particulars1  
yet ,i may excite your princely         
cogitations to  visit the excellent     
treasure of your own mind1 and thence to
 extract  particulars for this purpose  
agreeable to your magnanimity and       
wisdom4    ,i4 7#a7 ,in the entrance to 
the former of these--to clear the way   
and1 as it  were1 to make silence1 to   
have the true testimonies concerning the
  dignity of learning to be better      
heard1 without the interruption of tacit
  objections--,i think good to deliver  
it from the discredits and disgraces    

which it hath received1 all from        
ignorance1 but ignorance severally      
disguised2 appearing sometimes in the   
zeal and jealousy of divines1  sometimes
 in the severity and arrogancy of       
politics1 and sometimes in the  errors  
and imperfections of learned men        
themselves4    7#b7 ,i hear the former  
sort say that knowledge is of those     
things which  are to be accepted of with
 great limitation and caution2 that the 
aspiring to overmuch knowledge was the  
original temptation and sin  whereupon  
ensued the fall of man2 that knowledge  
hath in it somewhat of  the serpent1    
and1 therefore1 where it entereth into a
 man it makes him  swell2 ,scientia     
inflat2 that ,solomon gives a censure1  
8,that there is no  end of making books1
 and that much reading is weariness of  
the flesh20  and again in another place1
 8,that in spacious knowledge there is  
much  contristation1 and that he that   
increaseth knowledge increaseth         
anxiety20  that ,saint ,paul gives a    

caveat1 8,that we be not spoiled through
 vain  philosophy20 that experience     
demonstrates how learned men have been  
arch-heretics1 how learned times have   
been inclined to atheism1 and how  the  
contemplation of second causes doth     
derogate from our dependence upon  ,god1
 who is the first cause4    7#c7 ,to    
discover1 then1 the ignorance and error 
of this opinion1 and the                
misunderstanding in the grounds thereof1
 it may well appear these men do  not   
observe or consider that it was not the 
pure knowledge of ,nature and           
universality1 a knowledge by the light  
whereof man did give names unto  other  
creatures in ,paradise as they were     
brought before him according  unto their
 proprieties1 which gave the occasion to
 the fall2 but it was  the proud        
knowledge of good and evil1 with an     
intent in man to give law  unto himself1
 and to depend no more upon ,god's      
commandments1 which was  the form of the
 temptation4  ,neither is it any        

quantity of knowledge1 how  great       
soever1 that can make the mind of man to
 swell2 for nothing can  fill1 much less
 extend the soul of man1 but ,god and   
the contemplation of  ,god2 and1        
therefore1 ,solomon1 speaking of the two
 principal senses of  inquisition1 the  
eye and the ear1 affirmeth that the eye 
is never  satisfied with seeing1 nor the
 ear with hearing2 and if there be no   
fulness1 then is the continent greater  
than the content3 so of knowledge       
itself and the mind of man1 whereto the 
senses are but reporters1 he  defineth  
likewise in these words1 placed after   
that calendar or  ephemerides which he  
maketh of the diversities of times and  
seasons for  all actions and purposes1  
and concludeth thus3 8,god hath made all
 things  beautiful1 or decent1 in the   
true return of their seasons4  ,also ,he
 hath  placed the world in man's heart1 
yet cannot man find out the work which  
,god worketh from the beginning to the  
end0--declaring not obscurely that  ,god

 hath framed the mind of man as a mirror
 or glass1 capable of the  image of the 
universal world1 and joyful to receive  
the impression  thereof1 as the eye     
joyeth to receive light2 and not only   
delighted in  beholding the variety of  
things and vicissitude of times1 but    
raised also  to find out and discern the
 ordinances and decrees which throughout
 all  those changes are infallibly      
observed4  ,and although he doth        
insinuate  that the supreme or summary  
law of ,nature 7which he calleth 8the   
work  which ,god worketh from the       
beginning to the end07 is not possible  
to be  found out by man1 yet that doth  
not derogate from the capacity of the   
mind2 but may be referred to the        
impediments1 as of shortness of life1   
ill conjunction of labours1 ill         
tradition of knowledge over from hand to
  hand1 and many other inconveniences1  
whereunto the condition of man is       
subject4  ,for that nothing parcel of   
the world is denied to man's inquiry    

and invention1 he doth in another place 
rule over1 when he saith1 8,the  spirit 
of man is as the lamp of ,god1 wherewith
 ,he searcheth the  inwardness of all   
secrets40  ,if1 then1 such be the       
capacity and receipt  of the mind of    
man1 it is manifest that there is no    
danger at all in the  proportion or     
quantity of knowledge1 how large soever1
 lest it should  make it swell or       
out-compass itself2 no1 but it is merely
 the quality of  knowledge1 which1 be it
 in quantity more or less1 if it be     
taken without  the true corrective      
thereof1 hath in it some nature of venom
 or  malignity1 and some effects of that
 venom1 which is ventosity or  swelling4
  ,this corrective spice1 the mixture   
whereof maketh knowledge so  sovereign1 
is charity1 which the ,apostle          
immediately addeth to the former        
clause2 for so he saith1 8,knowledge    
bloweth up1 but charity buildeth up20   
not unlike unto that which he deilvereth
 in another place3 8,if ,i spake10      

saith he1 8with the tongues of men and  
angels1 and had not charity1 it  were   
but as a tinkling cymbal40  ,not but    
that it is an excellent thing to  speak 
with the tongues of men and angels1 but 
because1 if it be severed  from charity1
 and not referred to the good of men and
 mankind1 it hath  rather a sounding and
 unworthy glory than a meriting and     
substantial  virtue4  ,and as for that  
censure of ,solomon concerning the      
excess of  writing and reading books1   
and the anxiety of spirit which         
redoundeth  from knowledge1 and that    
admonition of ,st4 ,paul1 8,that we be  
not seduced  by vain philosophy10 let   
those places be rightly understood2 and 
they do1  indeed1 excellently set forth 
the true bounds and limitations whereby 
human knowledge is confined and         
circumscribed1 and yet without any such 
contracting or coarctation1 but that it 
may comprehend all the universal  nature
 of things2 for these limitations are   
three3 the first1 8,that we do  not so  

place our felicity in knowledge1 as we  
forget our mortality20 the  second1     
8,that we make application of our       
knowledge1 to give ourselves  repose and
 contentment1 and not distaste or       
repining20 the third1 8,that  we do not 
presume by the contemplation of ,nature 
to attain to the  mysteries of ,god40   
,for as touching the first of these1    
,solomon doth  excellently expound      
himself in another place of the same    
book1 where he  saith3 8,i saw well that
 knowledge recedeth as far from         
ignorance as light  doth from darkness2 
and that the wise man's eyes keep watch 
in his head1  whereas this fool roundeth
 about in darkness3 but withal ,i       
learned that  the same mortality        
involveth them both40  ,and for the     
second1 certain it  is there is no      
vexation or anxiety of mind which       
resulteth from knowledge  otherwise than
 merely by accident2 for all knowledge  
and wonder 7which is  the seed of       
knowledge7 is an impression of pleasure 

in itself2 but when  men fall to framing
 conclusions out of their knowledge1    
applying it to  their particular1 and   
ministering to themselves thereby weak  
fears or  vast desires1 there groweth   
that carefulness and trouble of mind    
which is  spoken of2 for then knowledge 
is no more ,lumen siccum1 whereof       
,heraclitus the profound said1 ,lumen   
siccum optima anima2 but it  becometh   
,lumen madidum1 or maceratum1 being     
steeped and infused in  the humours of  
the affections4  ,and as for the third  
point1 it deserveth  to be a little     
stood upon1 and not to be lightly passed
 over2 for if any  man shall think by   
view and inquiry into these sensible and
 material  things to attain that light1 
whereby he may reveal unto himself the  
nature or will of ,god1 then1 indeed1 is
 he spoiled by vain philosophy2  for the
 contemplation of ,god's creatures and  
works produceth 7having  regard to the  
works and creatures themselves7         
knowledge1 but having  regard to ,god no

 perfect knowledge1 but wonder1 which is
 broken  knowledge4  ,and1 therefore1 it
 was most aptly said by one of ,plato's 
school1 8,that the sense of man carrieth
 a resemblance with the sun1 which  7as 
we see7 openeth and revealeth all the   
terrestrial globe2 but then1  again1 it 
obscureth and concealeth the stars and  
celestial globe3 so doth  the sense     
discover natural things1 but it         
darkeneth and shutteth up  divine40     
,and hence it is true that it hath      
proceeded1 that divers great  learned   
men have been heretical1 whilst they    
have sought to fly up to the  secrets of
 the ,deity by this waxen wings of the  
senses4  ,and as for the  conceit that  
too much knowledge should incline a man 
to atheism1 and that  the ignorance of  
second causes should make a more devout 
dependence upon  ,god1 which is the     
first cause2 first1 it is good to ask   
the question  which ,job asked of his   
friends3 8,will you lie for ,god1 as one
 man will  lie for another1 to gratify  

him80  ,for certain it is that ,god     
worketh  nothing in ,nature but by      
second causes2 and if they would have it
  otherwise believed1 it is mere        
imposture1 as it were in favour towards 
,god1 and nothing else but to offer to  
the ,author of truth the unclean        
sacrifice of a lie4  ,but further1 it is
 an assured truth1 and a  conclusion of 
experience1 that a little or superficial
 knowledge of  philosophy may incline   
the mind of men to atheism1 but a       
further  proceeding therein doth bring  
the mind back again to religion4  ,for  
in  the entrance of philosophy1 when the
 second causes1 which are next unto  the
 senses1 do offer themselves to the mind
 of man1 if it dwell and stay  there it 
may induce some oblivion of the highest 
cause2 but when a man  passeth on       
further and seeth the dependence of     
causes and the works of  ,providence2   
then1 according to the allegory of the  
poets1 he will easily  believe that the 
highest link of ,nature's chain must    

needs he tied to the  foot of ,jupiter's
 chair4  ,to conclude1 therefore1 let no
 man upon a weak  conceit of sobriety or
 an ill-applied moderation think or     
maintain that a  man can search too far1
 or be too well studied in the book of  
,god's word1  or in the book of ,god's  
works1 divinity or philosophy2 but      
rather let men  endeavour an endless    
progress or proficience in both2 only   
let men beware  that they apply both to 
charity1 and not to swelling2 to use1   
and not to  ostentation2 and again1 that
 they do not unwisely mingle or confound
  these learnings together4    ,,ii4    
7#a7 ,and as for the disgraces which    
learning receiveth from politics1  they 
be of this nature3 that learning doth   
soften men's minds1 and makes  them more
 unapt for the honour and exercise of   
arms2 that it doth mar and  pervert     
men's dispositions for matter of        
government and policy1 in making  them  
too curious and irresolute by variety of
 reading1 or too peremptory  or positive

 by strictness of rules and axioms1 or  
too immoderate and  overweening by      
reason of the greatness of examples1 or 
too incompatible  and differing from the
 times by reason of the dissimilitude of
 examples2  or at least1 that it doth   
divert men's travails from action and   
business1  and bringeth them to a love  
of leisure and privateness2 and that it 
doth  bring into states a relaxation of 
discipline1 whilst every man is more    
ready to argue than to obey and execute4
  ,out of this conceit ,cato1  surnamed 
the ,censor1 one of the wisest men      
indeed that ever lived1 when  ,carneades
 the philosopher came in embassage to   
,rome1 and that the young  men of ,rome 
began to flock about him1 being allured 
with the sweetness  and majesty of his  
eloquence and learning1 gave counsel in 
open senate  that they should give him  
his despatch with all speed1 lest he    
should  infect and enchant the minds and
 affections of the youth1 and at        
unawares  bring in an alteration of the 

manners and customs of the state4  ,out 
of  the same conceit or humour did      
,virgil1 turning his pen to the         
advantage  of his country and the       
disadvantage of his own profession1 make
 a kind of  separation between policy   
and government1 and between arts and    
sciences1  in the verses so much        
renowned1 attributing and challenging   
the one to  the ,romans1 and leaving and
 yielding the other to the ,grecians3   
,tu  regere imperio popules1 ,romane1   
memento1 ,h tibi erunt artes1 c4  ,so   
likewise we see that ,anytus1 the       
accuser of ,socrates1 laid it as an     
article of charge and accusation against
 him1 that he did1 with the  variety and
 power of his discourses and            
disputatious1 withdraw young men  from  
due reverence to the laws and customs of
 their country1 and that he  did profess
 a dangerous and pernicious science1    
which was to make the  worse matter seem
 the better1 and to suppress truth by   
force of eloquence  and speech4    7#b7 

,but these and the like imputations have
 rather a countenance of  gravity than  
any ground of justice3 for experience   
doth warrant that1  both in persons and 
in times1 there hath been a meeting and 
concurrence  in learning and arms1      
flourishing and excelling in the same   
men and the  same ages4  ,for as #8for  
men1 there cannot be a better nor the   
hike  instance as of that pair1         
,alexander the ,great and ,julius ,csar1
 the  ,dictator2 whereof the one was    
,aristotle's scholar in philosophy1 and 
the  other was ,cicero's rival in       
eloquence2 or if any man had rather call
 for  scholars that were great generals1
 than generals that were great          
scholars1 let him take ,epaminondas the 
,theban1 or ,xenophon the ,athenian2    
whereof the one was the first that      
abated the power of ,sparta1 and the    
other was the first that made way to the
 overthrow of the monarchy of  ,persia4 
,and this concurrence is yet more       
visible in times than in  persons1 by   

how much an age is greater object than a
 man4  ,for both in  ,egypt1 ,assyria1  
,persia1 ,grcia1 and ,rome1 the same    
times that are most  renowned for arms  
are1 likewise1 most admired for         
learning1 so that the  greatest authors 
and philosophers1 and the greatest      
captains and  governors1 have lived in  
the same ages4  ,neither can it         
otherwise he3 for  as in man the        
ripeness of strength of the body and    
mind cometh much about  an age1 save    
that the strength of the body cometh    
somewhat the more  early1 so in states1 
arms and learning1 whereof the one      
correspondeth to  the body1 the other to
 the soul of man1 have a concurrence or 
near  sequence in times4    7#c7 ,and   
for matter of policy and government1    
that learning1 should rather  hurt1 than
 enable thereunto1 is a thing very      
improbable2 we see it is  accounted an  
error to commit a natural body to       
empiric physicians1 which  commonly have
 a few pleasing receipts whereupon they 

are confident and  adventurous1 but know
 neither the causes of diseases1 nor the
 complexions  of patients1 nor peril of 
accidents1 nor the true method of cures2
 we see  it is a like error to rely upon
 advocates or lawyers which are only men
  of practice1 and not grounded in their
 books1 who are many times easily       
surprised when matter falleth out       
besides their experience1 to the        
prejudice of the causes they handle3 so 
by like reason it cannot be but a       
matter of doubtful consequence if states
 be managed by empiric statesmen1  not  
well mingled with men grounded in       
learning4  ,but contrariwise1 it is     
almost without instance contradictory   
that ever any government was  disastrous
 that was in the hands of learned       
governors4  ,for howsoever it  hath been
 ordinary with politic men to extenuate 
and disable learned men  by the names of
 pedantes2 yet in the records of time it
 appeareth in  many particulars that the
 governments of princes in minority     

7notwithstanding the infinite           
disadvantage of that kind of            
state7--have  nevertheless excelled the 
government of princes of mature age1    
even for  that reason which they seek to
 traduce1 which is that by that occasion
  the state hath been in the hands of   
pedantes3 for so was the state of  ,rome
 for the first five years1 which are so 
much magnified1 during the  minority of 
,nero1 in the hands of ,seneca1 a       
pedenti2 so it was again1  for ten      
years' space or more1 during the        
minority of ,gordianus the  younger1    
with great applause and contentation in 
the hands of ,misitheus1  a pedanti3 so 
was it before that1 in the minority of  
,alexander ,severus1  in like happiness1
 in hands not much unlike1 by reason of 
the rule of the  women1 who were aided  
by the teachers and preceptors4  ,nay1  
let a man  look into the government of  
the ,bishops of ,rome1 as by name1 into 
the  government of ,pius ,quintus and   
,sextus ,quintus in our times1 who were 

both  at their entrance esteemed but as 
pedantical friars1 and he shall find    
that such ,popes do greater things1 and 
proceed upon truer principles of  state1
 than those which have ascended to the  
papacy from an education and  breeding  
in affairs of state and courts of       
princes2 for although men bred  in      
learning are perhaps to seek in points  
of convenience and  accommodating for   
the present1 which the ,italians call   
ragioni di  stato1 whereof the same     
,pius ,quintus could not hear spoken    
with  patience1 terming them inventions 
against religion and the moral virtues2 
yet on the other side1 to recompense    
that1 they are perfect in those same    
plain grounds of religion1 justice1     
honour1 and moral virtue1 which if  they
 be well and watchfully pursued1 there  
will be seldom use of those  other1 no  
more than of physic in a sound or       
well-dieted body4  ,neither  can the    
experience of one man's life furnish    
examples and precedents for  the event  

of one man's life4  ,for as it happeneth
 sometimes that the  grandchild1 or     
other descendant1 resembleth the        
ancestor more than the  son2 so many    
times occurrences of present times may  
sort better with  ancient examples than 
with those of the later or immediate    
times2 and  lastly1 the wit of one man  
can no more countervail learning than   
one  man's means can hold way with a    
common purse4    7#d7 ,and as for those 
particular seducements or indispositions
 of the mind  for policy and government1
 which learning is pretended to         
insinuate2 if  it be granted that any   
such thing be1 it must be remembered    
withal that  learning ministereth in    
every of them greater strength of       
medicine or  remedy than it offereth    
cause of indisposition or infirmity4    
,for if by a  secret operation it make  
men perplexed and irresolute1 on the    
other side  by plain precept it teacheth
 them when and upon what ground to      
resolve2  yea1 and how to carry things  

in suspense1 without prejudice1 till    
they  resolve4  ,if it make men positive
 and regular1 it teacheth them what     
things are in their nature              
demonstrative1 and what are conjectural1
 and  as well the use of distinctions   
and exceptions1 as the latitude of      
principles and rules4  ,if it mislead by
 disproportion or dissimilitude of      
examples1 it teacheth men the force of  
circumstances1 the errors of            
comparisons1 and all the cautions of    
application2 so that in all these it    
doth rectify more effectually than it   
can pervert4  ,and these medicines  it  
conveyeth into men's minds much more    
forcibly by the quickness and           
penetration of examples4  ,for let a man
 look into the errors of ,clement       
,,vii41 so lively described by          
,guicciardini1 who served under him1 or 
into  the errors of ,cicero1 painted out
 by his own pencil in his ,epistles to  
,atticus1 and he will fly apace from    
being irresolute4  ,let him look into   

the errors of ,phocion1 and he will     
beware how he be obstinate or           
inflexible4  ,let him but read the fable
 of ,ixion1 and it will hold him  from  
being vaporous or imaginative4  ,let him
 look into the errors of ,cato  ,,ii41  
and he will never be one of the         
,antipodes1 to tread opposite to the    
present world4    7#e7 ,and for the     
conceit that learning should dispose men
 to leisure and  privateness1 and make  
men slothful3 it were a strange thing if
 that which  accustometh the mind to a  
perpetual motion and agitation should   
induce  slothfulness1 whereas1          
contrariwise1 it may be truly affirmed  
that no  kind of men love business for  
itself but those that are learned2 for  
other persons love it for profit1 as a  
hireling that loves the work for  the   
wages2 or for honour1 as because it     
beareth them up in the eyes of  men1 and
 refresheth their reputation1 which     
otherwise would wear2 or  because it    
putteth them in mind of their fortune1  

and giveth them  occasion to pleasure   
and displeasure2 or because it          
exerciseth some  faculty wherein they   
take pride1 and so entertaineth them in 
good-humour  and pleasing conceits      
towards themselves2 or because it       
advanceth any  other their ends4  ,so   
that as it is said of untrue valours1   
that some  men's valours are in the eyes
 of them that look on1 so such men's    
industries are in the eyes of others1   
or1 at least1 in regard of their  own   
designments2 only learned men love      
business as an action according to      
nature1 as agreeable to health of mind  
as exercise is to health of body1       
taking pleasure in the action itself1   
and not in the purchase1 so that of  all
 men they are the most indefatigable1 if
 it be towards any business  which can  
hold or detain their mind4    7#f7 ,and 
if any man be laborious in reading and  
study1 and yet idle in  business and    
action1 it groweth from some weakness of
 body or softness of  spirit1 such as   

,seneca speaketh of3 ,quidam tam sunt   
umbratiles1 ut  putent in turbido esse  
quicquid in luce est2 and not of        
learning3 well  may it be that such a   
point of a man's nature may make him    
give himself  to learning1 but it is not
 learning that breedeth any such point  
in his  nature4    7#g7 ,and that       
learning should take up too much time or
 leisure3 ,i answer1  the most active or
 busy man that hath been or can be1 hath
 7no question7  many vacant times of    
leisure while he expecteth the tides and
 returns of  business 7except he be     
either tedious and of no despatch1 or   
lightly and  unworthily ambitious to    
meddle in things that may be better done
 by  others71 and then the question is  
but how those spaces and times of       
leisure shall be filled and spent2      
whether in pleasure or in studies2 as   
was well answered by ,demosthenes to his
 adversary schines1 that was a  man     
given to pleasure1 and told him 8,that  
his orations did smell of the  lamp40   

8,indeed10 said ,demosthenes1 8there is 
a great difference between  the things  
that you and ,i do by lamp-light40  ,so 
as no man need doubt  that learning will
 expel business1 but rather it will keep
 and defend the  possession of the mind 
against idleness and pleasure1 which    
otherwise at  unawares may enter to the 
prejudice of both4    7#h7 ,again1 for  
that other conceit that learning should 
undermine the  reverence of laws and    
government1 it is assuredly a mere      
depravation and  calumny1 without all   
shadow of truth4  ,for to say that a    
blind custom of  obedience should be a  
surer obligation than duty taught and   
understood1  it is to affirm that a     
blind man may tread surer by a guide    
than a seeing  man can by a light4  ,and
 it is without all controversy that     
learning doth  make the minds of men    
gentle1 generous1 manageable1 and pliant
 to  government2 whereas ignorance makes
 them churlish1 thwart1 and mutinous3   
and the evidence of time doth clear this

 assertion1 considering that the  most  
barbarous1 rude1 and unlearned times    
have been most subject to  tumults1     
seditions1 and changes4    7#i7 ,and as 
to the judgment of ,cato the ,censor1 he
 was well punished for  his blasphemy   
against learning1 in the same kind      
wherein he offended2 for  when he was   
past threescore years old1 he was taken 
with an extreme  desire to go to school 
again1 and to learn the ,greek tongue1  
to the end  to peruse the ,greek        
authors2 which doth well demonstrate    
that his former  censure of the ,grecian
 learning was rather an affected        
gravity1 than  according to the inward  
sense of his own opinion4  ,and as for  
,virgil's  verses1 though it pleased him
 to brave the world in taking to the    
,romans  the art of empire1 and leaving 
to others the arts of subjects1 yet so  
much is manifest--that the ,romans never
 ascended to that height of empire  till
 the time they had ascended to the      
height of other arts4  ,for in the  time

 of the two first ,csars1 which had the 
art of government in greatest           
perfection1 there lived the best poet1  
,virgilius ,maro2 the best              
historiographer1 ,titus ,livius2 the    
best antiquary1 ,marcus ,varro2 and the 
best or second orator1 ,marcus ,cicero1 
that to the memory of man are  known4   
,as for the accusation of ,socrates1 the
 time must be remembered  when it was   
prosecuted2 which was under the ,thirty 
,tyrants1 the most  base1 bloody1 and   
envious persons that have governed2     
which revolution of  state was no sooner
 over but ,socrates1 whom they had made 
a person  criminal1 was made a person   
heroical1 and his memory accumulate with
  honours divine and human2 and those   
discourses of his which were then       
termed corrupting of manners1 were after
 acknowledged for sovereign  medicines  
of the mind and manners1 and so have    
been received ever since  till this day4
  ,let this1 therefore1 serve for answer
 to politiques1  which in their humorous

 severity1 or in their feigned gravity1 
have  presumed to throw imputations upon
 learning2 which redargution            
nevertheless 7save that we know not     
whether our labours may extend to  other
 ages7 were not needful for the present1
 in regard of the love and  reverence   
towards learning which the example and  
countenance of two so  learned princes1 
,queen ,elizabeth and your ,majesty1    
being as ,castor and  ,pollux1 lucida   
sidera1 stars of excellent light and    
most benign  influence1 hath wrought in 
all men of place and authority in our   
nation4    ,,iii4 7#a7 ,now therefore we
 come to that third sort of discredit or
  diminution of credit that groweth unto
 learning from learned men  themselves1 
which commonly cleaveth fastest3 it is  
either from their  fortune1 or from     
their manners1 or from the nature of    
their studies4  ,for  the first1 it is  
not in their power2 and the second is   
accidental2 the  third only is proper to
 be handled3 but because we are not in  

hand with  true measure1 but with       
popular estimation and conceit1 it is   
not amiss to  speak somewhat of the two 
former4  ,the derogations therefore     
which grow  to learning from the fortune
 or condition of learned men1 are either
 in  respect of scarcity of means1 or in
 respect of privateness of life and     
meanness of employments4    7#b7        
,concerning want1 and that it is the    
case of learned men usually to  begin   
with little1 and not to grow rich so    
fast as other men1 by reason  they      
convert not their labours chiefly to    
lucre and increase1 it were  good to    
leave the commonplace in commendation of
 povery to some friar to  handle1 to    
whom much was attributed by ,machiavel  
in this point when he  said1 8,that the 
kingdom of the clergy had been long     
before at an end1 if  the reputation and
 reverence towards the poverty of friars
 had not borne  out the scandal of the  
superfluities and excesses of bishops   
and  prelates40  ,so a man might say    

that the felicity and delicacy of       
princes  and great persons had long     
since turned to rudeness and barbarism1 
if the  poverty of learning had not kept
 up civility and honour of life2 but    
without any such advantages1 it is      
worthy the observation what a reverent  
and honoured thing poverty of fortune   
was for some ages in the ,roman  state1 
which nevertheless was a state without  
paradoxes4  ,for we see what  ,titus    
,livius saith in his introduction3      
,cterum aut me amor negotii  suscepti   
fallit aut nulla unquam respublica nec  
major1 nec sanctior1  nec bonis exemplis
 ditior fuit2 nec in quam tam sero      
avaritia  luxuriaque immigraverint2 nec 
ubi tantus ac tam diu paupertati ac     
parsimoni honos fuerit4  ,we see        
likewise1 after that the state of ,rome 
was not itself1 but did degenerate1 how 
that person that took upon him to  be   
counsellor to ,julius ,csar after his   
victory where to begin his  restoration 
of the state1 maketh it of all points   

the most summary to  take away the      
estimation of wealth3 ,verum hc et omnia
 mala pariter cum  honore pecuni        
desinent2 si neque magistratus1 neque   
alia vulgo  cupienda1 venalia erunt4    
,to conclude this point3 as it was truly
 said  that ,paupertas est virtutis     
fortuna1 though sometimes it come from  
vice1 so it may be fitly said that1     
though some times it may proceed from   
misgovernment and accident4  ,surely    
,solomon hath pronounced it both in     
censure1 ,qui festinat ad divitias non  
erit insons2 and in precept1 8,buy  the 
truth1 and sell it not2 and so of wisdom
 and knowledge20 judging that  means    
were to be spent upon learning1 and not 
learning to be applied to  means4  ,and 
as for the privateness or obscureness   
7as it may be in vulgar  estimation     
accounted7 of life of contemplative men1
 it is a theme so  common to extol a    
private life1 not taxed with sensuality 
and sloth1 in  comparison and to the    
disadvantage of a civil life1 for       

safety1 liberty1  pleasure1 and dignity1
 or at least freedom from indignity1 as 
no man  handleth it but handleth it     
well2 such a consonancy it hath to men's
  conceits in the expressing1 and to    
men's consents in the allowing4  ,this  
only ,i will add1 that learned men      
forgotten in states and not living in   
the eyes of men1 are like the images of 
,cassius and ,brutus in the funeral  of 
,junia1 of which1 not being represented 
as many others were1 ,tacitus  saith1   
,eo ipso prfulgebant quod non           
visebantur4    7#c7 ,and for meanness of
 employment1 that which is most traduced
 to  contempt is that the government of 
youth is commonly allotted to them2     
which age1 because it is the age of     
least authority1 it is transferred to   
the disesteeming of those employments   
wherein youth is conversant1 and  which 
are conversant about youth4  ,but how   
unjust this traducement is 7if  you will
 reduce things from popularity of       
opinion to measure of reason7  may      

appear in that we see men are more      
curious what they put into a new  vessel
 than into a vessel seasoned2 and what  
mould they lay about a young  plant than
 about a plant corroborate2 so as this  
weakest terms and times  of all things  
use to have the best applications and   
helps4  ,and will you  hearken to the   
,hebrew rabbins8  8,your young men shall
 see visions1 and  your old men shall   
dream dreams30 say they1 youth is the   
worthier age1  for that visions are     
nearer apparitions of ,god than dreams8 
,and let it  be noted that howsoever the
 condition of life of pedantes hath been
  scorned upon theatres1 as the ape of  
tyranny2 and that the modern  looseness 
or negligence hath taken no due regard  
to the choice of  schoolmasters and     
tutors2 yet the ancient wisdom of the   
best times did  always make a just      
complaint1 that states were too busy    
with their laws  and too negligent in   
point of education3 which excellent part
 of ancient  discipline hath been in    

some sort revived of late times by the  
colleges  of the ,jesuits2 of whom1     
although in regard of their superstition
 ,i may  say1 ,quo meliores1 eo         
deteriores2 yet in regard of this1 and  
some  other points concerning human     
learning and moral matters1 ,i may say1 
as  ,agesilaus said to his enemy        
,pharnabazus1 ,talis quum sis1 utunam   
noster  esses4  ,and that much touching 
the discredits drawn from the fortunes  
of  learned men4    7#d7 ,as touching   
the manners of learned men1 it is a     
thing personal and  individual3 and no  
doubt there be amongst them1 as in other
 professions1  of all temperatures3 but 
yet so as it is not without truth which 
is said1  that ,abeunt studua in mores1 
studies have an influence and operation 
upon the manners of those that are      
conversant in them4    7#e7 ,but upon an
 attentive and indifferent review1 ,i   
for my part cannot  find any disgrace to
 learning can proceed from the manners  
of learned  men2 not inherent to them as

 they are learned2 except it be a fault 
7which was the supposed fault of        
,demosthenes1 ,cicero1 ,cato ,,ii41     
,seneca1  and many more7 that because   
the times they read of are commonly     
better  than the times they live in1 and
 the duties taught better than the      
duties  practised1 they contend         
sometimes too far to bring things to    
perfection1  and to reduce the          
corruption of manners to honesty of     
precepts or  examples of too great      
height4  ,and yet hereof they have      
caveats enough in  their own walks4     
,for ,solon1 when he was asked whether  
he had given his  citizens the best     
laws1 answered wisely1 8,yea1 of such as
 they would  receive30 and ,plato1      
finding that his own heart could not    
agree with the  corrupt manners of his  
country1 refused to bear place or       
office1 saying1  8,that a man's country 
was to be used as his parents were1 that
 is1 with  humble persuasions1 and not  
with contestations40  ,and ,csar's      

counsellor  put in the same caveat1 ,non
 ad vetera instituta revocans qu        
jampridem  corruptis moribus ludibrio   
sunt2 and ,cicero noteth this error     
directly  in ,cato ,,ii4 when he writes 
to his friend ,atticus1 ,cato optime    
sentit1  sed nocet interdum reipublic2  
loquitur enim tanquam in republic       
,platonis1 non tanquam in fce ,romuli4  
,and the same ,cicero doth excuse  and  
expound the philosophers for going too  
far and being too exact in  their       
prescripts when he saith1 ,isti ipse    
prceptores virtutis et  magistri        
videntur fines officiorum paulo longius 
quam natura vellet  protulisse1 ut cum  
ad ultimum animo contendissemus1 ibi    
tamen1 ubi  oportet1 consisteremus3 and 
yet himself might have said1 ,monitis   
sum  minor ipse meis2 for it was his own
 fault1 though not in so extreme a      
degree4    7#f7 ,another fault likewise 
much of this kind hath been incident to 
learned men1 which is1 that they have   
esteemed the preservation1 good1  and   

honour of their countries or masters    
before their own fortunes or  safeties4 
,for so saith ,demosthenes unto the     
,athenians3 8,if it please you  to note 
it1 my counsels unto you are not such   
whereby ,i should grow great  amongst   
you1 and you become little amongst the  
,grecians2 but they be of  that nature  
as they are sometimes not good for me to
 give1 but are always  good for you to  
follow40  ,and so ,seneca1 after he had 
consecrated that  ,quinquennium ,neronis
 to the eternal glory of learned        
governors1 held on  his honest and loyal
 course of good and free counsel after  
his master  grew extremely corrupt in   
his government4  ,neither can this point
  otherwise be1 for learning endueth    
men's minds with a true sense of the    
frailty of their persons1 the casualty  
of their fortunes1 and the dignity  of  
their soul and vocation1 so that it is  
impossible for them to esteem  that any 
greatness of their own fortune can be a 
true or worthy end of  their being and  

ordainment1 and therefore are desirous  
to give their  account to ,god1 and so  
likewise to their masters under ,god 7as
 kings and  the states that they serve7 
in those words1 ,ecce tibi lucrefeci1   
and  not ,ecce mihi lucrefeci2 whereas  
the corrupter sort of mere politiques1  
that have not their thoughts established
 by learning in the love and            
apprehension of duty1 nor never look    
abroad into universality1 do refer  all 
things to themselves1 and thrust        
themselves into the centre of the       
world1 as if all lines should meet in   
them and their fortunes1 never  caring  
in all tempests what becomes of the ship
 of state1 so they may  save themselves 
in the cockboat of their own fortune2   
whereas men that  feel the weight of    
duty and know the limits of self-love   
use to make good  their places and      
duties1 though with peril2 and if they  
stand in  seditious and violent         
alterations1 it is rather the reverence 
which many  times both adverse parts do 

give to honesty1 than any versatile     
advantage  of their own carriage4  ,but 
for this point of tender sense and fast 
obligation of duty which learning doth  
endue the mind withal1 howsoever        
fortune may tax it1 and many in the     
depth of their corrupt principles may   
despise it1 yet it will receive an open 
allowance1 and therefore needs  the less
 disproof or excuse4    7#g7 ,another   
fault incident commonly to learned men1 
which may be more  properly defended    
than truly denied1 is that they fail    
sometimes in  applying themselves to    
particular persons1 which want of exact 
application ariseth from two causes--the
 one1 because the largeness of  their   
mind can hardly confine itself to dwell 
in the exquisite  observation or        
examination of the nature and customs of
 one person1 for  it is a speech for a  
lover1 and not for a wise man1 ,satis   
magnum alter  alteri theatrum sumus4    
,nevertheless ,i shall yield that he    
that cannot  contract the sight of his  

mind as well as disperse and dilate it1 
wanteth  a great faculty4  ,but there is
 a second cause1 which is no inability1 
but  a rejection upon choice and        
judgment4  ,for the honest and just     
bounds of  observation by one person    
upon another extend no further but to   
understand him sufficiently1 whereby not
 to give him offence1 or whereby  to be 
able to give him faithful counsel1 or   
whereby to stand upon  reasonable guard 
and caution in respect of a man's self4 
,but to be  speculative into another man
 to the end to know how to work him1 or 
wind  him1 or govern him1 proceedeth    
from a heart that is double and cloven1 
and not entire and ingenuous2 which as  
in friendship it is want of  integrity1 
so towards princes or superiors is want 
of duty4  ,for the  custom of the       
,levant1 which is that subjects do      
forbear to gaze or fix  their eyes upon 
princes1 is in the outward ceremony     
barbarous1 but the  moral is good2 for  
men ought not1 by cunning and bent      

observations1 to  pierce and penetrate  
into the hearts of kings1 which the     
,scripture hath  declared to be         
inscrutable4    7#h7 ,there is yet      
another fault 7with which ,i will       
conclude this part7  which is often     
noted in learned men1 that they do many 
times fail to  observe decency and      
discretion in their behaviour and       
carriage1 and  commit errors in small   
and ordinary points of action1 so as the
 vulgar  sort of capacities do make a   
judgment of them in greater matters by  
that  which they find wanting in them in
 smaller4  ,but this consequence doth   
oft deceive men1 for which ,i do refer  
them over to that which was said by     
,themistocles1 arrogantly and uncivilly 
being applied to himself out of  his own
 mouth1 but1 being applied to the       
general state of this question1         
pertinently and justly1 when1 being     
invited to touch a lute1 he said1 8,he  
could not fiddle1 but he could make a   
small town a great state40  ,so no      

doubt many may be well seen in the      
passages of government and policy  which
 are to seek in little and punctual     
occasions4  ,i refer them also to  that 
which ,plato said of his master         
,socrates1 whom he compared to the      
gallipots of apothecaries1 which on the 
outside had apes and owls and  antiques1
 but contained within sovereign and     
precious liquors and  confections2      
acknowledging that1 to an external      
report1 he was not  without superficial 
levities and deformities1 but was       
inwardly  replenished with excellent    
virtues and powers4  ,and so much       
touching the  point of manners of       
learned men4    7#i7 ,but in the        
meantime ,i have no purpose to give     
allowance to some  conditions and       
courses base and unworthy1 wherein      
divers professors of  learning have     
wronged themselves and gone too far2    
such as were those  trencher            
philosophers which in the later age of  
the ,roman state were  usually in the   

houses of great persons1 being little   
better than solemn  parasites1 of which 
kind1 ,lucian maketh a merry description
 of the  philosopher that the great lady
 took to ride with her in her coach1 and
  would needs have him carry her little 
dog1 which he doing officiously and  yet
 uncomely1 the page scoffed and said1   
8,that he doubted the philosopher  of a 
,stoic would turn to be a ,cynic40      
,but1 above all the rest1 this  gross   
and palpable flattery whereunto many not
 unlearned have abased and  abused their
 wits and pens1 turning 7as ,du ,bartas 
saith7 ,hecuba into  ,helena1 and       
,faustina into ,lucretia1 hath most     
diminished the price and  estimation of 
learning4  ,neither is the modern       
dedication of books and  writings1 as to
 patrons1 to be commended1 for that     
books 7such as are  worthy the name of  
books7 ought to have no patrons but     
truth and reason4  ,and the ancient     
custom was to dedicate them only to     
private and equal  friends1 or to       

entitle the books with their names2 or  
if to kings and  great persons1 it was  
to some such as the argument of the book
 was fit  and proper for2 but these and 
the like courses may deserve rather     
reprehension than defence4    7#aj7 ,not
 that ,i can tax or condemn the         
morigeration or application of  learned 
men to men in fortune4  ,for the answer 
was good that ,diogenes  made to one    
that asked him in mockery1 8,how it came
 to pass that  philosophers were the    
followers of rich men1 and not rich men 
of  philosophers80  ,he answered        
soberly1 and yet sharply1 8,because the 
one  sort knew what they had need of1   
and the other did not40  ,and of the    
like  nature was the answer which       
,aristippus made1 when having a petition
 to  ,dionysius1 and no ear given to    
him1 he fell down at his feet1 whereupon
  ,dionysius stayed and gave him the    
hearing1 and granted it2 and afterwards 
some person1 tender on the behalf of    
philosophy1 reproved ,aristippus that   

he would offer the profession of        
philosophy such an indignity as for a   
private suit to fall at a tyrant's feet2
 but he answered1 8,it was not his      
fault1 but it was the fault of          
,dionysius1 that had his ears in his    
feet40  ,neither was it accounted       
weakness1 but discretion1 in him that   
would not  dispute his best with        
,adrianus ,csar1 excusing himself1      
8,that it was  reason to yield to him   
that commanded thirty legions40  ,these 
and the  like1 applications1 and        
stooping to points of necessity and     
convenience1  cannot be disallowed2 for 
though they may have some outward       
baseness1 yet  in a judgment truly made 
they are to be accounted submissions to 
the  occasion and not to the person4    
,,iv4 7#a7 ,now ,i proceed to those     
errors and vanities which have          
intervened  amongst the studies         
themselves of the learned1 which is that
 which is  principal and proper to the  
present argument2 wherein my purpose is 

not  to make a justification of the     
errors1 but by a censure and separation 
of  the errors to make a justification  
of that which is good and sound1 and  to
 deliver that from the aspersion of the 
other4  ,for we see that it is  the     
manner of men to scandalise and deprave 
that which retaineth the  state and     
virtue1 by taking advantage upon that   
which is corrupt and  degenerate1 as the
 heathens in the primitive ,church used 
to blemish and  taint the ,christians   
with the faults and corruptions of      
heretics4  ,but  nevertheless ,i have no
 meaning at this time to make any exact 
animadversion of the errors and         
impediments in matters of learning1     
which  are more secret and remote from  
vulgar opinion1 but only to speak unto  
such as do fall under or near unto a    
popular observation4    7#b7 ,there be  
therefore chiefly three vanities in     
studies1 whereby  learning hath been    
most traduced4  ,for those things we do 
esteem vain  which are either false or  

frivolous1 those which either have no   
truth or  no use2 and those persons we  
esteem vain which are either credulous  
or  curious2 and curiosity is either in 
matter or words3 so that in reason as   
well as in experience there fall out to 
be these three distempers 7as ,i  may   
term them7 of learning--the first1      
fantastical learning2 the second1       
contentious learning2 and the last1     
delicate learning2 vain imaginations1   
vain altercations1 and vain             
affectations2 and with the last ,i will 
begin4  ,martin ,luther1 conducted1 no  
doubt1 by a higher ,providence1 but in  
discourse of reason1 finding what a     
province he had undertaken against  the 
,bishop of ,rome and the degenerate     
traditions of the ,church1 and  finding 
his own solitude1 being in nowise aided 
by the opinions of his  own time1 was   
enforced to awake all antiquity1 and to 
call former times  to his succours to   
make a party against the present time4  
,so that the  ancient authors1 both in  

divinity and in humanity1 which had long
 time  slept in libraries1 began        
generally to be read and revolved4      
,this1 by  consequence1 did draw on a   
necessity of a more exquisite travail in
 the  languages original1 wherein those 
authors did write1 for the better       
understanding of those authors1 and the 
better advantage of pressing and        
applying their words4  ,and thereof     
grew1 again1 a delight in their manner  
of style and phrase1 and an admiration  
of that kind of writing1 which was  much
 furthered and precipitated by the      
enmity and opposition that the          
propounders of those primitive but      
seeming new opinions had against the    
schoolmen1 who were generally of the    
contrary part1 and whose writings  were 
altogether in a differing style and     
form2 taking liberty to coin and  frame 
new terms of art to express their own   
sense1 and to avoid circuit  of speech1 
without regard to the pureness1         
pleasantness1 and 7as ,i may  call it7  

lawfulness of the phrase or word4  ,and 
again1 because the great  labour then   
was with the people 7of whom the        
,pharisees were wont to say1            
,execrabilis ista turba1 qu non novit   
legem71 for the winning and  persuading 
of them1 there grew of necessity in     
chief price and request  eloquence and  
variety of discourse1 as the fittest and
 forciblest access  into the capacity of
 the vulgar sort2 so that these four    
causes  concurring--the admiration of   
ancient authors1 the hate of the        
schoolmen1  the exact study of          
languages1 and the efficacy of          
preaching--did bring in  an affectionate
 study of eloquence and copy of speech1 
which then began  to flourish4  ,this   
grew speedily to an excess2 for men     
began to hunt more  after words than    
matter--more after the choiceness of the
 phrase1 and the  round and clean       
composition of the sentence1 and the    
sweet falling of the  clauses1 and the  
varying and illustration of their works 

with tropes and  figures1 than after the
 weight of matter1 worth of subject1    
soundness of  argument1 life of         
invention1 or depth of judgment4  ,then 
grew the flowing  and watery vein of    
,osorius1 the ,portugal bishop1 to be in
 price4  ,then  did ,sturmius spend such
 infinite and curious pains upon ,cicero
 the ,orator  and ,hermogenes the       
,rhetorician1 besides his own books of  
,periods and  ,imitation1 and the like4 
,then did ,car of ,cambridge and ,ascham
 with their  lectures and writings      
almost deify ,cicero and ,demosthenes1  
and allure all  young men that were     
studious unto that delicate and polished
 kind of  learning4  ,then did ,erasmus 
take occasion to make the scoffing echo1
  ,decem annos consuumpsi in legendo    
,cicerone2 and the echo answered in     
,greek1 ,one1 ,asine4  ,then grew the   
learning of the schoolmen to be  utterly
 despised as barbarous4  ,in sum1 the   
whole inclination and bent of  those    
times was rather towards copy than      

weight4    7#c7 ,here therefore is the  
first distemper of learning1 when men   
study  words and not matter2 whereof1   
though ,i have represented an example of
  late times1 yet it hath been and will 
be secundum majus et minus in all  time4
  ,and how is it possible but this      
should have an operation to  discredit  
learning1 even with vulgar capacities1  
when they see learned  men's works like 
the first letter of a patent or limited 
book1 which  though it hath large       
flourishes1 yet it is but a letter8  ,it
 seems to me  that ,pygmalion's frenzy  
is a good emblem or portraiture of this 
vanity2  for words are but the images of
 matter1 and except they have life of   
reason and invention1 to fall in love   
with them is all one as to fall in  love
 with a picture4    7#d7 ,but yet       
notwithstanding it is a thing not       
hastily to be condemned1 to  clothe and 
adorn the obscurity even of philosophy  
itself with sensible  and plausible     
elocution4  ,for hereof we have great   

examples in ,xenophon1  ,cicero1        
,seneca1 ,plutarch1 and of ,plato also  
in some degree2 and hereof  likewise    
there is great use1 for surely1 to the  
severe inquisition of  truth and the    
deep progress into philosophy1 it is    
some hindrance because  it is too early 
satisfactory to the mind of man1 and    
quencheth the desire  of further search 
before we come to a just period4  ,but  
then if a man be  to have any use of    
such knowledge in civil occasions1 of   
conference1  counsel1 persuasion1       
discourse1 or the like1 then shall he   
find it  prepared to his hands in those 
authors which write in that manner4     
,but  the excess of this is so justly   
contemptible1 that as ,hercules1 when he
  saw the image of ,adonis1 ,venus'     
minion1 in a temple1 said in disdain1   
,nil sacri es2 so there is none of      
,hercules' followers in learning--that  
is1 the more severe and laborious sort  
of inquirers into truth--but will       
despise those delicacies and            

affectations1 as indeed capable of no   
divineness4  ,and thus much of the first
 disease or distemper of learning4      
7#e7 ,the second which followeth is in  
nature worse than the former3 for as    
substance of matter is better than      
beauty of words1 so contrariwise vain   
matter is worse than vain words3 wherein
 it seemeth the reprehension of  ,st4   
,paul was not only proper for those     
times1 but prophetical for the  times   
following2 and not only respective to   
divinity1 but extensive to  all         
knowledge3 ,devita profanas vocum       
novitates1 et oppositiones falsi        
nominis scienti4  ,for he assigneth two 
marks and badges of suspected  and      
falsified science3 the one1 the novelty 
and strangeness of terms2 the  other1   
the strictness of positions1 which of   
necessity doth induce  oppositions1 and 
so questions and altercations4  ,surely1
 like as many  substances in nature     
which are solid do putrefy and corrupt  
into  worms2--so it is the property of  

good and sound knowledge to putrefy and 
dissolve into a number of subtle1 idle1 
unwholesome1 and 7as ,i may term  them7 
vermiculate questions1 which have indeed
 a kind of quickness and  life of       
spirit1 but no soundness of matter or   
goodness of quality4  ,this  kind of    
degenerate learning did chiefly reign   
amongst the schoolmen1 who  having sharp
 and strong wits1 and abundance of      
leisure1 and small variety  of reading1 
but their wits being shut up in the     
cells of a few authors  7chiefly        
,aristotle their dictator7 as their     
persons were shut up in the  cells of   
monasteries and colleges1 and knowing   
little history1 either of  nature or    
time1 did out of no great quantity of   
matter and infinite  agitation of wit   
spin out unto us those laborious webs of
 learning which  are extant in their    
books4  ,for the wit and mind of man1 if
 it work upon  matter1 which is the     
contemplation of the creatures of ,god1 
worketh  according to the stuff and is  

limited thereby2 but if it work upon    
itself1 as the spider worketh his web1  
then it is endless1 and brings  forth   
indeed cobwebs of learning1 admirable   
for the fineness of thread  and work1   
but of no substance or profit4    7#f7  
,this same unprofitable subtility or    
curiosity is of two sorts3 either  in   
the subject itself that they handle1    
when it is a fruitless  speculation or  
controversy 7whereof there are no small 
number both in  divinity and            
philosophy71 or in the manner or method 
of handling of a  knowledge1 which      
amongst them was this--upon every       
particular position or  assertion to    
frame objections1 and to those          
objections1 solutions2 which  solutions 
were for the most part not confutations1
 but distinctions3  whereas indeed the  
strength of all sciences is1 as the     
strength of the  old man's faggot1 in   
the bond4  ,for the harmony of a        
science1 supporting  each part the      
other1 is and ought to be the true and  

brief confutation  and suppression of   
all the smaller sort of objections4     
,but1 on the other  side1 if you take   
out every axiom1 as the sticks of the   
faggot1 one by  one1 you may quarrel    
with them and bend them and break them  
at your  pleasure3 so that1 as was said 
of ,seneca1 ,verborum minutiis rerum    
frangit pondera1 so a man may truly say 
of the schoolmen1 ,qustionum  minutiis  
scientiarum frangunt soliditatem4  ,for 
were it not better for a  man in fair   
room to set up one great light1 or      
branching candlestick of  lights1 than  
to go about with a small watch-candle   
into every corner8  ,and such is their  
method1 that rests not so much upon     
evidence of truth  proved by arguments1 
authorities1 similitudes1 examples1 as  
upon  particular confutations and       
solutions of every scruple1 cavillation1
 and  objection2 breeding for the most  
part one question as fast as it solveth 
another2 even as in the former          
resemblance1 when you carry the light   

into  one corner1 you darken the rest2  
so that the fable and fiction of ,scylla
  seemeth to be a lively image of this  
kind of philosophy or knowledge2  which 
was transformed into a comely virgin for
 the upper parts2 but then  ,candida    
succinctam latrantibus inguina monstris3
 so the generalities of  the schoolmen  
are for a while good and proportionable2
 but then when you  descend into their  
distinctions and decisions1 instead of a
 fruitful womb  for the use and benefit 
of man's life1 they end in monstrous    
altercations  and barking questions4    
,so as it is not possible but this      
quality of  knowledge must fall under   
popular contempt1 the people being apt  
to  contemn truths upon occasion of     
controversies and altercations1 and to  
think they are all out of their way     
which never meet2 and when they see     
such digladiation about subtleties1 and 
matters of no use or moment1 they       
easily fall upon that judgment of       
,dionysius of ,syracusa1 ,verba ista    

sunt  senum otiosorum4    7#g7          
,notwithstanding1 certain it is that if 
those schoolmen to their great  thirst  
of truth and unwearied travail of wit   
had joined variety and  universality of 
reading and contemplation1 they had     
proved excellent  lights1 to the great  
advancement of all learning and         
knowledge2 but as  they are1 they are   
great undertakers indeed1 and fierce    
with dark  keeping4  ,but as in the     
inquiry of the divine truth1 their pride
 inclined  to leave the oracle of ,god's
 word1 and to vanish in the mixture of  
their  own inventions2 so in the        
inquisition of nature1 they ever left   
the  oracle of ,god's works1 and adored 
the deceiving and deformed images which 
the unequal mirror of their own minds1  
or a few received authors or            
principles1 did represent unto them4    
,and thus much for the second  disease  
of learning4    7#h7 ,for the third vice
 or disease of learning1 which          
concerneth deceit or  untruth1 it is of 

all the rest the foulest2 as that which 
doth destroy  the essential form of     
knowledge1 which is nothing but a       
representation of  truth3 for the truth 
of being and the truth of knowing are   
one1 differing  no more than the direct 
beam and the beam reflected4  ,this vice
 therefore  brancheth itself into two   
sorts2 delight in deceiving and aptness 
to be  deceived2 imposture and          
credulity2 which1 although they appear  
to be of a  diverse nature1 the one     
seeming to proceed of cunning and the   
other of  simplicity1 yet certainly they
 do for the most part concur3 for1 as   
the  verse noteth--                     
8,percontatorem fugito1 nam garrulus    
idem est10    an inquisitive man is a   
prattler2 so upon the like reason a     
credulous man  is a deceiver3 as we see 
it in fame1 that he that will easily    
believe  rumours will as easily augment 
rumours and add somewhat to them of his 
own2 which ,tacitus wisely noteth1 when 
he saith1 ,fingunt simul  creduntque3 so

 great an affinity hath fiction and     
belief4    7#i7 ,this facility of credit
 and accepting or admitting things      
weakly  authorised or warranted is of   
two kinds according to the subject3 for 
it  is either a belief of history1 or1  
as the lawyers speak1 matter of fact2   
or else of matter of art and opinion4   
,as to the former1 we see the           
experience and inconvenience of this    
error in ecclesiastical history2  which 
hath too easily received and registered 
reports and narrations of  miracles     
wrought by martyrs1 hermits1 or monks of
 the desert1 and other  holy men1 and   
their relics1 shrines1 chapels and      
images3 which though  they had a passage
 for a time by the ignorance of the     
people1 the  superstitious simplicity of
 some and the politic toleration of     
others  holding them but as divine      
poesies1 yet after a period of time1    
when the  mist began to clear up1 they  
grew to be esteemed but as old wives'   
fables1 impostures of the clergy1       

illusions of spirits1 and badges of     
,antichrist1 to the great scandal and   
detriment of religion4    7#aj7 ,so in  
natural history1 we see there hath not  
been that choice and  judgment used as  
ought to have been2 as may appear in the
 writings of  ,plinius1 ,cardanus1      
,albertus1 and divers of the ,arabians1 
being fraught  with much fabulous       
matter1 a great part not only untried1  
but notoriously  untrue1 to the great   
derogation of the credit of natural     
philosophy with  the grave and sober    
kind of wits3 wherein the wisdom and    
integrity of  ,aristotle is worthy to be
 observed1 that1 having made so diligent
 and  exquisite a history of living     
creatures1 hath mingled it sparingly    
with  any vain or feigned matter2 and   
yet on the other side hath cast all     
prodigious narrations1 which he thought 
worthy the recording1 into one  book1   
excellently discerning that matter of   
manifest truth1 such  whereupon         
observation and rule was to be built1   

was not to be mingled or  weakened with 
matter of doubtful credit2 and yet      
again1 that rarities and  reports that  
seem uncredible are not to be suppressed
 or denied to the  memory of men4       
7#aa7 ,and as for the facility of credit
 which is yielded to arts and  opinions1
 it is likewise of two kinds2 either    
when too much belief is  attributed to  
the arts themselves1 or to certain      
authors in any art4  ,the  sciences     
themselves1 which have had better       
intelligence and confederacy  with the  
imagination of man than with his reason1
 are three in number3  astrology1       
natural magic1 and alchemy2 of which    
sciences1 nevertheless1  the ends or    
pretences are noble4  ,for astrology    
pretendeth to discover  that            
correspondence or concatenation which is
 between the superior globe  and the    
inferior2 natural magic pretendeth to   
call and reduce natural  philosophy from
 variety of speculations to the         
magnitude of works2 and  alchemy        

pretendeth to make separation of all the
 unlike parts of bodies  which in       
mixtures of natures are incorporate4    
,but the derivations and  prosecutions  
to these ends1 both in the theories and 
in the practices1  are full of error and
 vanity2 which the great professors     
themselves have  sought to veil over and
 conceal by enigmatical writings1 and   
referring  themselves to auricular      
traditions and such other devices1 to   
save the  credit of impostures4  ,and   
yet surely to alchemy this right is due1
 that  it may be compared to the        
husbandman whereof sop makes the fable2 
that1  when he died1 told his sons that 
he had left unto them gold buried       
underground in his vineyard2 and they   
digged over all the ground1 and  gold   
they found none2 but by reason of their 
stirring and digging the  mould about   
the roots of their vines1 they had a    
great vintage the year  following3 so   
assuredly the search and stir to make   
gold hath brought to  light a great     

number of good and fruitful inventions  
and experiments1 as  well for the       
disclosing of nature as for the use of  
man's life4    7#ab7 ,and as for the    
overmuch credit that hath been given    
unto authors in  sciences1 in making    
them dictators1 that their words should 
stand1 and  not consuls1 to give advice2
 the damage is infinite that sciences   
have  received thereby1 as the principal
 cause that hath kept them low at a     
stay without growth or advancement4     
,for hence it hath come1 that in arts   
mechanical the first deviser comes      
shortest1 and time addeth and           
perfecteth2 but in sciences the first   
author goeth furthest1 and time  leeseth
 and corrupteth4  ,so we see artillery1 
sailing1 printing1 and the  like1 were  
grossly managed at the first1 and by    
time accommodated and  refined2 but     
contrariwise1 the philosophies and      
sciences of ,aristotle1  ,plato1        
,democritus1 ,hippocrates1 ,euclides1   
,archimedes1 of most vigour at  the     

first1 and by time degenerate and       
imbased3 whereof the reason is no       
other1 but that in the former many wits 
and industries have contributed  in one2
 and in the latter many wits and        
industries have been spent about  the   
wit of some one1 whom many times they   
have rather depraved than  illustrated2 
for1 as water will not ascend higher    
than the level of the  first spring-head
 from whence it descendeth1 so knowledge
 derived from  ,aristotle1 and exempted 
from liberty of examination1 will not   
rise again  higher than the knowledge of
 ,aristotle4  ,and1 therefore1 although 
the  position be good1 ,oportet         
discentem credere1 yet it must be       
coupled  with this1 ,oportet edoctum    
judicare2 for disciples do owe unto     
masters  only a temporary belief and a  
suspension of their own judgment till   
they  be fully instructed1 and not an   
absolute resignation or perpetual       
captivity2 and therefore1 to conclude   
this point1 ,i will say no more1 but  so

 let great authors have their due1 as   
time1 which is the author of  authors1  
be not deprived of his due--which is1   
further and further to  discover truth4 
,thus have ,i gone over these three     
diseases of learning2  besides the which
 there are some other rather peccant    
humours than formed  diseases1 which1   
nevertheless1 are not so secret and     
intrinsic1 but that  they fall under a  
popular observation and traducement1    
and1 therefore1  are not to be passed   
over4    ,v4 7#a7 ,the first of these is
 the extreme affecting of two           
extremities3  the one antiquity1 the    
other novelty2 wherein it seemeth the   
children of  time do take after the     
nature and malice of the father4  ,for  
as he  devoureth his children1 so one of
 them seeketh to devour and suppress the
  other2 while antiquity envieth there  
should be new additions1 and novelty    
cannot be content to add but it must    
deface2 surely the advice of the        
prophet is the true direction in this   

matter1 ,state super vias  antiquas1 et 
videte qunam sit via recta et bona et   
ambulate in ea4  ,antiquity deserveth   
that reverence1 that men should make a  
stand  thereupon and discover what is   
the best way2 but when the discovery is 
well taken1 then to make progression4   
,and to speak truly1 ,antiquitas  sculi 
juventus mundi4  ,these times are the   
ancient times1 when the  world is       
ancient1 and not those which we account 
ancient ordine  retrogrado1 by a        
computation backward from ourselves4    
7#b7 ,another error induced by the      
former is a distrust that anything      
should be now to be found out1 which the
 world should have missed and  passed   
over so long time3 as if the same       
objection were to be made to  time that 
,lucian maketh to ,jupiter and other the
 heathen gods2 of which  he wondereth   
that they begot so many children in old 
time1 and begot none  in his time2 and  
asketh whether they were become         
septuagenary1 or whether  the law       

,papia1 made against old men's          
marriages1 had restrained them4  ,so it 
seemeth men doubt lest time is become   
past children and generation2  wherein  
contrariwise we see commonly the levity 
and unconstancy of men's  judgments1    
which1 till a matter be done1 wonder    
that it can be done2 and  as soon as it 
is done1 wonder again that it was no    
sooner done3 as we see  in the          
expedition of ,alexander into ,asia1    
which at first was prejudged as  a vast 
and impossible enterprise2 and yet      
afterwards it pleaseth ,livy to  make no
 more of it than this1 ,nil aliud qum   
bene ausus vana  contemnere4  ,and the  
same happened to ,columbus in the       
western  navigation4  ,but in           
intellectual matters it is much more    
common1 as may  be seen in most of the  
propositions of ,euclid2 which till they
 be  demonstrate1 they seem strange to  
our assent2 but being demonstrate1 our  
mind accepteth of them by a kind of     
relation 7as the lawyers speak71 as  if 

we had known them before4    7#c7       
,another error1 that hath also some     
affinity with the former1 is a  conceit 
that of former opinions or sects after  
variety and examination  the best hath  
still prevailed and suppressed the rest2
 so as if a man  should begin the labour
 of a new search1 he were but like to   
light upon  somewhat formerly rejected1 
and by rejection brought into oblivion2 
as if  the multitude1 or the wisest for 
the multitude's sake1 were not ready to 
give passage rather to that which is    
popular and superficial than to that    
which is substantial and profound for   
the truth is1 that time seemeth to  be  
of the nature of a river or stream1     
which carrieth down to us that  which is
 light and blown up1 and sinketh and    
drowneth that which is  weighty and     
solid4    7#d7 ,another error1 of a     
diverse nature from all the former1 is  
the  over-early and peremptory reduction
 of knowledge into arts and methods2    
from which time commonly sciences       

receive small or no augmentation4  ,but 
as young men1 when they knit and shape  
perfectly1 do seldom grow to a  further 
stature1 so knowledge1 while it is in   
aphorisms and observations1  it is in   
growth2 but when it once is comprehended
 in exact methods1 it  may1 perchance1  
be further polished1 and illustrate and 
accommodated for  use and practice1 but 
it increaseth no more in bulk and       
substance4    7#e7 ,another error which 
doth succeed that which we last         
mentioned is1  that after the           
distribution of particular arts and     
sciences1 men have  abandoned           
universality1 or philosophia prima1     
which cannot but cease  and stop all    
progression4  ,for no perfect discovery 
can be made upon a  flat or a level2    
neither is it possible to discover the  
more remote and  deeper parts of any    
science if you stand but upon the level 
of the same  science1 and ascend not to 
a higher science4    7#f7 ,another error
 hath proceeded from too great a        

reverence1 and a kind  of adoration of  
the mind and understanding of man2 by   
means whereof1 men  have withdrawn      
themselves too much from the            
contemplation of nature1 and  the       
observations of experience1 and have    
tumbled up and down in their own  reason
 and conceits4  ,upon these             
intellectualists1 which are             
notwithstanding commonly taken for the  
most sublime and divine  philosophers1  
,heraclitus gave a just censure1        
saying3--8,men sought truth  in their   
own little worlds1 and not in the great 
and common world20 for  they disdain to 
spell1 and so by degrees to read in the 
volume of ,god's  works2 and            
contrariwise by continual meditation and
 agitation of wit do  urge and1 as it   
were1 invocate their own spirits to     
divine and give  oracles unto them1     
whereby they are deservedly deluded4    
7#g7 ,another error that hath some      
connection with this latter is1 that men
  have used to infect their meditations1

 opinions1 and doctrines with some      
conceits which they have most admired1  
or some sciences which they have  most  
applied1 and given all things else a    
tincture according to them1  utterly    
untrue and improper4  ,so hath ,plato   
intermingled his philosophy  with       
theology1 and ,aristotle with logic2 and
 the second school of ,plato1  ,proclus 
and the rest1 with the mathematics2 for 
these were the arts which  had a kind of
 primogeniture with them severally4  ,so
 have the alchemists  made a philosophy 
out of a few experiments of the furnace2
 and ,gilbertus  our countryman hath    
made a philosophy out of the            
observations of a  loadstone4  ,so      
,cicero1 when reciting the several      
opinions of the nature  of the soul1 he 
found a musician that held the soul was 
but a harmony1  saith pleasantly1 ,hic  
ab arte sua non recessit1 c4  ,but of   
these  conceits ,aristotle speaketh     
seriously and wisely when he saith1 ,qui
  respiciunt ad pauca de facili         

pronunciant4    7#h7 ,another error is  
an impatience of doubt1 and haste to    
assertion  without due and mature       
suspension of judgment4  ,for the two   
ways of  contemplation are not unlike   
the two ways of action commonly spoken  
of by  the ancients3 the one plain and  
smooth in the beginning1 and in the end 
impassable2 the other rough and         
troublesome in the entrance1 but after a
  while fair and even4  ,so it is in    
contemplation3 if a man will begin with 
certainties1 he shall end in doubts2 but
 if he will be content to begin  with   
doubts1 he shall end in certainties4    
7#i7 ,another error is in the manner of 
the tradition and delivery of           
knowledge1 which is for the most part   
magistral and peremptory1 and not       
ingenuous and faithful2 in a sort as may
 be soonest believed1 and not  easiest  
examined4  ,it is true1 that in         
compendious treatises for practice  that
 form is not to be disallowed2 but in   
the true handling of knowledge  men     

ought not to fall either on the one side
 into the vein of ,velleius  the        
,epicurean1 ,nil tam metuens quam ne    
dubitare aliqua de revideretur3  nor1 on
 the other side1 into ,socrates1 his    
ironical doubting of all  things2 but to
 propound things sincerely with more or 
less asseveration1  as they stand in a  
man's own judgment proved more or less4 
7#aj7 ,other errors there are in the    
scope that men propound to themselves1  
whereunto they bend their endeavours2   
for1 whereas the more constant and      
devote kind of professors of any science
 ought to propound to themselves  to    
make some additions to their science1   
they convert their labours to  aspire to
 certain second prizes3 as to be a      
profound interpreter or  commentor1 to  
be a sharp champion or defender1 to be a
 methodical  compounder or abridger1 and
 so the patrimony of knowledge cometh to
 be  sometimes improved1 but seldom     
augmented4    7#aa7 ,but the greatest   
error of all the rest is the mistaking  

or  misplacing of the last or furthest  
end of knowledge4  ,for men have        
entered into a desire of learning and   
knowledge1 sometimes upon a natural     
curiosity and inquisitive appetite2     
sometimes to entertain their minds  with
 variety and delight2 sometimes for     
ornament and reputation2 and  sometimes 
to enable them to victory of wit and    
contradiction2 and most  times for lucre
 and profession2 and seldom sincerely to
 give a true  account of their gift of  
reason to the benefit and use of men3 as
 if  there were sought in knowledge a   
couch whereupon to rest a searching and 
restless spirit2 or a terrace for a     
wandering and variable mind to walk  up 
and down with a fair prospect2 or a     
tower of state1 for a proud mind  to    
raise itself upon2 or a fort or         
commanding ground1 for strife and       
contention2 or a shop1 for profit or    
sale2 and not a rich storehouse for  the
 glory of the ,creator and the relief of
 man's estate4  ,but this is  that which

 will indeed dignify and exalt          
knowledge1 if contemplation and  action 
may be more nearly and straitly         
conjoined and united together than  they
 have been3 a conjunction like unto that
 of the two highest planets1  ,saturn1  
the planet of rest and contemplation2   
and ,jupiter1 the planet of  civil      
society and action1 howbeit1 ,i do not  
mean1 when ,i speak of use and  action1 
that end before-mentioned of the        
applying of knowledge to lucre  and     
profession2 for ,i am not ignorant how  
much that diverteth and  interrupteth   
the prosecution and advancement of      
knowledge1 like unto the  golden ball   
thrown before ,atalanta1 which1 while   
she goeth aside and  stoopeth to take   
up1 the race is hindered1               
8,declinat cursus1 aurumque volubile    
tollit40 #ci    ,neither is my meaning1 
as was spoken of ,socrates1 to call     
philosophy down  from heaven to converse
 upon the earth--that is1 to leave      
natural  philosophy aside1 and to apply 

knowledge only to manners and policy4   
,but  as both heaven and earth do       
conspire and contribute to the use and  
benefit of man1 so the end ought to be1 
from both philosophies to  separate and 
reject vain speculations1 and whatsoever
 is empty and void1  and to preserve and
 augment whatsoever is solid and        
fruitful2 that  knowledge may not be as 
a courtesan1 for pleasure and vanity    
only1 or as  a bond-woman1 to acquire   
and gain to her master's use2 but as a  
spouse1  for generation1 fruit1 and     
comfort4    7#ab7 ,thus have ,i         
described and opened1 as by a kind of   
dissection1 those  peccant humours 7the 
principal of them7 which have not only  
given  impediment to the proficience of 
learning1 but have given also occasion  
to the traducement thereof3 wherein1 if 
,i have been too plain1 it must be      
remembered1 fidelia vulnera amantis1 sed
 dolosa oscula malignantis4  ,this ,i   
think ,i have gained1 that ,i ought to  
be the better believed in  that which ,i

 shall say pertaining to commendation2  
because ,i have  proceeded so freely in 
that which concerneth censure4  ,and yet
 ,i have no  purpose to enter into a    
laudative of learning1 or to make a hymn
 to the  ,muses 7though ,i am of opinion
 that it is long since their rites were 
duly  celebrated71 but my intent is1    
without varnish or amplification justly 
to  weigh the dignity of knowledge in   
the balance with other things1 and to   
take the true value thereof by          
testimonies and arguments1 divine and   
human4    ,,vi4 7#a7 ,first1 therefore1 
let us seek the dignity of knowledge in 
the  archetype or first platform1 which 
is in the attributes and acts of ,god1  
as far as they are revealed to man and  
may be observed with sobriety2  wherein 
we may not seek it by the name of       
learning1 for all learning is  knowledge
 acquired1 and all knowledge in ,god is 
original1 and therefore  we must look   
for it by another name1 that of wisdom  
or sapience1 as the  ,scriptures call   

it4    7#b7 ,it is so1 then1 that in the
 work of the creation we see a double   
emanation of virtue from ,god2 the one  
referring more properly to power1  the  
other to wisdom2 the one expressed in   
making the subsistence of the  matter1  
and the other in disposing the beauty of
 the form4  ,this being  supposed1 it is
 to be observed that for anything which 
appeareth in the  history of the        
creation1 the confused mass and matter  
of heaven and earth  was made in a      
moment1 and the order and disposition of
 that chaos or mass  was the work of six
 days2 such a note of difference it     
pleased ,god to put  upon the works of  
power1 and the works of wisdom2         
wherewith concurreth1  that in the      
former it is not set down that ,god     
said1 8,let there be heaven  and earth10
 as it is set down of the works         
following2 but actually1 that  ,god made
 heaven and earth3 the one carrying the 
style of a manufacture1  and the other  
of a law1 decree1 or counsel4    7#c7   

,to proceed1 to that which is next in   
order from ,god1 to spirits3 we  find1  
as far as credit is to be given to the  
celestial hierarchy of that  supposed   
,dionysius1 the senator of ,athens1 the 
first place or degree is  given to the  
angels of love1 which are termed        
seraphim2 the second to the  angels of  
light1 which are termed cherubim2 and   
the third1 and so  following places1 to 
thrones1 principalities1 and the rest1  
which are all  angels of power and      
ministry2 so as this angels of knowledge
 and  illumination are placed before the
 angels of office and domination4       
7#d7 ,to descend from spirits and       
intellectual forms to sensible and      
material forms1 we read the first form  
that was created was light1 which  hath 
a relation and correspondence in nature 
and corporal things to  knowledge in    
spirits and incorporal things4    7#e7  
,so in the distribution of days we see  
the day wherein ,god did rest  and      
contemplate ,his own works was blessed  

above all the days wherein ,he  did     
effect and accomplish them4    7#f7     
,after the creation was finished1 it is 
set down unto us that man was  placed in
 the garden to work therein2 which work1
 so appointed to him1  could be no other
 than work of contemplation2 that is1   
when the end of  work is but for        
exercise and experiment1 not for        
necessity2 for there  being then no     
reluctation of the creature1 nor sweat  
of the brow1 man's  employment must of  
consequence have been matter of delight 
in the  experiment1 and not matter of   
labour for the use4  ,again1 the first  
acts  which man performed in ,paradise  
consisted of the two summary parts of   
knowledge2 the view of creatures1 and   
the imposition of names4  ,as for  the  
knowledge which induced the fall1 it    
was1 as was touched before1 not  the    
natural knowledge of creatures1 but the 
moral knowledge of good and  evil2      
wherein the supposition was1 that ,god's
 commandments or  prohibitions were not 

the originals of good and evil1 but that
 they had  other beginnings1 which man  
aspired to know1 to the end to make a   
total  defection from ,god and to depend
 wholly upon himself4    7#g7 ,to pass  
on3 in the first event or occurrence    
after the fall of man1  we see 7as the  
,scriptures have infinite mysteries1 not
 violating at all  the truth of this    
story or letter7 an image of the two    
estates1 the  contemplative state and   
the active state1 figured in the two    
persons of  ,abel and ,cain1 and in the 
two simplest and most primitive trades  
of life2  that of the shepherd 7who1 by 
reason of his leisure1 rest in a place1 
and  lying in view of heaven1 is a      
lively image of a contemplative life71  
and  that of the husbandman1 where we   
see again the favour and election of    
,god  went to the shepherd1 and not to  
the tiller of the ground4    7#h7 ,so in
 the age before the flood1 the holy     
records within those few  memorials     
which are there entered and registered  

have vouchsafed to  mention and honour  
the name of the inventors and authors of
 music and  works in metal4  ,in the age
 after the flood1 the first great       
judgment of  ,god upon the ambition of  
man was the confusion of tongues2       
whereby the  open trade and intercourse 
of learning and knowledge was chiefly   
imbarred4    7#i7 ,to descend to ,moses 
the lawgiver1 and ,god's first pen3 he  
is adorned  by the ,scriptures with this
 addition and commendation1 8,that he   
was seen  in all the learning of the    
,egyptians10 which nation we know was   
one of  the most ancient schools of the 
world3 for so ,plato brings in the      
,egyptian priest saying unto ,solon1    
8,you ,grecians are ever children2 you  
have no knowledge of antiquity1 nor     
antiquity of knowledge40  ,take a view  
of the ceremonial law of ,moses2 you    
shall find1 besides the prefiguration   
of ,christ1 the badge or difference of  
the people of ,god1 the exercise and    
impression of obedience1 and other      

divine uses and fruits thereof1 that    
some of the most learned ,rabbins have  
travailed profitably and profoundly  to 
observe1 some of them a natural1 some of
 them a moral sense1 or  reduction of   
many of the ceremonies and ordinances4  
,as in the law of the  leprosy1 where it
 is said1 8,if the whiteness have       
overspread the flesh1  the patient may  
pass abroad for clean2 but if there be  
any whole flesh  remaining1 he is to be 
shut up for unclean20 one of them noteth
 a  principle of nature1 that           
putrefaction is more contagious before  
maturity  than after2 and another noteth
 a position of moral philosophy1 that   
men  abandoned to vice do not so much   
corrupt manners1 as those that are half 
good and half evil4  ,so in this and    
very many other places in that law1     
there is to be found1 besides the       
theological sense1 much aspersion of    
philosophy4    7#aj7  ,so likewise in   
that excellent hook of ,job1 if it be   
revolved with  diligence1 it will be    

found pregnant and swelling with natural
  philosophy2 as for example1           
cosmography1 and the roundness of the   
world1  ,qui extendit aquilonem super   
vacuum1 et appendit terram super        
nihilum2 wherein the pensileness of the 
earth1 the pole of the north1  and the  
finiteness or convexity of heaven are   
manifestly touched4  ,so  again1 matter 
of astronomy3 ,spiritus ejus ornavit    
clos1 et  obstetricante manu ejus       
eductus est ,coluber tortuoses4  ,and in
 another  place1 ,nunquid conjungere    
valebis micantes stellas ,pleiadas1 aut 
gyrum  ,arcturi poteris dissipare8      
,where the fixing of the stars1 ever    
standing  at equal distance1 is with    
great elegancy noted4  ,and in another  
place1  ,qui facit ,arcturum1 et        
,oriona1 et ,hyadas1 et interiora       
,austri2  where again he takes knowledge
 of the depression of the southern pole1
  calling it the secrets of the south1  
because the southern stars were in  that
 climate unseen4  ,matter of generation3

 ,annon sicut lac mulsisti  me1 et sicut
 caseum coagulasti me8 c4  ,matter of   
minerals3 ,habet  argentum venarum      
suarum principia2 et auro locus est in  
quo conflatur1  ferrum de terra         
tollitur1 et lapis solutus calore in s  
vertitur2 and  so forwards in that      
chapter4    7#aa7 ,so likewise in the   
person of ,solomon the king1 we see the 
gift or  endowment of wisdom and        
learning1 both in ,solomon's petition   
and in ,god's  assent thereunto1        
preferred before all other terrene and  
temporal  felicity4  ,by virtue of which
 grant or donative of ,god ,solomon     
became  enabled not only to write those 
excellent parables or aphorisms         
concerning divine and moral philosophy1 
but also to compile a natural  history  
of all verdure1 from the cedar upon the 
mountain to the moss upon  the wall     
7which is but a rudiment between        
putrefaction and an herb71 and  also of 
all things that breathe or move4  ,nay1 
the same ,solomon the king1  although he

 excelled in the glory of treasure and  
magnificent buildings1  of shipping and 
navigation1 of service and attendance1  
of fame and  renown1 and the like1 yet  
he maketh no claim to any of those      
glories1 but  only to the glory of      
inquisition of truth2 for so he saith   
expressly1  8,the glory of ,god is to   
conceal a thing1 but the glory of the   
king is to  find it out20 as if1        
according to the innocent play of       
children1 the  ,divine ,majesty took    
delight to hide ,his works1 to the end  
to have them  found out2 and as if kings
 could not obtain a greater honour than 
to be  ,god's playfellows in that game2 
considering the great commandment of    
wits  and means1 whereby nothing needeth
 to be hidden from them4    7#ab7       
,neither did the dispensation of ,god   
vary in the times after our  ,saviour   
came into the world2 for our ,saviour   
himself did first show ,his  power to   
subdue ignorance1 by ,his conference    
with the priests and doctors  of the    

law1 before ,he showed ,his power to    
subdue nature by ,his miracles4  ,and   
the coming of this ,holy ,spirit was    
chiefly figured and expressed in  the   
similitude and gift of tongues1 which   
are but vehicula scienti4    7#ac7 ,so  
in the election of those instruments1   
which it pleased ,god to use  for the   
plantation of the faith1 notwithstanding
 that at the first ,he did  employ      
persons altogether unlearned1 otherwise 
than by inspiration1 more  evidently to 
declare ,his immediate working1 and to  
abase all human wisdom  or knowledge2   
yet nevertheless that counsel of ,his   
was no sooner  performed1 but in the    
next vicissitude and succession ,he did 
send ,his  divine truth into the world1 
waited on with other learnings1 as with 
servants or handmaids3 for so we see    
,st4 ,paul1 who was only learned        
amongst the ,apostles1 had his pen most 
used in the ,scriptures of the ,new     
,testament4    7#ad7 ,so again we find  
that many of the ancient bishops and    

fathers of the  ,church were excellently
 read and studied in all the learning of
 this  heathen2 insomuch that the edict 
of the ,emperor ,julianus 7whereby it   
was  interdicted unto ,christians to be 
admitted into schools1 lectures1 or     
exercises of learning7 was esteemed and 
accounted a more pernicious  engine and 
machination against the ,christian      
,faith than were all the  sanguinary    
prosecutions of his predecessors2       
neither could the emulation  and        
jealousy of ,gregory1 the first of that 
name1 ,bishop of ,rome1 ever  obtain the
 opinion of piety or devotion2 but      
contrariwise received the  censure of   
humour1 malignity1 and pusillanimity1   
even amongst holy men2  in that he      
designed to obliterate and extinguish   
the memory of heathen  antiquity and    
authors4  ,but contrariwise it was the  
,christian ,church1  which1 amidst the  
inundations of the ,scythians on the one
 side from the  north-west1 and the     
,saracens from the east1 did preserve in

 the sacred  lap and bosom thereof the  
precious relics even of heathen         
learning1 which  otherwise had been     
extinguished1 as if no such thing had   
ever been4    7#ae7 ,and we see before  
our eyes1 that in the age of ourselves  
and our  fathers1 when it pleased ,god  
to call the ,church of ,rome to account 
for  their degenerate manners and       
ceremonies1 and sundry doctrines        
obnoxious  and framed to uphold the same
 abuses2 at one and the same time it was
  ordained by the ,divine ,providence   
that there should attend withal a       
renovation and new spring of all other  
knowledges4  ,and on the other side  we 
see the ,jesuits1 who partly in         
themselves1 and partly by the emulation 
and provocation of their example1 have  
much quickened and strengthened  the    
state of learning2 we see 7,i say7 what 
notable service and reparation  they    
have done to the ,roman see4    7#af7   
,wherefore1 to conclude this part1 let  
it be observed1 that there be  two      

principal duties and services1 besides  
ornament and illustration1  which       
philosophy and human learning do perform
 to faith and religion4  ,the one1      
because they are an effectual inducement
 to the exaltation of  the glory of     
,god4  ,for as the ,psalms and other    
,scriptures do often invite  us to      
consider and magnify the great and      
wonderful works of ,god1 so if we       
should rest only in the contemplation of
 the exterior of them as they  first    
offer themselves to our senses1 we      
should do a like injury unto the        
majesty of ,god1 as if we should judge  
or construe of the store of some        
excellent jeweller by that only which is
 set out toward the street in his  shop4
  ,the other1 because they minister a   
singular help and preservative  against 
unbelief and error4  ,for our ,saviour  
saith1 8,you err1 not knowing  the      
,scriptures1 nor the power of ,god20    
laying before us two books or  volumes  
to study1 if we will be secured from    

error3 first the ,scriptures1  revealing
 the will of ,god1 and then the         
creatures expressing ,his power2        
whereof the latter is a key unto the    
former3 not only opening our            
understanding to conceive the true sense
 of the ,scriptures by the general      
notions of reason and rules of speech1  
but chiefly opening our belief1 in      
drawing us into a due meditation of the 
omnipotency of ,god1 which is  chiefly  
signed and engraven upon ,his works4    
,thus much therefore for  divine        
testimony and evidence concerning the   
true dignity and value of  learning4    
,,vii4 7#a7 ,as for human proofs1 it is 
so large a field1 as in a discourse  of 
this nature and brevity it is fit rather
 to use choice of those things  which we
 shall produce1 than to embrace the     
variety of them4  ,first1  therefore1 in
 the degrees of human honour amongst the
 heathen1 it was the  highest to obtain 
to a veneration and adoration as a ,god4
  ,this unto the  ,christians is as the 

forbidden fruit4  ,but we speak now     
separately of  human testimony1         
according to which--that which the      
,grecians call  apotheosis1 and the     
,latins relatio inter divos--was the    
supreme honour  which man could         
attribute unto man1 specially when it   
was given1 not by a  formal decree or   
act of state 7as it was used among the  
,roman ,emperors71  but by an inward    
assent and belief4  ,which honour1 being
 so high1 had  also a degree or middle  
term2 for there were reckoned above     
human  honours1 honours heroical and    
divine3 in the attribution and          
distribution  of which honours we see   
antiquity made this difference2 that    
whereas  founders and uniters of states 
and cities1 lawgivers1 extirpers of     
tyrants1 fathers of the people1 and     
other eminent persons in civil merit1   
were honoured but with the titles of    
worthies or demigods1 such as were      
,hercules1 ,theseus1 ,minus1 ,romulus1  
and the like2 on the other side1 such   

as were inventors and authors of new    
arts1 endowments1 and commodities       
towards man's life1 were ever           
consecrated amongst the gods themselves1
 as  was ,ceres1 ,bacchus1 ,mercurius1  
,apollo1 and others4  ,and justly2 for  
the  merit of the former is confined    
within the circle of an age or a nation1
  and is like fruitful showers1 which   
though they be profitable and good1  yet
 serve but for that season1 and for a   
latitude of ground where they  fall2 but
 the other is1 indeed1 like the benefits
 of heaven1 which are  permanent and    
universal4  ,the former again is mixed  
with strife and  perturbation1 but the  
latter hath the true character of       
,divine ,presence1  coming in aura leni1
 without noise or agitation4    7#b7    
,neither is certainly that other merit  
of learning1 in repressing the          
inconveniences which grow from man to   
man1 much inferior to the former1  of   
relieving the necessities which arise   
from nature1 which merit was  lively set

 forth by the ancients in that feigned  
relation of ,orpheus'  theatre1 where   
all beasts and birds assembled1 and1    
forgetting their  several               
appetites--some of prey1 some of game1  
some of quarrel--stood all  sociably    
together listening unto the airs and    
accords of the harp1 the  sound whereof 
no sooner ceased1 or was drowned by some
 louder noise1 but  every beast returned
 to his own nature2 wherein is aptly    
described the  nature and condition of  
men1 who are full of savage and         
unreclaimed  desires1 of profit1 of     
lust1 of revenge2 which as long as they 
give ear  to precepts1 to laws1 to      
religion1 sweetly touched with eloquence
 and  persuasion of books1 of sermons1  
of harangues1 so long is society and    
peace maintained2 but if these          
instruments be silent1 or that sedition 
and tumult make them not audible1 all   
things dissolve into anarchy and        
confusion4    7#c7 ,but this appeareth  
more manifestly when kings themselves1  

or persons  of authority under them1 or 
other governors in commonwealths and    
popular  estates1 are endued with       
learning4  ,for although he might be    
thought  partial to his own profession  
that said 8,then should people and      
estates  be happy when either kings were
 philosophers1 or philosophers kings20  
yet  so much is verified by experience1 
that under learned princes and          
governors there have been ever the best 
times3 for howsoever kings may  have    
their imperfections in their passions   
and customs1 yet1 if they be  illuminate
 by learning1 they have those notions of
 religion1 policy1 and  morality1 which 
do preserve them and refrain them from  
all ruinous and  peremptory errors and  
excesses1 whispering evermore in their  
ears1 when  counsellors and servants    
stand mute and silent4  ,and senators or
  counsellors1 likewise1 which be       
learned1 to proceed upon more safe and  
substantial principles1 than counsellors
 which are only men of  experience2 the 

one sort keeping dangers afar off1      
whereas the other  discover them not    
till they come near hand1 and then trust
 to the agility  of their wit to ward or
 avoid them4    7#d7 ,which felicity of 
times under learned princes 7to keep    
still the law  of brevity1 by using the 
most eminent and selected examples7 doth
 best  appear in the age which passed   
from the death of ,domitianus the       
emperor  until the reign of ,commodus2  
comprehending a succession of six       
princes1  all learned1 or singular      
favourers and advancers of learning1    
which age  for temporal respects was the
 most happy and flourishing that ever   
the  ,roman ,empire 7which then was a   
model of the world7 enjoyed--a matter   
revealed and prefigured unto ,domitian  
in a dream the night before he was      
slain3 for he thought there was grown   
behind upon his shoulders a neck  and a 
head of gold1 which came accordingly to 
pass in those golden times  which       
succeeded2 of which princes we will make

 some commemoration2  wherein1 although 
the matter will be vulgar1 and may be   
thought fitter  for a declamation than  
agreeable to a treatise infolded as this
 is1 yet1  because it is pertinent to   
the point in hand--,neque semper arcum  
tendit  ,apollo--and to name them only  
were too naked and cursory1 ,i will not 
omit  it altogether4  ,the first was    
,nerva1 the excellent temper of whose   
government is by a glance in ,cornelius 
,tacitus touched to the life3  ,postquam
 divus ,nerva res oluim insociabiles    
miscuisset1 imperium et  libertatem4    
,and in token of his learning1 the last 
act of his short  reign left to memory  
was a missive to his adopted son1       
,trajan1 proceeding  upon some inward   
discontent at the ingratitude of the    
times1 comprehended  in a verse of      
,homer's--        8,telis1 ,phbe1 tuis1 
lacrymas ulciscere nostras40    7#e7    
,trajan1 who succeeded1 was for his     
person not learned2 but if we will      
hearken to the speech of our ,saviour1  

that saith1 8,he that receiveth a       
prophet in the name of a prophet shall  
have a prophet's reward10 he  deserveth 
to be placed amongst the most learned   
princes2 for there was  not a greater   
admirer of learning or benefactor of    
learning1 a founder of  famous          
libraries1 a perpetual advancer of      
learned men to office1 and  familiar    
converser with learned professors and   
preceptors who were noted  to have then 
most credit in court4  ,on the other    
side how much ,trajan's  virtue and     
government was admired and renowned1    
surely no testimony of  grave and       
faithful history doth more lively set   
forth than that legend  tale of         
,gregorius ,magnum1 ,bishop of ,rome1   
who was noted for the extreme  envy he  
bare towards all heathen excellency2 and
 yet he is reported1 out  of the love   
and estimation of ,trajan's moral       
virtues1 to have made unto  ,god        
passionate and fervent prayers for the  
delivery of his soul out of  hell1 and  

to have obtained it1 with a caveat that 
he should make no more  such petitions4 
,in this prince's time also the         
persecutions against the  ,christians   
received intermission upon the          
certificate of ,plinius  ,secundus1 a   
man of excellent learning and by ,trajan
 advanced4    7#f7 ,adrian1 his         
successor1 was the most curious man that
 lived1 and the  most universal         
inquirer3 insomuch as it was noted for  
an error in his  mind that he desired to
 comprehend all things1 and not to      
reserve himself  for the worthiest      
things1 falling into the like humour    
that was long  before noted in ,philip  
of ,macedon1 who1 when he would needs   
overrule and  put down an excellent     
musician in an argument touching music1 
was well  answered by him again--8,god  
forbid1 sir10 saith he1 8that your      
fortune  should be so bad as to know    
these things better than ,i40  ,it      
pleased ,god  likewise to use the       
curiosity of this emperor as an         

inducement to the  peace of ,his ,church
 in those days2 for having ,christ in   
veneration1 not  as a ,god or ,saviour1 
but as a wonder or novelty1 and having  
his picture  in his gallery matched with
 ,apollonius 7with whom in his vain     
imagination  he thought its had some    
conformity71 yet it served the turn to  
allay the  bitter hatred of those times 
against the ,christian name1 so as the  
,church  had peace during his time4     
,and for his government civil1 although 
he did  not attain to that of ,trajan's 
in glory of arms or perfection of       
justice1  yet in deserving of the weal  
of the subject he did exceed him4  ,for 
,trajan erected many famous monuments   
and buildings1 insomuch as  ,constantine
 the ,great in emulation was wont to    
call him ,parietaria1  8wall-flower10   
because his name was upon so many walls2
 but his buildings  and works were more 
of glory and triumph than use and       
necessity4  ,but  ,adrian spent his     
whole reign1 which was peaceable1 in a  

perambulation or  survey of the ,roman  
,empire1 giving order and making        
assignation where he  went for          
re-edifying of cities1 towns1 and forts 
decayed1 and for cutting  of rivers and 
streams1 and for making bridges and     
passages1 and for  policing of cities   
and commonalties with new ordinances and
  constitutions1 and granting new       
franchises and incorporations2 so that  
his whole time was a very restoration of
 all the lapses and decays of  former   
times4    7#g7 ,antoninus ,pius1 who    
succeeded him1 was a prince excellently 
learned1  and had the patient and subtle
 wit of a schoolman1 insomuch as in     
common  speech 7which leaves no virtue  
untaxed7 he was called ,cymini ,sector1 
a  carver or a divider of cummin seed1  
which is one of the least seeds4  ,such 
a patience he had and settled spirit to 
enter into the least and  most exact    
differences of causes1 a fruit no doubt 
of the exceeding  tranquillity and      
serenity of his mind1 which being no    

ways charged or  encumbered1 either with
 fears1 remorses1 or scruples1 but      
having been  noted for a man of the     
purest goodness1 without all fiction or 
affectation1 that hath reigned or lived1
 made his mind continually  present and 
entire4  ,he likewise approached a      
degree nearer unto  ,christianity1 and  
became1 as ,agrippa said unto ,st4      
,paul1 8half a  ,christian10 holding    
their religion and law in good opinion1 
and not only  ceasing persecution1 but  
giving way to the advancement of        
,christians4    7#e7 ,there succeeded   
him the first ,divi fratres1 the two    
adoptive  brethren--,lucius ,commodus   
,verus1 son to lius ,verus1 who         
delighted much in  the softer kind of   
learning1 and was wont to call the poet 
,martial his  ,virgil2 and ,marcus      
,aurelius ,antoninus3 whereof the       
latter1 who obscured  his colleague and 
survived him long1 was named the        
8,philosopher10 who1 as  he excelled all
 the rest in learning1 so he excelled   

them likewise in  perfection of all     
royal virtues2 insomuch as ,julianus the
 emperor1 in his  book entitled         
,crsares1 being as a pasquil or satire  
to deride all his  predecessors1 feigned
 that they were all invited to a banquet
 of the  gods1 and ,silenus the jester  
sat at the nether end of the table and  
bestowed a scoff on everyone as they    
came in2 but when ,marcus ,philosophus  
came in1 ,silenus was gravelled and out 
of countenance1 not knowing where  to   
carp at him1 save at the last he gave a 
glance at his patience towards  his     
wife4  ,and the virtue of this prince1  
continued with that of his  predecessor1
 made the name of ,antoninus so sacred  
in the world1 that  though it were      
extremely dishonoured in ,commodus1     
,caracalla1 and  ,heliogabalus1 who all 
bare the name1 yet1 when ,alexander     
,severus refused  the name because he   
was a stranger to the family1 the       
,senate with one  acclamation said1     
,quomodo ,augustus1 sic et ,antoninus4  

,in such renown  and veneration was the 
name of these two princes in those days1
 that they  would have had it as a      
perpetual addition in all the emperors' 
style4  ,in  this emperor's time also   
the ,church for the most part was in    
peace2 so as  in this sequence of six   
princes we do see the blessed effects of
 learning  in sovereignty1 painted forth
 in the greatest table of the world4    
7#i7 ,but for a tablet or picture of    
smaller volume 7not presuming to speak  
of your ,majesty that liveth71 in my    
judgment the most excellent is that  of 
,queen ,elizabeth1 your immediate       
predecessor in this part of ,britain2 a 
prince that1 if ,plutarch were now alive
 to write lives by parallels1  would    
trouble him1 ,i think1 to find for her a
 parallel amongst women4  ,this lady was
 endued with learning in her sex        
singular1 and rare even  amongst        
masculine princes--whether we speak of  
learning1 of language1 or  of science1  
modern or ancient1 divinity or          

humanity--and unto the very  last year  
of her life she accustomed to appoint   
set hours for reading1  scarcely any    
young student in a university more daily
 or more duly4  ,as  for her government1
 ,i assure myself 7,i shall not exceed  
if ,i do affirm7  that this part of the 
island never had forty-five years of    
better tines1  and yet not through the  
calmness of the season1 but through the 
wisdom of  her regiment4  ,for if there 
be considered1 of the one side1 the     
truth of  religion established1 the     
constant peace and security1 the good   
administration of justice1 the temperate
 use of the prerogative1 not  slackened1
 nor much strained2 the flourishing     
state of learning1 sortable  to so      
excellent a patroness2 the convenient   
estate of wealth and means1  both of    
crown and subject2 the habit of         
obedience1 and the moderation of        
discontents2 and there be considered1 on
 the other side1 the differences  of    
religion1 the troubles of neighbour     

countries1 the ambition of ,spain1  and 
opposition of ,rome1 and then that she  
was solitary and of herself2  these     
things1 ,i say1 considered1 as ,i could 
not have chosen an instance  so recent  
and so proper1 so ,i suppose ,i could   
not have chosen one more  remarkable or 
eminent to the purpose now in hand1     
which is concerning the  conjunction of 
learning in the prince with felicity in 
the people4    7#aj7 ,neither hath      
learning an influence and operation only
 upon civil  merit and moral virtue1 and
 the arts or temperature of peace and   
peaceable government2 but likewise it   
hath no less power and efficacy in      
enablement towards martial and military 
virtue and prowess1 as may be  notably  
represented in the examples of          
,alexander the ,great and ,csar the     
,dictator 7mentioned before1 but now in 
fit place to be resumed71 of whose      
virtues and acts in war there needs no  
note or recital1 having been the        
wonders of time in that kind2 but of    

their affections towards learning  and  
perfections in learning it is pertinent 
to say somewhat4    7#aa7 ,alexander was
 bred and taught under ,aristotle1 the  
great  philosopher1 who dedicated divers
 of his books of philosophy unto him2 he
  was attended with ,callisthenes and   
divers other learned persons1 that      
followed him in camp1 throughout his    
journeys and conquests4  ,what price    
and estimation he had learning in doth  
notably appear in these three           
particulars3 first1 in the envy he used 
to express that he bare towards         
,achilles1 in this1 that he had so good 
a trumpet of his praises as  ,homer's   
verses2 secondly1 in the judgment or    
solution he gave touching  that precious
 cabinet of ,darius1 which was found    
among his jewels  7whereof question was 
made what thing was worthy to be put    
into it1 and  he gave his opinion for   
,homer's works72 thirdly1 in his letter 
to  ,aristotle1 after he had set forth  
his books of nature1 wherein he         

expostulateth with him for publishing   
the secrets or mysteries of  philosophy2
 and gave him to understand that himself
 esteemed it more to  excel other men in
 learning and knowledge than in power   
and empire4  ,and  what use he had of   
learning doth appear1 or rather shine1  
in all his  speeches and answers1 being 
full of science and use of science1 and 
that  in all variety4    7#ab7 ,and     
herein again it may seem a thing        
scholastical1 and somewhat idle  to     
recite things that every man knoweth2   
but yet1 since the argument ,i  handle  
leadeth me thereunto1 ,i am glad that   
men shall perceive ,i am as  willing to 
flatter 7if they will so call it7 an    
,alexander1 or a ,csar1 or  an          
,antoninus1 that are dead many hundred  
years since1 as any that now  liveth2   
for it is the displaying of the glory of
 learning in sovereignty  that ,i       
propound to myself1 and not a humour of 
declaiming in any man's  praises4       
,observe1 then1 the speech he used of   

,diogenes1 and see if it  tend not to   
the true state of one of the greatest   
questions of moral  philosophy3 whether 
the enjoying of outward things1 or the  
contemning of  them1 be the greatest    
happiness2 for when he saw ,diogenes so 
perfectly  contented with so little1 he 
said to those that mocked at his        
condition1  8were ,i not ,alexander1 ,i 
would wish to be ,diogenes40  ,but      
,seneca  inverteth it1 and saith1 8,plus
 erat1 quod hic nollet accipere1 qum    
quod ille posset dare40  ,there were    
more things which ,diogenes would  have 
refused than those were which ,alexander
 could have given or enjoyed4    7#ac7  
,observe1 again1 that speech which was  
usual with him1--8,that he felt  his    
mortality chiefly in two things1 sleep  
and lust20 and see if it were  not a    
speech extracted out of the depth of    
natural philosophy1 and liker  to have  
come out of the mouth of ,aristotle or  
,democritus than from  ,alexander4      
7#ad7 ,see1 again1 that speech of       

humanity and poesy1 when1 upon the      
bleeding of his wounds1 he called unto  
him one of his flatterers1 that  was    
wont to ascribe to him divine honour1   
and said1 8,look1 this is very  blood2  
this is not such a liquor as ,homer     
speaketh of1 which ran from  ,venus'    
hand when it was pierced by ,diomedes40 
7#ae7 ,see likewise his readiness in    
reprehension of logic in the speech he  
used to ,cassander1 upon a complaint    
that was made against his father        
,antipater2 for when ,alexander happened
 to say1 8,do you think these men  would
 have come from so far to complain      
except they had just cause of  grief80  
and ,cassander answered1 8,yea1 that was
 the matter1 because they  thought they 
should not be disproved20 said          
,alexander1 laughing1 8,see the         
subtleties of ,aristotle1 to take a     
matter both ways1 pro et contra1  c40   
7#af7 ,but note1 again1 how well he     
could use the same art which he         
reprehended to serve his own humour3    

when bearing a secret grudge to         
,callisthenes1 because he was against   
the new ceremony of his adoration1      
feasting one night where the same       
,callisthenes was at the table1 it was  
moved by some after supper1 for         
entertainment sake1 that ,callisthenes1 
who was an eloquent man1 might speak of 
some theme or purpose at his own        
choice2 which ,callisthenes did1        
choosing the praise of the ,macedonian  
nation for his discourse1 and performing
 the same with so good manner as  the   
hearers were much ravished2 whereupon   
,alexander1 nothing pleased1  said1 8,it
 was easy to be eloquent upon so good a 
subject2 but10 saith he1  8turn your    
style1 and let us hear what you can say 
against us20 which  ,callisthenes       
presently undertook1 and did with that  
sting and life that  ,alexander         
interrupted him1 and said1 8,the        
goodness of the cause made him  eloquent
 before1 and despite made him eloquent  
then again40    7#ag7 ,consider further1

 for tropes of rhetoric1 that excellent 
use of a  metaphor or translation1      
wherewith he taxeth ,antipater1 who was 
an  imperious and tyrannous governor2   
for when one of ,antipater's friends    
commended him to ,alexander for his     
moderation1 that he did not degenerate  
as his other lieutenants did into the   
,persian pride1 in uses of purple1  but 
kept the ancient habit of ,macedon1 of  
black4  8,true10 saith  ,alexander2 8but
 ,antipater is all purple within40  ,or 
that other1 when  ,parmenio came to him 
in the plain of ,arbela and showed him  
the  innumerable multitude of his       
enemies1 specially as they appeared by  
the  infinite number of lights as it had
 been a new firmament of stars1 and     
thereupon advised him to assail them by 
night2 whereupon he answered1  8,that he
 would not steal the victory40    7#ah7 
,for matter of policy1 weigh that       
significant distinction1 so much in  all
 ages embraced1 that he made between his
 two friends ,hephstion and  ,craterus1 

when he said1 8,that the one loved      
,alexander1 and the other  loved the    
king30 describing the principal         
difference of princes' best  servants1  
that some in affection love their       
person1 and other in duty  love their   
crown4    7#ai7 ,weigh also that        
excellent taxation of an error1 ordinary
 with  counsellors of princes1 that they
 counsel their masters according to the 
model of their own mind and fortune1 and
 not of their masters4  ,when upon      
,darius' great offers ,parmenio had     
said1 8,surely ,i would accept these    
offers were ,i as ,alexander20 saith    
,alexander1 8,so would ,i were ,i as    
,parmenio40    7#bj7 ,lastly1 weigh that
 quick and acute reply which he made    
when he gave  so large gifts to his     
friends and servants1 and was asked what
 he did  reserve for himself1 and he    
answered1 8,hope40  ,weigh1 ,i say1     
whether he  had not cast up his account 
aright1 because hope must be the portion
 of  all that resolve upon great        

enterprises2 for this was ,csar's       
portion  when he went first into ,gaul1 
his estate being then utterly overthrown
  with largesses4  ,and this was        
likewise the portion of that noble      
prince1  howsoever transported with     
ambition1 ,henry ,duke of ,guise1 of    
whom it was  usually said that he was   
the greatest usurer in ,france1 because 
he had  turned all his estate into      
obligations4    7#ba7 ,to conclude1     
therefore1 as certain critics are used  
to say  hyperbolically1 8,that if all   
sciences were lost they might be found  
in  ,virgil10 so certainly this may be  
said truly1 there are the prints and    
footsteps of learning in those few      
speeches which are reported of this     
prince1 the admiration of whom1 when ,i 
consider him not as ,alexander the      
,great1 but as ,aristotle's scholar1    
hath carried me too far4    7#bb7 ,as   
for ,julius ,csar1 the excellency of his
 learning needeth not to  be argued from
 his education1 or his company1 or his  

speeches2 but in a  further degree doth 
declare itself in his writings and      
works3 whereof  some are extant and     
permanent1 and some unfortunately       
perished4  ,for  first1 we see there is 
left unto us that excellent history of  
his own  wars1 which he entitled only a 
,commentary1 wherein all succeeding     
times  have admired the solid weight of 
matter1 and the real passages and lively
  images of actions and persons1        
expressed in the greatest propriety of  
words and perspicuity of narration that 
ever was2 which that it was not  the    
effect of a natural gift1 but of        
learning and precept1 is well  witnessed
 by that work of his entitled ,de       
,analogia1 being a grammatical          
philosophy1 wherein he did labour to    
make this same ,vox ad placitum to      
become ,vox ad licitum1 and to reduce   
custom of speech to congruity of        
speech2 and took as it were the pictures
 of words from the life of  reason4     
7#bc7 ,so we receive from him1 as a     

monument both of his power and          
learning1 the then reformed computation 
of the year2 well expressing that  he   
took it to be as great a glory to       
himself to observe and know the law  of 
the heavens1 as to give law to men upon 
the earth4    7#bd7 ,so likewise in that
 book of his1 ,anti-,cato1 it may easily
 appear  that he did aspire as well to  
victory of wit as victory of war3       
undertaking therein a conflict against  
the greatest champion with the pen  that
 then lived1 ,cicero the orator4        
7#be7 ,so1 again1 in his book of        
,apophthegms1 which he collected1 we see
  that he esteemed it more honour to    
make himself but a pair of tables1 to   
take the wise and pithy words of others1
 than to have every word of his  own to 
be made an apophthegm or an oracle1 as  
vain princes1 by custom of  flattery1   
pretend to do4  ,and yet if ,i should   
enumerate divers of his  speeches1 as ,i
 did those of ,alexander1 they are truly
 such as ,solomon  noteth1 when he      

saith1 ,verba sapientum tanquam aculei1 
et tanquam  clavi in altum defixi3      
whereof ,i will only recite three1 not  
so  delectable for elegancy1 but        
admirable for vigour and efficacy4      
7#bf7 ,as first1 it is reason he be     
thought a master of words1 that could   
with one word appease a mutiny in his   
army1 which was thus3 ,the ,romans1     
when their generals did speak to their  
army1 did use the word ,milites1  but   
when the magistrates spake to the people
 they did use the word  ,quirites4  ,the
 soldiers were in tumult1 and           
seditiously prayed to be  cashiered2 not
 that they so meant1 but by             
expostulation thereof to draw  ,csar to 
other conditions2 wherein he being      
resolute not to give way1  after some   
silence1 he began his speech1 ,ego      
,quirites1 which did admit  them already
 cashiered--wherewith they were so      
surprised1 crossed1 and  confused1 as   
they would not suffer him to go on in   
his speech1 but  relinquished their     

demands1 and made it their suit to be   
again called by  the name of ,milites4  
7#bg7 ,the second speech was thus3 ,csar
 did extremely affect the name of  king2
 and some were set on as he passed by in
 popular acclamation to  salute him     
king4  ,whereupon1 finding the cry weak 
and poor1 he put it off  thus1 in a kind
 of jest1 as if they had mistaken his   
surname3 ,non ,rex  sum1 sed ,csar2 a   
speech that1 if it be searched1 the life
 and fulness  of it can scarce be       
expressed4  ,for1 first1 it was a       
refusal of the name1  but yet not       
serious2 again1 it did signify an       
infinite confidence and  magnanimity1 as
 if he presumed ,csar was the greater   
title1 as by his  worthiness it is come 
to pass till this day4  ,but chiefly it 
was a speech  of great allurement toward
 his own purpose1 as if the state did   
strive  with him but for a name1 whereof
 mean families were vested2 for ,rex was
  a surname with the ,romans1 as well as
 ,king is with us4    7#bh7 ,the last   

speech which ,i will mention was used to
 ,metellus1 when  ,csar1 after war      
declared1 did possess himself of this   
city of ,rome2 at  which time1 entering 
into the inner treasury to take the     
money there  accumulate1 ,metellus1     
being tribune1 forbade him4  ,whereto   
,csar said1  8,that if he did not       
desist1 he would lay him dead in the    
place40  ,and  presently taking himself 
up1 he added1 8,young man1 it is harder 
for me to  speak it than to do          
it--,adolescens1 durius est mihi hoc    
dicere qum  facere40  ,a speech         
compounded of the greatest terror and   
greatest  clemency that could proceed   
out of the mouth of man4    7#bi7 ,but  
to return and conclude with him1 it is  
evident himself knew well  his own      
perfection in learning1 and took it upon
 him1 as appeared when  upon occasion   
that some spake what a strange          
resolution it was in ,lucius  ,sylla to 
resign his dictators1 he1 scoffing at   
him to his own advantage1  answered1    

8,that ,sylla could not skill of        
letters1 and therefore knew not  how to 
dictate40    7#cj7 ,and here it were fit
 to leave this point1 touching the      
concurrence  of military virtue and     
learning 7for what example should come  
with any  grace after those two of      
,alexander and ,csar871 were it not in  
regard of  the rareness of circumstance1
 that ,i find in one other particular1  
as  that which did so suddenly pass from
 extreme scorn to extreme wonder3 and   
it is of ,xenophon the philosopher1 who 
went from ,socrates' school into  ,asia 
in the expedition of ,cyrus the younger 
against ,king ,artaxerxes4  ,this       
,xenophon at that time was very young1  
and never had seen the wars  before1    
neither had any command in the army1 but
 only followed the war as  a voluntary1 
for the love and conversation of        
,proxenus1 his friend4  ,he  was present
 when ,falinus came in message from the 
great king to the  ,grecians1 after that
 ,cyrus was slain in the field1 and     

they1 a handful of  men1 left to        
themselves in the midst of the king's   
territories1 cut off  from their country
 by many navigable rivers and many      
hundred miles4  ,the  message imported  
that they should deliver up their arms  
and submit  themselves to the king's    
mercy4  ,to which message1 before answer
 was  made1 divers of the army conferred
 familiarly with ,falinus2 and amongst  
the rest ,xenophon happened to say1     
8,why1 ,falinus1 we have now but these  
two things left1 our arms and our       
virtue2 and if we yield up our arms1    
how shall we make use of our virtue80   
,whereto ,falinus1 smiling on him1      
said1 8,if ,i be not deceived1 young    
gentleman1 you are an ,athenian1 and ,i 
believe you study philosophy1 and it is 
pretty that you say2 but you are  much  
abused if you think your virtue can     
withstand the king's power40  ,here was 
the scorn2 the wonder followed3 which   
was that this young  scholar or         
philosopher1 after all the captains were

 murdered in parley by  treason1        
conducted those ten thousand foot1      
through the heart of all the  king's    
high countries1 from ,babylon to ,grcia 
in safety1 in despite of  all the king's
 forces1 to the astonishment of the     
world1 and the  encouragement of the    
,grecians in times succeeding to make   
invasion upon  the kings of ,persia1 as 
was after purposed by ,jason the        
,thessalian1  attempted by ,agesilaus   
the ,spartan1 and achieved by ,alexander
 the  ,macedonian1 all upon the ground  
of the act of that young scholar4       
,,viii4 7#a7 ,to proceed now from       
imperial and military virtue to moral   
and  private virtue2 first1 it is an    
assured truth1 which is contained in the
  verses3--        8,scilicet ingenuas  
didicisse fideliter artes      ,emollit 
mores nec sinit esse feros40    ,it     
taketh away the wildness and barbarism  
and fierceness of men's minds2  but     
indeed the accent had need be upon      
fideliter2 for a little  superficial    

learning doth rather work a contrary    
effect4  ,it taketh away  all levity1   
temerity1 and insolency1 by copious     
suggestion of all doubts  and           
difficulties1 and acquainting the mind  
to balance reasons on both  sides1 and  
to turn back the first offers and       
conceits of the mind1 and to  accept of 
nothing but examined and tried4  ,it    
taketh away vain admiration  of         
anything1 which is the root of all      
weakness4  ,for all things are  admired1
 either because they are new1 or because
 they are great4  ,for  novelty1 no man 
that wadeth in learning or contemplation
 thoroughly but  will find that printed 
in his heart1 ,nil novi super terram4   
,neither  can any man marvel at the play
 of puppets1 that goeth behind the      
curtain1  and adviseth well of the      
motion4  ,and for magnitude1 as         
,alexander the  ,great1 after that he   
was used to great armies1 and the great 
conquests of  the spacious provinces in 
,asia1 when he received letters out of  

,greece1  of some fights and services   
there1 which were commonly for a passage
 or a  fort1 or some walled town at the 
most1 he said3--8,it seemed to him that 
he  was advertised of the battles of the
 frogs and the mice1 that the old  tales
 went of40  ,so certainly1 if a man     
meditate much upon the universal  frame 
of nature1 the earth with men upon it   
7the divineness of souls  except7 will  
not seem much other than an ant-hill1   
whereas some ants  carry corn1 and some 
carry their young1 and some go empty1   
and all to and  fro a little heap of    
dust4  ,it taketh away or mitigateth    
fear of death or  adverse fortune1 which
 is one of the greatest impediments of  
virtue and  imperfections of manners4   
,for if a man's mind be deeply seasoned 
with  the consideration of the mortality
 and corruptible nature of things1 he   
will easily concur with ,epictetus1 who 
went forth one day and saw a woman      
weeping for her pitcher of earth that   
was broken1 and went forth the next  day

 and saw a woman weeping for her son    
that was dead1 and thereupon  said1     
8,heri vidi fragilem frangi1 hodie vidi 
mortalem mori40  ,and1  therefore1      
,virgil did excellently and profoundly  
couple the knowledge of  causes and the 
conquest of all fears together1 as      
concomitantia4        8,felix1 qui      
potuit rerum cognoscere causas1         
,quique metus omnes1 et inexorabile     
fatum      ,subjecit pedibus1           
strepitumque ,acherontis avari40    7#b7
 ,it were too long to go over the       
particular remedies which learning  doth
 minister to all the diseases of the    
mind3 sometimes purging the ill         
humours1 sometimes opening the          
obstructions1 sometimes helping         
digestion1  sometimes increasing        
appetite1 sometimes healing the wounds  
and  exulcerations thereof1 and the     
like2 and1 therefore1 ,i will conclude  
with  that which hath rationem          
totius--which is1 that it disposeth the 
constitution of the mind not to be fixed

 or settled in the defects  thereof1 but
 still to be capable and susceptible of 
growth and  reformation4  ,for the      
unlearned man knows not what it is to   
descend into  himself1 or to call       
himself to account1 nor the pleasure of 
that  suavissima vita1 indies sentire se
 fieri meliorem4  ,the good parts he    
hath he will learn to show to the full1 
and use them dexterously1 but not  much 
to increase them4  ,the faults he hath  
he will learn how to hide and  colour   
them1 but not much to amend them2 like  
an ill mower1 that mows on  still1 and  
never whets his scythe4  ,whereas with  
the learned man it fares  otherwise1    
that he doth ever intermix the          
correction and amendment of his  mind   
with the use and employment thereof4    
,nay1 further1 in general and  in sum1  
certain it is that ,veritas and ,bonitas
 differ but as the seal  and the print2 
for truth prints goodness1 and they be  
the clouds of error  which descend in   
the storms of passions and              

perturbations4    7#c7 ,from moral      
virtue let us pass on to matter of power
 and commandment1  and consider whether 
in right reason there be any comparable 
with that  wherewith knowledge investeth
 and crowneth man's nature4  ,we see the
  dignity of the commandment is         
according to the dignity of the         
commanded2  to have commandment over    
beasts as herdmen have1 is a thing      
contemptible2  to have commandment over 
children as schoolmasters have1 is a    
matter of  small honour2 to have        
commandment over galley-slaves is a     
disparagement  rather than an honour4   
,neither is the commandment of tyrants  
much  better1 over people which have put
 off the generosity of their minds2     
and1 therefore1 it was ever holden that 
honours in free monarchies and          
commonwealths had a sweetness more than 
in tyrannies1 because the  commandment  
extendeth more over the wills of men1   
and not only over their  deeds and      
services4  ,and therefore1 when ,virgil 

putteth himself forth to  attribute to  
,augustus ,csar the best of human       
honours1 he doth it in  these words3--  
8,victorque volentes      ,per populos  
dat jura1 viamque affectat ,olympo40    
,but yet the commandment of knowledge is
 yet higher than the commandment  over  
the will2 for it is a commandment over  
the reason1 belief1 and  understanding  
of man1 which is the highest part of the
 mind1 and giveth  law to the will      
itself4  ,for there is no power on earth
 which setteth up  a throne or chair of 
estate in the spirits and souls of men1 
and in their  cogitations1 imaginations1
 opinions1 and beliefs1 but knowledge   
and  learning4  ,and therefore we see   
the detestable and extreme pleasure that
  arch-heretics1 and false prophets1 and
 impostors are transported with1  when  
they once find in themselves that they  
have a superiority in the  faith and    
conscience of men2 so great as if they  
have once tasted of it1  it is seldom   
seen that any torture or persecution can

 make them  relinquish or abandon it4   
,but as this is that which the author of
 the  ,revelation calleth the depth or  
profoundness of ,satan1 so by argument  
of  contraries1 the just and lawful     
sovereignty over men's understanding1 by
  force of truth rightly interpreted1 is
 that which approacheth nearest to  the 
similitude of the divine rule4    7#d7  
,as for fortune and advancement1 the    
beneficence of learning is not so       
confined to give fortune only to states 
and commonwealths1 as it doth not       
likewise give fortune to particular     
persons4  ,for it was well noted long   
ago1 that ,homer hath given more men    
their livings1 than either ,sylla1 or   
,csar1 or ,augustus ever did1           
notwithstanding their great largesses   
and  donatives1 and distributions of    
lands to so many legions4  ,and no doubt
  it is hard to say whether arms or     
learning have advanced greater numbers4 
,and in case of sovereignty we see1 that
 if arms or descent have carried  away  

the kingdom1 yet learning hath carried  
the priesthood1 which ever  hath been in
 some competition with empire4    7#e7  
,again1 for the pleasure and delight of 
knowledge and learning1 it far          
surpasseth all other in nature4  ,for1  
shall the pleasures of the  affections  
so exceed the pleasure of the sense1 as 
much as the obtaining  of desire or     
victory exceedeth a song or a dinner8   
and must not of  consequence the        
pleasures of the intellect or           
understanding exceed the  pleasures of  
the affections8  ,we see in all other   
pleasures there is  satiety1 and after  
they be used1 their verdure departeth1  
which showeth  well they be but deceits 
of pleasure1 and not pleasures2 and that
 it was  the novelty which pleased1 and 
not the quality4  ,and1 therefore1 we   
see  that voluptuous men turn friars1   
and ambitions princes turn melancholy4  
,but of knowledge there is no satiety1  
but satisfaction and appetite are       
perpetually interchangeable2 and1       

therefore1 appeareth to be good in      
itself simply1 without fallacy or       
accident4  ,neither is that pleasure of 
small efficacy and contentment to the   
mind of man1 which the poet  ,lucretius 
describeth elegantly3--        8,suave  
mari magno1 turbantibus quora ventis1   
c40    8,it is a view of delight10 saith
 he1 8to stand or walk upon the shore   
side1 and to see a ship tossed with     
tempest upon the sea2 or to be in a     
fortified tower1 and to see two battles 
join upon a plain4  ,but it is a        
pleasure incomparable1 for the mind of  
man to be settled1 landed1 and          
fortified in the certainty of truth2 and
 from thence to descry and behold  the  
errors1 perturbations1 labours1 and     
wanderings up and down of other  men40  
7#f7 ,lastly1 leaving the vulgar        
arguments1 that by learning man         
excelleth  man in that wherein man      
excelleth beasts2 that by learning man  
ascendeth  to the heavens and their     
motions1 where in body he cannot come2  

and the  like3 let us conclude with the 
dignity and excellency of knowledge and 
learning in that whereunto man's nature 
doth most aspire1 which is  immortality1
 or continuance2 for to this tendeth    
generation1 and raising  of houses and  
families2 to this tend buildings1       
foundations1 and  monuments2 to this    
tendeth the desire of memory1 fame1 and 
celebration2  and in effect the strength
 of all other human desires4  ,we see   
then how  far the monuments of wit and  
learning are more durable than the      
monuments  of power or of the hands4    
,for have not the verses of ,homer      
continued  twenty-five hundred years1 or
 more1 without the loss of a syllable or
  letter2 during which the infinite     
palaces1 temples1 castles1 cities1 have 
been decayed and demolished8  ,it is not
 possible to have the true  pictures or 
statues of ,cyrus1 ,alexander1 ,csar1 no
 nor of the kings or  great personages  
of much later years2 for the originals  
cannot last1 and  the copies cannot but 

leese of the life and truth4  ,but the  
images of  men's wits and knowledges    
remain in books1 exempted from the wrong
 of  time and capable of perpetual      
renovation4  ,neither are they fitly to 
be  called images1 because they generate
 still1 and cast their seeds in the     
minds of others1 provoking and causing  
infinite actions and opinions in        
succeeding ages4  ,so that if the       
invention of the ship was thought so    
noble1 which carrieth riches and        
commodities from place to place1 and    
consociateth the most remote regions in 
participation of their fruits1  how much
 more are letters to be magnified1 which
 as ships pass through  the vast seas of
 time1 and make ages so distant to      
participate of the  wisdom1             
illuminations1 and inventions1 the one  
of the other8  ,nay1  further1 we see   
some of the philosophers which were     
least divine1 and  most immersed in the 
senses1 and denied generally the        
immortality of the  soul1 yet came to   

this point1 that whatsoever motions the 
spirit of man  could act and perform    
without the organs of the body1 they    
thought might  remain after death1 which
 were only those of the understanding   
and not of  the affection2 so immortal  
and incorruptible a thing did knowledge 
seem  unto them to be4  ,but we1 that   
know by divine revelation that not only 
the understanding but the affections    
purified1 not only the spirit but  the  
body changed1 shall be advanced to      
immortality1 do disclaim in these       
rudiments of the senses4  ,but it must  
be remembered1 both in this last  point1
 and so it may likewise be needful in   
other places1 that in  probation of the 
dignity of knowledge or learning1 ,i did
 in the beginning  separate divine      
testimony from human1 which method ,i   
have pursued1 and so  handled them both 
apart4    7#g7 ,nevertheless ,i do not  
pretend1 and ,i know it will be         
impossible for  me1 by any pleading of  
mine1 to reverse the judgment1 either of

 sop's  cock1 that preferred the        
barleycorn before the gem2 or of ,midas1
 that  being chosen judge between       
,apollo1 president of the ,muses1 and   
,pan1 god  of the flocks1 judged for    
plenty2 or of ,paris1 that judged for   
beauty and  love against wisdom and     
power2 or of ,agrippina1 occidat matrem1
 modo  imperet1 that preferred empire   
with any condition never so detestable2 
or of ,ulysses1 qui vetulam prtulit     
immortalitati1 being a figure of  those 
which prefer custom and habit before all
 excellency1 or of a number  of the like
 popular judgments4  ,for these things  
must continue as they  have been2 but so
 will that also continue whereupon      
learning hath ever  relied1 and which   
faileth not3 ,justificata est sapientia 
a filiis suis4          ,,the ,,second  
,,book4                                 
,to the ,king4    #a4  ,,it might seem  
to have more convenience1 though it come
 often  otherwise to pass 7excellent    
,king71 that those which are fruitful in

  their generations1 and have in        
themselves the foresight of immortality 
in  their descendants1 should likewise  
be more careful of the good estate of   
future times1 unto which they know they 
must transmit and commend over  their   
dearest pledges4  ,queen ,elizabeth was 
a sojourner in the world in  respect of 
her unmarried life1 and was a blessing  
to her own times2 and  yet so as the    
impression of her good government1      
besides her happy  memory1 is not       
without some effect which doth survive  
her4  ,but to your  ,majesty1 whom ,god 
hath already blessed with so much royal 
issue1 worthy  to continue and represent
 you for ever1 and whose youthful and   
fruitful  bed doth yet promise many the 
like renovations1 it is proper and      
agreeable to be conversant not only in  
the transitory parts of good            
government1 but in those acts also which
 are in their nature permanent  and     
perpetual4  ,amongst the which 7if      
affection do not transport me7  there is

 not any more worthy than the further   
endowment of the world with  sound and  
fruitful knowledge4  ,for why should a  
few received authors  stand up like     
,hercules' columns1 beyond which there  
should be no sailing  or discovering1   
since we have so bright and benign a    
star as your ,majesty  to conduct and   
prosper us8  ,to return therefore where 
we left1 it  remaineth to consider of   
what kind those acts are which have been
  undertaken and performed by kings and 
others for the increase and  advancement
 of learning1 wherein ,i purpose to     
speak actively1 without  digressing or  
dilating4    #b4  ,let this ground      
therefore be laid1 that all works are   
over common by  amplitude of reward1 by 
soundness of direction1 and by the      
conjunction of  labours4  ,the first    
multiplieth endeavour1 the second       
preventeth error1  and the third        
supplieth the frailty of man4  ,but the 
principal of these  is direction1 for   
claudus in via antevertit cursorem extra

 viam2 and  ,solomon excellently setteth
 it down1 8,if the iron be not sharp1 it
  requireth more strength1 but wisdom is
 that which prevaileth10 signifying     
that the invention or election of the   
mean is more effectual than any         
enforcement or accumulation of          
endeavours4  ,this ,i am induced to     
speak1  for that 7not derogating from   
the noble intention of any that have    
been  deservers towards the state of    
learning71 ,i do observe nevertheless   
that  their works and acts are rather   
matters of magnificence and memory than 
of progression and proficience1 and tend
 rather to augment the mass of  learning
 in the multitude of learned men than to
 rectify or raise the  sciences         
themselves4    #c4  ,the works or acts  
of merit towards learning are conversant
 about  three objects--the places of    
learning1 the books of learning1 and the
  persons of the learned4  ,for as      
water1 whether it be the dew of heaven  
or  the springs of the earth1 doth      

scatter and leese itself in the ground1 
except it be collected into some        
receptacle where it may by union comfort
  and sustain itself2 and for that cause
 the industry of man hath made and      
framed springheads1 conduits1 cisterns1 
and pools1 which men have  accustomed   
likewise to beautify and adorn with     
accomplishments of  magnificence and    
state1 as well as of use and necessity2 
so this  excellent liquor of knowledge1 
whether it descend from divine          
inspiration1 or spring from human sense1
 would soon perish and vanish to        
oblivion1 if it were not preserved in   
books1 traditions1 conferences1 and     
places appointed1 as universities1      
colleges1 and schools1 for the receipt  
and comforting of the same4    #d4  ,the
 works which concern the seats and      
places of learning are                  
four--foundations and buildings1        
endowments with revenues1 endowments    
with  franchises and privileges1        
institutions and ordinances for         

government--all  tending to quietness   
and privateness of life1 and discharge  
of cares and  troubles2 much like the   
stations which ,virgil prescribeth for  
the hiving  of bees3        8,principio 
sedes apibus statioque petenda1         
,quo neque sit ventis aditus1 c40    #e4
  ,the works touching books are         
two--first1 libraries1 which are as the 
shrines where all the relics of the     
ancient saints1 full of true virtue1    
and that without delusion or imposture1 
are preserved and reposed2  secondly1   
new editions of authors1 with more      
correct impressions1 more  faithful     
translations1 more profitable glosses1  
more diligent  annotations1 and the     
like4    #f4  ,the works pertaining to  
the persons of learned men 7besides the 
advancement and countenancing of them in
 general7 are two--the reward and       
designation of readers in sciences      
already extant and invented2 and the    
reward and designation of writers and   
inquirers concerning any parts of       

learning not sufficiently laboured and  
prosecuted4    #g4  ,these are summarily
 the works and acts wherein the merits  
of many  excellent princes and other    
worthy personages1 have been conversant4
  ,as  for any particular               
commemorations1 ,i call to mind what    
,cicero said when  he gave general      
thanks1 ,difficile non aliquem1 ingratum
 quenquam  prterire4  ,let us rather1   
according to the ,scriptures1 look unto 
that  part of the race which is before  
us1 than look back to that which is     
already attained4    #h4  ,first1       
therefore1 amongst so many great        
foundations of colleges in  ,europe1 ,i 
find strange that they are all dedicated
 to professions1 and  none left free to 
arts and sciences at large4  ,for if men
 judge that  learning should be referred
 to action1 they judge well2 but in this
 they  fall into the error described in 
the ancient fable1 in which the other   
parts of the body did suppose the       
stomach had been idle1 because it       

neither performed the office of motion1 
as the limbs do1 nor of sense1 as  the  
head doth2 but yet notwithstanding it is
 the stomach that digesteth  and        
distributeth to all the rest4  ,so if   
any man think philosophy and            
universality to be idle studies1 he doth
 not consider that all  professions are 
from thence served and supplied4  ,and  
this ,i take to be a  great cause that  
hath hindered the progression of        
learning1 because these  fundamental    
knowledges have been studied but in     
passage4  ,for if you will  have a tree 
bear more fruit than it hath used to do1
 it is not anything  you can do to the  
boughs1 but it is the stirring of the   
earth and putting  new mould about thee 
roots that must work it4  ,neither is it
 to be  forgotten1 that this dedicating 
of foundations and dotations to         
professory learning hath not only had a 
malign aspect and influence upon  the   
growth of sciences1 but hath also been  
prejudicial to states1 and  governments4

  ,for hence it proceedeth that princes 
find a solitude in  regard of able men  
to serve them in causes of estate1      
because there is no  education          
collegiate which is free1 where such as 
were so disposed might  give themselves 
in histories1 modern languages1 books of
 policy and civil  discourse1 and other 
the like enablements unto service of    
estate4    #i4  ,and because founders of
 colleges do plant1 and founders of     
lectures  do water1 it followeth well in
 order to speak of the defect which is  
in  public lectures2 namely1 in the     
smallness1 and meanness of the salary or
  reward which in most places is        
assigned unto them1 whether they be     
lectures of arts1 or of professions4    
,for it is necessary to the  progression
 of sciences that readers be of the most
 able and sufficient  men2 as those     
which are ordained for generating and   
propagating of  sciences1 and not for   
transitory use4  ,this cannot be1 except
 their  condition and endowment be such 

as may content the ablest man to        
appropriate his whole labour and        
continue his whole age in that function 
and attendance2 and therefore must have 
a proportion answerable to that         
mediocrity or competency of advancement1
 which may be expected from a           
profession or the practice of a         
profession4  ,so as1 if you will have   
sciences flourish1 you must observe     
,david's military law1 which was1       
8,that those which stayed with the      
carriage should have equal part with    
those which were in the action20 else   
will the carriages be ill attended4  ,so
 readers in sciences are indeed the     
guardians of the stores and  provisions 
of sciences1 whence men in active       
courses are furnished1 and  therefore   
ought to have equal entertainment with  
them2 otherwise if the  fathers in      
sciences be of the weakest sort or be   
ill maintained1        8,et patrum      
invalidi referent jejunia nati40    #aj4
  ,another defect ,i note1 wherein ,i   

shall need some alchemist to help  me1  
who call upon men to sell their books1  
and to build furnaces2  quitting and    
forsaking ,minerva and the ,muses as    
barren virgins1 and  relying upon       
,vulcan4  ,but certain it is1 that unto 
the deep1 fruitful1  and operative study
 of many sciences1 specialty natural    
philosophy and  physic1 books be not    
only the instrumentals2 wherein also the
 beneficence  of men hath not been      
altogether wanting4  ,for we see        
spheres1 globes1  astrolabes1 maps1 and 
the like1 have been provided as         
appurtenances to  astronomy and         
cosmography1 as well as books4  ,we see 
likewise that some  places instituted   
for physic have annexed the commodity of
 gardens for  simples of all sorts1 and 
do likewise command the use of dead     
bodies for  anatomies4  ,but these do   
respect but a few things4  ,in general1 
there  will hardly be any main          
proficience in the disclosing of nature1
 except  there be some allowance for    

expenses about experiments2 whether they
 be  experiments appertaining to        
,vulcanus or ,ddalus1 furnace or engine1
 or  any other kind4  ,and therefore as 
secretaries and spials of princes and   
states bring in bills for intelligence1 
so you must allow the spials and        
intelligencers of nature to bring in    
their bills2 or else you shall be  ill  
advertised4    #aa4  ,and if ,alexander 
made such a liberal assignation to      
,aristotle of  treasure for the         
allowance of hunters1 fowlers1 fishers1 
and the like1  that he might compile a  
history of nature1 much better do they  
deserve it  that travail in arts of     
nature4    #ab4  ,another defect which  
,i note is an intermission or neglect in
 those  which are governors in          
universities1 of consultation1 and in   
princes or  superior persons1 of        
visitation3 to enter into account and   
consideration1  whether the readings1   
exercises1 and other customs            
appertaining unto  learning1 anciently  

begun and since continued1 be well      
instituted or no2  and thereupon to     
ground an amendment or reformation in   
that which shall  be found inconvenient4
  ,for it is one of your ,majesty's own 
most wise and  princely maxims1 8,that  
in all usages and precedents1 the times 
be  considered wherein they first began2
 which if they were weak or ignorant1   
it derogateth from the authority of the 
usage1 and leaveth it for  suspect40    
,and therefore inasmuch as most of the  
usages and orders of the  universities  
were derived from more obscure times1 it
 is the more  requisite they be         
re-examined4  ,in this kind ,i will give
 an instance or  two1 for example sake1 
of things that are the most obvious and 
familiar4  ,the one is a matter1 which  
though it be ancient and general1 yet ,i
 hold  to be an error2 which is1 that   
scholars in universities come too soon  
and  too unripe to logic and rhetoric1  
arts fitter for graduates than children 
and novices4  ,for these two1 rightly   

taken1 are the gravest of sciences1     
being the arts of arts2 the one for     
judgment1 the other for ornament4  ,and 
they be the rules and directions how to 
set forth and dispose matter3  and      
therefore for minds empty and unfraught 
with matter1 and which have  not        
gathered that which ,cicero calleth     
sylva and supellex1 stuff and  variety1 
to begin with those arts 7as if one     
should learn to weigh1 or to  measure1  
or to paint the wind7 doth work but this
 effect1 that the wisdom  of those arts1
 which is great and universal1 is almost
 made contemptible1  and is degenerate  
into childish sophistry and ridiculous  
affectation4  ,and further1 the untimely
 learning of them hath drawn on by      
consequence  the superficial and        
unprofitable teaching and writing of    
them1 as fitteth  indeed to the capacity
 of children4  ,another is a lack ,i    
find in the  exercises used in the      
universities1 which do snake too great a
 divorce  between invention and memory4 

,for their speeches are either          
premeditate1  in verbis conceptis1 where
 nothing is left to invention1 or merely
  extemporal1 where little is left to   
memory4  ,whereas in life and action    
there is least use of either of these1  
but rather of intermixtures of          
premeditation and invention1 notes and  
memory4  ,so as the exercise  fitteth   
not the practice1 nor the image the     
life2 and it is ever a true  rule in    
exercises1 that they be framed as near  
as may be to the life of  practice2 for 
otherwise they do pervert the motions   
and faculties of the  mind1 and not     
prepare them4  ,the truth whereof is not
 obscure1 when  scholars come to the    
practices of professions1 or other      
actions of civil  life2 which when they 
set into1 this want is soon found by    
themselves1  and sooner by others4  ,but
 this part1 touching the amendment of   
the  institutions and orders of         
universities1 ,i will conclude with the 
clause  of ,csar's letter to ,oppius and

 ,balbes1 ,hoc quemadmodum fieri possit1
  nonnulla mihi in mentem veniunt1 et   
multa reperiri possunt3 de iis  rebus   
rgo vos ut cogitationem suscipiatis4    
#ac4  ,another defect which ,i note     
ascendeth a little higher than the      
precedent4  ,for as the proficience of  
learning consisteth much in the  orders 
and institutions of universities in the 
same states and kingdoms1  so it would  
be yet more advanced1 if there were more
 intelligence mutual  between the       
universities of ,europe than now there  
is4  ,we see there be  many orders and  
foundations1 which though they be       
divided under several  sovereignties and
 territories1 yet they take themselves  
to have a kind of  contract1 fraternity1
 and correspondence one with the other1 
insomuch as  they have provincials and  
generals4  ,and surely as nature        
createth  brotherhood in families1 and  
arts mechanical contract brotherhoods in
  communalties1 and the anointment of   
,god superinduceth a brotherhood in     

kings and bishops1 so in like manner    
there cannot but be a fraternity in     
learning and illumination1 relating to  
that paternity which is attributed  to  
,god1 who is called the ,father of      
illuminations or lights4    #ad4  ,the  
last defect which ,i will note is1 that 
there hath not been1 or  very rarely    
been1 any public designation of writers 
or inquirers  concerning such parts of  
knowledge as may appear not to have been
 already  sufficiently laboured or      
undertaken2 unto which point it is an   
inducement  to enter into a view and    
examination what parts of learning have 
been  prosecuted1 and what omitted4     
,for the opinion of plenty is amongst   
the  causes of want1 and the great      
quantity of books maketh a show rather  
of  superfluity than lack2 which        
surcharge nevertheless is not to be     
remedied  by making no more books1 but  
by making more good books1 which1 as the
  serpent of ,moses1 might devour the   
serpents of the enchanters4    #ae4     

,the removing of all the defects        
formerly enumerate1 except the last1    
and of the active part also of the last 
7which is the designation of  writers71 
are opera basilica2 towards which the   
endeavours of a private  man may be but 
as an image in a crossway1 that may     
point at the way1 but  cannot go it4    
,but the inducing part of the latter    
7which is the survey  of learning7 may  
be set forward by private travail4      
,wherefore ,i will now  attempt to make 
a general and faithful perambulation of 
learning1 with an  inquiry what parts   
thereof lie fresh and waste1 and not    
improved and  converted by the industry 
of man1 to the end that such a plot made
 and  recorded to memory may both       
minister light to any public            
designation1  and1 also serve to excite 
voluntary endeavours4  ,wherein1        
nevertheless1  my purpose is at this    
time to note only omissions and         
deficiences1 and  not to make any       
redargution of errors or incomplete     

prosecutions4  ,for it  is one thing to 
set forth what ground lieth unmanured1  
and another thing  to correct ill       
husbandry in that which is manured4     
,in the handling and undertaking of     
which work ,i am not ignorant what it   
is that ,i do now move and attempt1 nor 
insensible of mine own weakness to      
sustain my purpose4  ,but my hope is1   
that if my extreme love to learning     
carry me too far1 ,i may obtain the     
excuse of affection2 for that 8,it is   
not granted to man to love and to be    
wise40  ,but ,i know well ,i can use no 
other liberty of judgment than ,i must  
leave to others2 and ,i for my part     
shall be indifferently glad either to   
perform myself1 or accept from  another1
 that duty of humanity--,nam qui erranti
 comiter monstrat viam1  c4  ,i do      
foresee likewise that of those things   
which ,i shall enter and  register as   
deficiences and omissions1 many will    
conceive and censure  that some of them 
are already done and extant2 others to  

be but  curiosities1 and things of no   
great use2 and others to be of too great
  difficulty1 and almost impossibility  
to be compassed and effected4  ,but  for
 the two first1 ,i refer myself to the  
particulars4  ,for the last1  touching  
impossibility1 ,i take it those things  
are to be held possible  which may be   
done by some person1 though not by every
 one2 and which may  be done by many1   
though not by any one2 and which may be 
done in the  succession of ages1 though 
not within the hourglass of one man's   
life2  and which may be done by public  
designation1 though not by private      
endeavour4  ,but1 notwithstanding1 if   
any man will take to himself rather     
that of ,solomon1 8,dicit piger1 ,leo   
est in via10 than that of ,virgil1      
8,possunt quia posse videntur10 ,i shall
 be content that my labours be  esteemed
 but as the better sort of wishes2 for  
as it asketh some  knowledge to demand a
 question not impertinent1 so it        
requireth some  sense to make a wish not

 absurd4    ,i4 7#a7 ,the parts of human
 learning have reference to the three   
parts of  man's understanding1 which is 
the seat of learning3 history to his    
memory1 poesy to his imagination1 and   
philosophy to his reason4  ,divine      
learning receiveth the same             
distribution2 for1 the spirit of man is 
the  same1 though the revelation of     
oracle and sense be diverse4  ,so as    
theology consisteth also of history of  
the ,church2 of parables1 which is      
divine poesy2 and of holy doctrine or   
precept4  ,for as for that part  which  
seemeth supernumerary1 which is         
prophecy1 it is but divine history1     
which hath that prerogative over human1 
as the narration may be before  the fact
 as well as after4    7#b7 ,history is  
natural1 civil1 ecclesiastical1 and     
literary2 whereof the  first three ,i   
allow as extant1 the fourth ,i note as  
deficient4  ,for no  man hath propounded
 to himself the general state of        
learning to be  described and           

represented from age to age1 as many    
have done the works of  ,nature1 and the
 state1 civil and ecclesiastical2       
without which the  history of the world 
seemeth to me to be as the statue of    
,polyphemus with  his eye out1 that part
 being wanting which doth most show the 
spirit and  life of the person4  ,and   
yet ,i am not ignorant that in divers   
particular  sciences1 as of the         
jurisconsults1 the mathematicians1 the  
rhetoricians1  the philosophers1 there  
are set down some small memorials of the
 schools1  authors1 and books2 and so   
likewise some barren relations touching 
the  invention of arts or usages4  ,but 
a just story of learning1 containing    
the antiquities and originals of        
knowledges and their sects1 their       
inventions1 their traditions1 their     
diverse administrations and  managings1 
their flourishings1 their oppositions1  
decays1 depressions1  oblivions1        
removes1 with the causes and occasions  
of them1 and all other  events          

concerning learning1 throughout the ages
 of the world1 ,i may truly  affirm to  
be wanting2 the use and end of which    
work ,i do not so much  design for      
curiosity or satisfaction of those that 
are the lovers of  learning1 but chiefly
 for a more serious and grave purpose1  
which is this  in few words1 that it    
will make learned men wise in the use   
and  administration of learning4  ,for  
it is not ,saint ,augustine's nor ,saint
  ,ambrose's works that will make so    
wise a divine as ecclesiastical history 
thoroughly read and observed1 and the   
same reason is of learning4    7#c7     
,history of ,nature is of three sorts2  
of ,nature in course1 of ,nature  erring
 or varying1 and of ,nature altered or  
wrought2 that is1 history of  creatures1
 history of marvels1 and history of     
arts4  ,the first of these  no doubt is 
extant1 and that in good perfection2 the
 two latter are  bandied so weakly and  
unprofitably as ,i am moved to note them
 as  deficient4  ,for ,i find no        

sufficient or competent collection of   
the works  of ,nature which have a      
digression and deflexion from the       
ordinary course  of generations1        
productions1 and motions2 whether they  
be singularities  of place and region1  
or the strange events of time and       
chance1 or the  effects of yet unknown  
properties1 or the instances of         
exception to  general kinds4  ,it is    
true ,i find a number of books of       
fabulous  experiments and secrets1 and  
frivolous impostures for pleasure and   
strangeness2 but a substantial and      
severe collection of the heteroclites   
or irregulars of ,nature1 well examined 
and described1 ,i find not1  specially  
not with due rejection of fables and    
popular errors4  ,for as  things now    
are1 if an untruth in ,nature be once on
 foot1 what by reason  of the neglect of
 examination1 and countenance of        
antiquity1 and what by  reason of the   
use of the opinion in similitudes and   
ornaments of speech1  it is never called

 down4    7#d7 ,the use of this work1   
honoured with a precedent in ,aristotle1
 is  nothing less than to give          
contentment to the appetite of curious  
and vain  wits1 as the manner of        
,mirabilaries is to do2 but for two     
reasons1 both  of great weight3 the one 
to correct the partiality of axioms and 
opinions1 which are commonly framed only
 upon common and familiar  examples2 the
 other because from the wonders of      
,nature is the nearest  intelligence and
 passage towards the wonders of art1 for
 it is no more  but by following and1 as
 it were1 hounding ,nature in her       
wanderings1 to  be able to lead her     
afterwards to the same place again4     
,neither am ,i of  opinion1 in this     
history of marvels1 that superstitious  
narrations of  sorceries1 witchcrafts1  
dreams1 divinations1 and the like1 where
 there is  an assurance and clear       
evidence of the fact1 be altogether     
excluded4  ,for  it is not yet known in 
what cases and how far effects          

attributed to  superstition do          
participate of natural causes2 and1     
therefore1 howsoever  the practice of   
such things is to be condemned1 yet from
 the speculation  and consideration of  
them light may be taken1 not only for   
the discerning  of the offences1 but for
 the further disclosing of ,nature4     
,neither ought  a man to make scruple of
 entering into these things for         
inquisition of  truth1 as your ,majesty 
hath showed in your own example1 who1   
with the two  clear eyes of religion and
 natural philosophy1 have looked deeply 
and  wisely into these shadows1 and yet 
proved yourself to be of the nature of  
the sun1 which passeth through          
pollutions and itself remains as pure as
  before4  ,but this ,i hold fit1 that  
these narrations1 which have mixture    
with superstition1 be sorted by         
themselves1 and not to be mingled with  
the narrations which are merely and     
sincerely natural4  ,but as for the     
narrations touching the prodigies and   

miracles of religions1 they are  either 
not true or not natural2 and1 therefore1
 impertinent for the story  of ,nature4 
7#e7 ,for history of ,nature1 wrought or
 mechanical1 ,i find some collections   
made of agriculture1 and likewise of    
manual arts2 but commonly with a        
rejection of experiments familiar and   
vulgar2 for it is esteemed a kind  of   
dishonour unto learning to descend to   
inquiry or meditation upon  matters     
mechanical1 except they be such as may  
be thought secrets1  rarities1 and      
special subtleties2 which humour of vain
 and supercilious  arrogancy is justly  
derided in ,plato1 where he brings in   
,hippias1 a  vaunting sophist1 disputing
 with ,socrates1 a true and unfeigned   
inquisitor of truth2 where1 the subject 
being touching beauty1 ,socrates1  after
 his wandering manner of inductions1 put
 first an example of a fair  virgin1 and
 then of a fair horse1 and then of a    
fair pot well glazed1  whereat ,hippias 
was offended1 and said1 8,more than for 

courtesy's sake1  he did think much to  
dispute with any that did allege such   
base and  sordid instances40  ,whereunto
 ,socrates answereth1 8,you have reason1
 and  it becomes you well1 being a man  
so trim in your vestments10 c41 and so  
goeth on in an irony4  ,but the truth   
is1 they be not the highest  instances  
that give the securest information1 as  
may be well expressed in  the tale so   
common of the philosopher that1 while he
 gazed upwards to the  stars1 fell into 
the water2 for if he had looked down he 
might have seen  the stars in the water1
 but looking aloft he could not see the 
water in  the stars4  ,so it cometh     
often to pass that mean and small things
  discover great1 better than great can 
discover the small2 and therefore       
,aristotle noteth well1 8,that the      
nature of everything is best seen in his
  smallest portions40  ,and for that    
cause he inquireth the nature of a      
commonwealth1 first in a family1 and the
 simple conjugations of man and  wife1  

parent and child1 master and servant1   
which are in every cottage4  ,even so   
likewise the nature of this great city  
of the world1 and the  policy thereof1  
must be first sought in mean            
concordances and small  portions4  ,so  
we see how that secret of ,nature1 of   
the turning of iron  touched with the   
loadstone towards the north1 was found  
out in needles of  iron1 not in bars of 
iron4    7#f7 ,but if my judgment be of 
any weight1 the use of history          
mechanical is  of all others the most   
radical and fundamental towards natural 
philosophy2 such natural philosophy as  
shall not vanish in the fume of  subtle1
 sublime1 or delectable speculation1 but
 such as shall be  operative to the     
endowment and benefit of man's life4    
,for it will not  only minister and     
suggest for the present many ingenious  
practices in all  trades1 by a          
connection and transferring of the      
observations of one art  to the use of  
another1 when the experiences of several

 mysteries shall  fall under the        
consideration of one man's mind2 but    
further1 it will give  a more true and  
real illumination concerning causes and 
axioms than is  hitherto attained4  ,for
 like as a man's disposition is never   
well known  till he be crossed1 nor     
,proteus ever changed shapes till he was
  straitened and held fast2 so the      
passages and variations of nature cannot
  appear so fully in the liberty of     
nature as in the trials and vexations   
of art4    ,,ii4 7#a7 ,for civil        
history1 it is of three kinds2 not      
unfitly to be  compared with the three  
kinds of pictures or images4  ,for of   
pictures or  images we see some are     
unfinished1 some are perfect1 and some  
are  defaced4  ,so of histories we may  
find three kinds3 memorials1 perfect    
histories1 and antiquities2 for         
memorials are history unfinished1 or the
  first or rough drafts of history2 and 
antiquities are history defaced1 or     
some remnants of history which have     

casually escaped the shipwreck of  time4
    7#b7 ,memorials1 or preparatory     
history1 are of two sorts2 whereof the  
one  may be termed commentaries1 and the
 other registers4  ,commentaries are    
they which set down a continuance of the
 naked events and actions1  without the 
motives or designs1 the counsels1 the   
speeches1 the pretexts1  the occasions1 
and other passages of action4  ,for this
 is the true nature  of a commentary    
7though ,csar1 in modesty mixed with    
greatness1 did for  his pleasure apply  
the name of a commentary to the best    
history of the  world74  ,registers are 
collections of public acts1 as decrees  
of council1  judicial proceedings1      
declarations and letters of estate1     
orations1 and  the like1 without a      
perfect continuance or contexture of the
 thread of  the narration4    7#c7      
,antiquities1 or remnants of history1   
are1 as was said1 tanquam  tabula       
naufragii3 when industrious persons1 by 
an exact and scrupulous  diligence and  

observation1 out of monuments1 names1   
words1 proverbs1  traditions1 private   
records and evidences1 fragments of     
stories1 passages  of books that concern
 not story1 and the like1 do save and   
recover  somewhat from the deluge of    
time4    7#d7 ,in these kinds of        
unperfect histories ,i do assign no     
deficience1 for  they are tanquam       
imperfecte mista2 and therefore any     
deficience in them  is but their nature4
  ,as for the corruptions and moths of  
history1 which  are epitomes1 the use of
 them deserveth to be banished1 as all  
men of  sound judgment have confessed1  
as those that have fretted and corroded 
the sound bodies of many excellent      
histories1 and wrought them into base   
and unprofitable dregs4    7#e7         
,history1 which may be called just and  
perfect history1 is of three  kinds1    
according to the object which it        
propoundeth1 or pretendeth to           
represent3 for it either representeth a 
time1 or a person1 or an action4  ,the  

first we call chronicles1 the second    
lives1 and the third narrations  or     
relations4  ,of these1 although the     
first be the most complete and  absolute
 kind of history1 and hath most         
estimation and glory1 yet the  second   
excelleth it in profit and use1 and the 
third in verity and  sincerity4  ,for   
history of times representeth the       
magnitude of actions1  and the public   
faces and deportments of persons1 and   
passeth over in  silence the smaller    
passages and motions of men and matters4
  ,but such  being the workmanship of   
,god1 as ,he doth hang the greatest     
weight upon  the smallest wires1 maxima 
minimis1 suspendens1 it comes therefore 
to pass1 that such histories do rather  
set forth the pomp of business  than the
 true and inward resorts thereof4  ,but 
lives1 if they be well  written1        
propounding to themselves a person to   
represent1 in whom  actions1 both       
greater and smaller1 public and private1
 have a commixture1  must of necessity  

contain a more true1 native1 and lively 
representation4  ,so again narrations   
and relations of actions1 as the war of 
,peloponnesus1  the expedition of ,cyrus
 ,minor1 the conspiracy of ,catiline1   
cannot but be  more purely and exactly  
true than histories of times1 because   
they may  choose an argument            
comprehensible within the notice and    
instructions of  the writer3 whereas he 
that undertaketh the story of a time1   
specially of  any length1 cannot but    
meet with many blanks and spaces1 which 
he must be  forced to fill up out of his
 own wit and conjecture4    7#f7 ,for   
the history of times1 ,i mean of civil  
history1 the providence of  ,god hath   
made the distribution4  ,for it hath    
pleased ,god to ordain and  illustrate  
two exemplar states of the world for    
arms1 learning1 moral  virtue1 policy1  
and laws2 the state of ,grcia and the   
state of ,rome2 the  histories whereof  
occupying the middle part of time1 have 
more ancient to  them histories which   

may by one common name be termed the    
antiquities of  the world2 and after    
them1 histories which may be likewise   
called by the  name of modern history4  
7#g7 ,now to speak of the deficiences4  
,as to the heathen antiquities of  the  
world it is in vain to note them for    
deficient4  ,deficient they are  no     
doubt1 consisting most of fables and    
fragments2 but the deficience  cannot be
 holpen2 for antiquity is like fame1    
caput inter nubila  condit1 her head is 
muffled from our sight4  ,for the       
history of the  exemplar states1 it is  
extant in good perfection4  ,not but ,i 
could wish  there were a perfect course 
of history for ,grcia1 from ,theseus to 
,philopmen 7what time the affairs of    
,grcia drowned and extinguished in  the 
affairs of ,rome71 and for ,rome from   
,romulus to ,justinianus1 who may  be   
truly said to be ultimus ,romanorum4    
,in which sequences of story the  text  
of ,thucydides and ,xenophon in the one1
 and the texts of ,livius1  ,polybius1  

,sallustius1 ,csar1 ,appianus1 ,tacitus1
 ,herodianus in the other1  to be kept  
entire1 without any diminution at all1  
and only to be supplied  and continued4 
,but this is a matter of magnificence1  
rather to be  commended than required2  
and we speak now of parts of learning   
supplemental1 and not of supererogation4
    7#h7 ,but for modern histories1     
whereof there are some few very worthy1 
but  the greater part beneath           
mediocrity1 leaving the care of foreign 
stories  to foreign states1 because ,i  
will not be curiosus in aliena          
republica1  ,i cannot fail to represent 
to your ,majesty the unworthiness of the
  history of ,england in the main       
continuance thereof1 and the partiality 
and obliquity of that of ,scotland in   
the latest and largest author that ,i   
have seen3 supposing that it would be   
honour for your ,majesty1 and a work    
very memorable1 if this island of ,great
 ,britain1 as it is now joined in       
monarchy for the ages to come1 so were  

joined in one history for the  times    
passed1 after the manner of the sacred  
history1 which draweth down  the story  
of the ten tribes and of the two tribes 
as twins together4  ,and  if it shall   
seem that the greatness of this work may
 make it less exactly  performed1 there 
is an excellent period of a much smaller
 compass of  time1 as to the story of   
,england2 that is to say1 from the      
uniting of the  ,roses to the uniting of
 the kingdoms2 a portion of time        
wherein1 to my  understanding1 there    
hath been the rarest varieties that in  
like number  of successions of any      
hereditary monarchy hath been known4    
,for it  beginneth with the mixed       
adoption of a crown by arms and title2  
an entry  by battle1 an establishment by
 marriage2 and therefore times          
answerable1  like waters after a        
tempest1 full of working and swelling1  
though without  extremity of storm2 but 
well passed through by the wisdom of the
 pilot1  being one of the most          

sufficient kings of all the number4     
,then followeth  the reign of a king1   
whose actions1 howsoever conducted1 had 
much  intermixture with the affairs of  
,europe1 balancing and inclining them   
variably2 in whose time also began that 
great alteration in the state           
ecclesiastical1 an action which seldom  
cometh upon the stage4  ,then the  reign
 of a minor2 then an offer of a         
usurpation 7though it was but as  febris
 ephemera74  ,then the reign of a queen 
matched with a foreigner2  then of a    
queen that lived solitary and unmarried1
 and yet her government  so masculine1  
as it had greater impression and        
operation upon the states  abroad than  
it any ways received from thence4  ,and 
now last1 this most  happy and glorious 
event1 that this island of ,britain1    
divided from all  the world1 should be  
united in itself1 and that oracle of    
rest given to  ,neas1 antiquam exquirite
 matrem1 should now be performed and    
fulfilled  upon the nations of ,england 

and ,scotland1 being now reunited in the
  ancient mother name of ,britain1 as a 
full period of all instability and      
peregrinations4  ,so that as it cometh  
to pass in massive bodies1 that  they   
have certain trepidations and waverings 
before they fix and settle1  so it      
seemeth that by the providence of ,god  
this monarchy1 before it was  to settle 
in your majesty and your generations 7in
 which ,i hope it is now  established   
for ever71 it had these prelusive       
changes and varieties4    7#i7 ,for     
lives1 ,i do find strange that these    
times have so little esteemed  the      
virtues of the times1 as that the       
writings of lives should be no more     
frequent4  ,for although there be not   
many sovereign princes or absolute      
commanders1 and that states are most    
collected into monarchies1 yet are      
there many worthy personages that       
deserve better than dispersed report or 
barren eulogies4  ,for herein the       
invention of one of the late poets is   

proper1 and doth well enrich the ancient
 fiction4  ,for he feigneth that  at the
 end of the thread or web of every man's
 life there was a little  medal         
containing the person's name1 and that  
,time waited upon the shears1  and as   
soon as the thread was cut caught the   
medals1 and carried them to  the river  
of ,lathe2 and about the bank there were
 many birds flying up  and down1 that   
would get the medals and carry them in  
their beak a little  while1 and then let
 them fall into the river4  ,only there 
were a few  swans1 which if they got a  
name would carry it to a temple where it
 was  consecrate4  ,and although many   
men1 more mortal in their affections    
than  in their bodies1 do esteem desire 
of name and memory but as a vanity and  
ventosity1        8,animi nil magn      
laudis egentes20    which opinion cometh
 from that root1 ,non prius laudes      
contempsimus1  quam laudanda facere     
desivimus3 yet that will not alter      
,solomon's  judgment1 ,memoria justi cum

 laudibus1 at impiorum nomen putrescet3 
the one flourisheth1 the other either   
consumeth to present oblivion1 or       
turneth to an ill odour4  ,and therefore
 in that style or addition1 which  is   
and hath been long well received and    
brought in use1 felicis  memori1 pi     
memori1 bon memori1 we do acknowledge   
that which  ,cicero saith1 borrowing it 
from ,demosthenes1 that bona fama       
propria  possessio defunctorum2 which   
possession ,i cannot but note that in   
our  times it lieth much waste1 and that
 therein there is a deficience4    7#aj7
 ,for narrations and relations of       
particular actions1 there were also  to 
be wished a greater diligence therein2  
for there is no great action  but hath  
some good pen which attends it4  ,and   
because it is an ability  not common to 
write a good history1 as may well appear
 by the small  number of them2 yet if   
particularity of actions memorable were 
but  tolerably reported as they pass1   
the compiling of a complete history of  

times might be the better expected1 when
 a writer should arise that were  fit   
for it3 for the collection of such      
relations might be as a nursery  garden1
 whereby to plant a fair and stately    
garden when time should  serve4    7#aa7
 ,there is yet another partition of     
history which ,cornelius ,tacitus       
maketh1 which is not to be forgotten1   
specially with that application  which  
he accoupleth it withal1 annals and     
journals3 appropriating to the  former  
matters of estate1 and to the latter    
acts and accidents of a  meaner nature4 
,for giving but a touch of certain      
magnificent buildings1  he addeth1 ,cum 
ex dignitate populi ,romani repertum    
sit1 res illustres  annalibus1 talia    
diurnis urbis actis mandare4  ,so as    
there is a kind  of contemplative       
heraldry1 as well as civil4  ,and as    
nothing doth  derogate from the dignity 
of a state more than confusion of       
degrees1 so  it doth not a little imbase
 the authority of a history to          

intermingle  matters of triumph1 or     
matters of ceremony1 or matters of      
novelty1 with  matters of state4  ,but  
the use of a journal hath not only been 
in the  history of time1 but likewise in
 the history of persons1 and chiefly of 
actions2 for princes in ancient time    
had1 upon point of honour and policy    
both1 journals kept1 what passed day by 
day4  ,for we see the chronicle  which  
was read before ,ahasuerus1 when he     
could not take rest1 contained  matter  
of affairs1 indeed1 but such as had     
passed in his own time and  very lately 
before4  ,but the journal of            
,alexander's house expressed every      
small particularity1 even concerning his
 person and court2 and it is yet  a use 
well received in enterprises memorable1 
as expeditions of war1  navigations1 and
 the like1 to keep diaries of that which
 passeth  continually4    7#ab7 ,i      
cannot likewise be ignorant of a form of
 writing which some grave  and wise men 
have used1 containing a scattered       

history of those actions  which they    
have thought worthy of memory1 with     
politic discourse and  observation      
thereupon3 not incorporate into the     
history1 but separately1  and as the    
more principal in their intention2 which
 kind of ruminated  history ,i think    
more fit to place amongst books of      
policy1 whereof we  shall hereafter     
speak1 than amongst books of history4   
,for it is the true  office of history  
to represent the events themselves      
together with the  counsels1 and to     
leave the observations and conclusions  
thereupon to the  liberty and faculty of
 every man's judgment4  ,but mixtures   
are things  irregular1 whereof no man   
can define4    7#ac7 ,so also is there  
another kind of history manifoldly      
mixed1 and that  is history of          
cosmography3 being compounded of natural
 history1 in  respect of the regions    
themselves2 of history civil1 in respect
 of the  habitations1 regiments1 and    
manners of the people2 and the          

mathematics1  in respect of the climates
 and configurations towards the heavens3
 which  part of learning of all others  
in this latter time hath obtained most  
proficience4  ,for it may be truly      
affirmed to the honour of these times1  
and in a virtuous emulation with        
antiquity1 that this great building of  
the world had never through-lights made 
in it1 till the age of us and our       
fathers4  ,for although they had        
knowledge of the antipodes1             
8,nosque ubi primus equis ,oriens       
afflavit anhelis1      ,illic sera      
rubens accendit lumina ,vesper10    yet 
that might be by demonstration1 and not 
in fact2 and if by travel1 it  requireth
 the voyage but of half the globe4  ,but
 to circle the earth1 as  the heavenly  
bodies do1 was not done nor enterprised 
till these later  times3 and therefore  
these times may justly bear in their    
word1 not only  plus ultra1 in          
precedence of the ancient non ultra1 and
 imitabile  fulmen1 in precedence of the

 ancient non imitabile fulmen1          
8,demens qui nimbos et non imitabile    
fulmen10 c4    but likewise imitabile   
clum2 in respect of the many memorable  
voyages  after the manner of heaven     
about the globe of the earth4    7#ad7  
,and this proficience in navigation and 
discoveries may plant also an           
expectation of the further proficience  
and augmentation of all sciences2       
because it may seem they are ordained by
 ,god to be coevals1 that is1 to  meet  
in one age4  ,for so the prophet ,daniel
 speaking of the latter times           
foretelleth1 ,plurimi pertransibunt1 et 
multiplex erit scientia3 as if  the     
openness and through-passage of the     
world and the increase of  knowledge    
were appointed to be in the same ages2  
as we see it is already  performed in   
great part3 the learning of these later 
times not much  giving place to the     
former two periods or returns of        
learning1 the one of  the ,grecians1 the
 other of the ,romans4    ,,iii4 7#a7   

,history ecclesiastical receiveth the   
same divisions with history  civil3 but 
further in the propriety thereof may be 
divided into the  history of the        
,church1 by a general name2 history of  
prophecy2 and  history of providence4   
,the first describeth the times of the  
militant  ,church1 whether it be        
fluctuant1 as the ark of ,noah1 or      
movable1 as the  ark in the wilderness1 
or at rest1 as the ark in the ,temple3  
that is1 the  state of the ,church in   
persecution1 in remove1 and in peace4   
,this part ,i  ought in no sort to note 
as deficient2 only ,i would that the    
virtue and  sincerity of it were        
according to the mass and quantity4     
,but ,i am not  now in hand with        
censures1 but with omissions4    7#b7   
,the second1 which is history of        
prophecy1 consisteth of two             
relatives--the prophecy and the         
accomplishment2 and1 therefore1 the     
nature  of such a work ought to be1 that
 every prophecy of the ,scripture be    

sorted with the event fulfilling the    
same throughout the ages of the  world1 
both for the better confirmation of     
faith and for the better  illumination  
of the ,church touching those parts of  
prophecies which are  yet unfulfilled3  
allowing1 nevertheless1 that latitude   
which is agreeable  and familiar unto   
divine prophecies1 being of the nature  
of their ,author1  with whom a thousand 
years are but as one day1 and therefore 
are not  fulfilled punctually at once1  
but have springing and germinant        
accomplishment throughout many ages1    
though the height or fulness of them    
may refer to some one age4  ,this is a  
work which ,i find deficient1 but is  to
 be done with wisdom1 sobriety1 and     
reverence1 or not at all4    7#c7 ,the  
third1 which is history of ,providence1 
containeth that excellent               
correspondence which is between ,god's  
revealed will and ,his secret will2     
which though it be so obscure1 as for   
the most part it is not legible to  the 

natural man--no1 nor many times to those
 that behold it from the                
tabernacle--yet1 at some times it       
pleaseth ,god1 for our better           
establishment and the confuting of those
 which are as without ,god in the       
world1 to write it in such text and     
capital letters1 that1 as the prophet   
saith1 8,he that runneth by may read    
it0--that is1 mere sensual persons1     
which hasten by ,god's judgments1 and   
never bend or fix their cogitations     
upon them1 are nevertheless in their    
passage and race urged to discern  it4  
,such are the notable events and        
examples of ,god's judgments1           
chastisements1 deliverances1 and        
blessings2 and this is a work which has 
passed through the labour of many1 and  
therefore ,i cannot present as  omitted4
    7#d7 ,there are also other parts of 
learning which are appendices to        
history4  ,for all the exterior         
proceedings of man consist of words and 
deeds1 whereof history doth properly    

receive and retain in memory the  deeds2
 and if words1 yet but as inducements   
and passages to deeds2 so are  there    
other books and writings which are      
appropriate to the custody and  receipt 
of words only1 which likewise are of    
three sorts--orations1  letters1 and    
brief speeches or sayings4  ,orations   
are pleadings1 speeches  of counsel1    
laudatives1 invectives1 apologies1      
reprehensions1 orations of  formality or
 ceremony1 and the like4  ,letters are  
according to all the  variety of        
occasions1 advertisements1 advises1     
directions1 propositions1  petitions1   
commendatory1 expostulatory1            
satisfactory1 of compliment1 of         
pleasure1 of discourse1 and all other   
passages of action4  ,and such as  are  
written from wise men1 are of all the   
words of man1 in my judgment1  the best2
 for they are more natural than orations
 and public speeches1  and more advised 
than conferences or present speeches4   
,so again letters  of affairs from such 

as manage them1 or are privy to them1   
are of all  others the best instructions
 for history1 and to a diligent reader  
the  best histories in themselves4  ,for
 apophthegms1 it is a great loss of     
that book of ,csar's2 for as his        
history1 and those few letters of his   
which we have1 and those apophthegms    
which were of his own1 excel all  men's 
else1 so ,i suppose would his collection
 of apophthegms have done2  for as for  
those which are collected by others1    
either ,i have no taste in  such matters
 or else their choice hath not been     
happy4  ,but upon these  three kinds of 
writings ,i do not insist1 because ,i   
have no deficiences to  propound        
concerning them4    7#e7 ,thus much     
therefore concerning history1 which is  
that part of  learning which answereth  
to one of the cells1 domiciles1 or      
offices of  the mind of man1 which is   
that of the memory4    ,,iv4 7#a7 ,poesy
 is a part of learning in measure of    
words1 for the most  part restrained1   

but in all other points extremely       
licensed1 and doth  truly refer to the  
imagination2 which1 being not tied to   
the laws of  matter1 may at pleasure    
join that which nature hath severed1 and
 sever  that which nature hath joined1  
and so make unlawful matches and        
divorces  of things--,pictoribus atque  
poetis1 c4  ,it is taken in two senses  
in  respect of words or matter4  ,in the
 first sense1 it is but a character of  
style1 and belongeth to arts of speech1 
and is not pertinent for the  present4  
,in the latter1 it is--as hath been     
said--one of the principal  portions of 
learning1 and is nothing else but       
feigned history1 which may  be styled as
 well in prose as in verse4    7#b7 ,the
 use of this feigned history hath been  
to give some shadow of  satisfaction to 
the mind of man in those points wherein 
the nature of  things doth deny it1 the 
world being in proportion inferior to   
the soul2  by reason whereof there is1  
agreeable to the spirit of man1 a more  

ample  greatness1 a more exact goodness1
 and a more absolute variety1 than can  
be found in the nature of things4       
,therefore1 because the acts or events  
of true history have not that magnitude 
which satisfieth the mind of man1  poesy
 feigneth acts and events greater and   
more heroical4  ,because true  history  
propoundeth the successes and issues of 
actions not so agreeable  to the merits 
of virtue and vice1 therefore poesy     
feigns them more just  in retribution1  
and more according to revealed          
,providence4  ,because true  history    
representeth actions and events more    
ordinary and less  interchanged1        
therefore poesy endueth them with more  
rareness and more  unexpected and       
alternative variations4  ,so as it      
appeareth that poesy  serveth and       
conferreth to magnanimity1 morality and 
to delectation4  ,and  therefore1 it was
 ever thought to have some participation
 of divineness1  because it doth raise  
and erect the mind1 by submitting the   

shows of  things to the desires of the  
mind2 whereas reason doth buckle and bow
 the  mind unto the nature of things4   
,and we see that by these insinuations  
and congruities with man's nature and   
pleasure1 joined also with the          
agreement and consort it hath with      
music1 it hath had access and           
estimation in rude times and barbarous  
regions1 where other learning  stood    
excluded4    7#c7 ,the division of poesy
 which is aptest in the propriety       
thereof  7besides those divisions which 
are common unto it with history1 as     
feigned chronicles1 feigned lives1 and  
the appendices of history1 as  feigned  
epistles1 feigned orations1 and the     
rest7 is into poesy  narrative1         
representative1 and allusive4  ,the     
narrative is a mere  imitation of       
history1 with the excesses before       
remembered1 choosing for  subjects      
commonly wars and love1 rarely state1   
and sometimes pleasure or  mirth4       
,representative is as a visible history1

 and is an image of  actions as if they 
were present1 as history is of actions  
in nature as  they are 7that is7 past4  
,allusive1 or parabolical1 is a         
narration  applied only to express some 
special purpose or conceit2 which latter
  kind of parabolical wisdom was much   
more in use in the ancient times1 as  by
 the fables of sop1 and the brief       
sentences of the seven1 and the use  of 
hieroglyphics may appear4  ,and the     
cause was 7for that it was then of      
necessity to express any point of reason
 which was more sharp or subtle  than   
the vulgar in that manner7 because men  
in those times wanted both  variety of  
examples and subtlety of conceit4  ,and 
as hieroglyphics were  before letters1  
so parables were before arguments2 and  
nevertheless now  and at all times they 
do retain much life and rigour1 because 
reason  cannot be so sensible nor       
examples so fit4    7#d7 ,but there     
remaineth yet another use of poesy      
parabolical1 opposite to  that which we 

last mentioned2 for that tendeth to     
demonstrate and  illustrate that which  
is taught or delivered1 and this other  
to retire  and obscure it--that is1 when
 the secrets and mysteries of religion1 
policy1 or philosophy1 are involved in  
fables or parables4  ,of this in  divine
 poesy we see the use is authorised4    
,in heathen poesy we see the  exposition
 of fables doth fall out sometimes with 
great felicity3 as in  the fable that   
the giants being overthrown in their war
 against the gods1  the earth their     
mother in revenge thereof brought forth 
,fame3        8,illam terra parens1 ira 
irritat ,deorum1      ,extremam1 ut     
perhibent1 ,co ,enceladoque soroem1     
,progenuit40    ,expounded that when    
princes and monarchs have suppressed    
actual and open  rebels1 then the       
malignity of people 7which is the mother
 of rebellion7  doth bring forth libels 
and slanders1 and taxations of the      
states1 which  is of the same kind with 
rebellion but more feminine4  ,so in the

 fable  that the rest of the gods having
 conspired to bind ,jupiter1 ,pallas    
called  ,briareus with his hundred hands
 to his aid3 expounded that monarchies  
need not fear any curbing of their      
absoluteness by mighty subjects1 as     
long as by wisdom they keep the hearts  
of the people1 who will be sure to  come
 in on their side4  ,so in the fable    
that ,achilles was brought up  under    
,chiron1 the centaur1 who was part a man
 and part a beast1 expounded            
ingeniously but corruptly by ,machiavel1
 that it belongeth to the  education and
 discipline of princes to know as well  
how to play the part  of a lion in      
violence1 and the fox in guile1 as of   
the man in virtue and  justice4         
,nevertheless1 in many the like         
encounters1 ,i do rather think  that the
 fable was first1 and the exposition    
devised1 than that the moral  was first1
 and thereupon the fable framed2 for ,i 
find it was an ancient  vanity in       
,chrysippus1 that troubled himself with 

great contention to  fasten the         
assertions of the ,stoics upon the      
fictions of the ancient  poets2 but yet 
that all the fables and fictions of the 
poets were but  pleasure and not figure1
 ,i interpose no opinion4  ,surely of   
these poets  which are now extant1 even 
,homer himself 7notwithstanding he was  
made a  kind of scripture by the later  
schools of the ,grecians71 yet ,i should
  without any difficulty pronounce that 
his fables had no such inwardness  in   
his own meaning4  ,but what they might  
have upon a more original  tradition is 
not easy to affirm1 for he was not the  
inventor of many of  them4    7#e7 ,in  
this third part of learning1 which is   
poesy1 ,i can report no  deficience2 for
 being as a plant that cometh of the    
lust of the earth1  without a formal    
seed1 it hath sprung up and spread      
abroad more than any  other kind4  ,but 
to ascribe unto it that which is due1   
for the expressing  of affections1      
passions1 corruptions1 and customs1 we  

are beholding to  poets more than to the
 philosophers' works2 and for wit and   
eloquence1  not much less than to       
orators' harangues4  ,but it is not good
 to stay too  long in the theatre4  ,let
 us now pass on to the judicial place or
 palace  of the mind1 which we are to   
approach and view with more reverence   
and  attention4    ,v4 7#a7 ,the        
knowledge of man is as the waters1 some 
descending from above1  and some        
springing from beneath3 the one informed
 by the light of nature1  the other     
inspired by divine revelation4  ,the    
light of nature consisteth  in the      
notions of the mind and the reports of  
the senses2 for as for  knowledge which 
man receiveth by teaching1 it is        
cumulative and not  original1 as in a   
water that besides his own spring-head  
is fed with  other springs and streams4 
,so then1 according to these two        
differing  illuminations or originals1  
knowledge is first of all divided into  
divinity and philosophy4    7#b7 ,in    

philosophy the contemplations of man do 
either penetrate unto ,god1  or are     
circumferred to nature1 or are reflected
 or reverted upon himself4  ,out of     
which several inquiries there do arise  
three knowledges--divine  philosophy1   
natural philosophy1 and human philosophy
 or humanity4  ,for  all things are     
marked and stamped with this triple     
character--the power of  ,god1 the      
difference of nature and the use of man4
  ,but because the  distributions and   
partitions of knowledge are not like    
several lines that  meet in one angle1  
and so touch but in a point1 but are    
like branches of  a tree that meet in a 
stem1 which hath a dimension and        
quantity of  entireness and continuance 
before it come to discontinue and break 
itself  into arms and boughs2 therefore 
it is good1 before we enter into the    
former distribution1 to erect and       
constitute one universal science1 by    
the name of philosophia prima1 primitive
 or summary philosophy1 as the  main and

 common way1 before we come where the   
ways part and divide  themselves2 which 
science whether ,i should report as     
deficient or no1 ,i  stand doubtful4    
,for ,i find a certain rhapsody of      
natural theology1 and  of divers parts  
of logic2 and of that part of natural   
philosophy which  concerneth the        
principles1 and of that other part of   
natural philosophy  which concerneth the
 soul or spirit--all these strangely    
commixed and  confused2 but being       
examined1 it seemeth to me rather a     
depredation of  other sciences1 advanced
 and exalted unto some height of terms1 
than  anything solid or substantive of  
itself4  ,nevertheless ,i cannot be     
ignorant of the distinction which is    
current1 that the same things are       
handled but in several respects4  ,as   
for example1 that logic considereth  of 
many things as they are in notion1 and  
this philosophy as they are in          
nature--the one in appearance1 the other
 in existence2 but ,i find this         

difference better made than pursued4    
,for if they had considered  quantity1  
similitude1 diversity1 and the rest of  
those extern characters  of things1 as  
philosophers1 and in nature1 their      
inquiries must of force  have been of a 
far other kind than they are4  ,for doth
 any of them1 in  handling quantity1    
speak of the force of union1 how and how
 far it  multiplieth virtue8  ,doth any 
give the reason why some things in      
nature  are so common1 and in so great  
mass1 and others so rare1 and in so     
small  quantity8  ,doth any1 in handling
 similitude and diversity1 assign the   
cause why iron should not move to iron1 
which is more like1 but move to  the    
loadstone1 which is less like8  ,why in 
all diversities of things  there should 
be certain participles in nature which  
are almost ambiguous  to which kind they
 should be referred8  ,but there is a   
mere and deep  silence touching the     
nature and operation of those common    
adjuncts of  things1 as in nature2 and  

only a resuming and repeating of the    
force and  use of them in speech or     
argument4  ,therefore1 because in a     
writing of  this nature ,i avoid all    
subtlety1 my meaning touching this      
original or  universal philosophy is    
thus1 in a plain and gross description  
by  negative3 8,that it be a receptacle 
for all such profitable observations    
and axioms as fall not within the       
compass of any of the special parts of  
philosophy or sciences1 but are more    
common and of a higher stage40    7#c7  
,now that there are many of that kind   
need not be doubted4  ,for  example3 ,is
 not the rule1 ,si inqualibus qualia    
addas1 omnia erunt  inqualia1 an axiom  
as well of justice as of the            
mathematics8 and is  there not a true   
coincidence between commutative and     
distributive  justice1 and arithmetical 
and geometrical proportion8  ,is not    
that other  rule1 ,qu in eodem tertio   
conveniunt1 et inter se conveniunt1 a   
rule  taken from the mathematics1 but so

 potent in logic as all syllogisms are  
built upon it8  ,is not the observation1
 ,omnia mutantur1 nil interit1  a       
contemplation in philosophy thus1 that  
the quantum of nature is  eternal8 in   
natural theology thus1 that it requireth
 the same omnipotency  to make somewhat 
nothing1 which at the first made nothing
 somewhat8  according to the ,scripture1
 ,didici quod omnia opera1 qu fecit     
,deus1  perseverent in perpetuum2 non   
possumus eis quicquam addere nec        
auferre4  ,is not the ground1 which     
,machiavel wisely and largely           
discourseth concerning governments1 that
 the way to establish and  preserve them
 is to reduce them ad principia--a rule 
in religion and  nature1 as well as in  
civil administration8  ,was not the     
,persian magic a  reduction or          
correspondence of the principles and    
architectures of nature  to the rules   
and policy of governments8  ,is not the 
precept of a  musician1 to fall from a  
discord or harsh accord upon a concord  

or sweet  accord1 alike true in         
affection8  ,is not the trope of music1 
to avoid or  slide from the close or    
cadence1 common with the trope of       
rhetoric of  deceiving expectation8  ,is
 not the delight of the quavering upon a
 stop  in music the same with the       
playing of light upon the water8        
8,splendet tremulo sub lumine pontus40  
,are not the organs of the senses of one
 kind with the organs of  reflection1   
the eye with a glass1 the ear with a    
cave or strait1  determined and bounded8
  ,neither are these only similitudes1  
as men of  narrow observation may       
conceive them to be1 but the same       
footsteps of  nature1 treading or       
printing upon several subjects or       
matters4  ,this  science therefore 7as  
,i understand it7 ,i may justly report  
as deficient2  for ,i see sometimes the 
profounder sort of wits1 in handling    
some  particular argument1 will now and 
then draw a bucket of water out of this 
well for their present use2 but the     

spring-head thereof seemeth to me not   
to have been visited1 being of so       
excellent use both for the disclosing   
of nature and the abridgment of art4    
,,vi4 7#a7 ,this science being therefore
 first placed as a common parent like   
unto ,berecynthia1 which had so much    
heavenly issue1 omnes clicolas1  omnes  
supera alta tenetes2 we may return to   
the former distribution of  the three   
philosophies--divine1 natural1 and      
human4  ,and as concerning  divine      
philosophy or natural theology1 it is   
that knowledge or rudiment  of knowledge
 concerning ,god which may be obtained  
by the contemplation of  ,his creatures2
 which knowledge may be truly termed    
divine in respect of  the object1 and   
natural in respect of the light4  ,the  
bounds of this  knowledge are1 that it  
sufficeth to convince atheism1 but not  
to inform  religion2 and therefore there
 was never miracle wrought by ,god to   
convert  an atheist1 because the light  
of nature might have led him to confess 

a  ,god2 but miracles have been wrought 
to convert idolaters and the            
superstitious1 because no light of      
nature extendeth to declare the will    
and true worship of ,god4  ,for as all  
works do show forth the power and  skill
 of the workman1 and not his image1 so  
it is of the works of ,god1  which do   
show the omnipotency and wisdom of the  
,maker1 but not ,his image4  ,and       
therefore therein the heathen opinion   
differeth from the sacred  truth3 for   
they supposed the world to be the image 
of ,god1 and man to be  an extract or   
compendious image of the world2 but the 
,scriptures never  vouchsafe to         
attribute to the world that honour1 as  
to be the image of  ,god1 but only the  
work of ,his hands2 neither do they     
speak of any other  image of ,god but   
man4  ,wherefore by the contemplation of
 nature to induce  and enforce the      
acknowledgment of ,god1 and to          
demonstrate ,his power1  providence1 and
 goodness1 is an excellent argument1 and

 hath been  excellently handled by      
divers1 but on the other side1 out of   
the  contemplation of nature1 or ground 
of human knowledges1 to induce any      
verity or persuasion concerning the     
points of faith1 is in my judgment  not 
safe2 ,da fidei qu fidei sunt4  ,for the
 heathen themselves conclude  as much in
 that excellent and divine fable of the 
golden chain1 8,that men  and gods were 
not able to draw ,jupiter down to the   
earth2 but1  contrariwise1 ,jupiter was 
able to draw them up to heaven40  ,so as
 we  ought not to attempt to draw down  
or submit the mysteries of ,god to our  
reason1 but contrariwise to raise and   
advance our reason to the divine  truth4
  ,so as in this part of knowledge1     
touching divine philosophy1 ,i am  so   
far from noting any deficience1 as ,i   
rather note an excess2 whereunto  ,i    
have digressed because of the extreme   
prejudice which both religion and       
philosophy hath received and may receive
 by being commixed together2 as  that   

which undoubtedly will make an heretical
 religion1 and an imaginary  and        
fabulous philosophy4    7#b7 ,otherwise 
it is of the nature of angels and       
spirits1 which is an  appendix of       
theology1 both divine and natural1 and  
is neither inscrutable  nor interdicted4
  ,for although the ,scripture saith1   
8,let no man deceive  you in sublime    
discourse touching the worship of       
angels1 pressing into  that he knoweth  
not10 c41 yet notwithstanding if you    
observe well that  precept1 it may      
appear thereby that there be two things 
only  forbidden--adoration of them1 and 
opinion fantastical of them1 either to  
extol them further than appertaineth to 
the degree of a creature1 or to  extol a
 man's knowledge of them further than he
 hath ground4  ,but the  sober and      
grounded inquiry1 which may arise out of
 the passages of ,holy  ,scriptures1 or 
out of the gradations of nature1 is not 
restrained4  ,so of  degenerate and     
revolted spirits1 the conversing with   

them or the  employment of them is      
prohibited1 much more any veneration    
towards them2  but the contemplation or 
science of their nature1 their power1   
their  illusions1 either by ,scripture  
or reason1 is a part of spiritual       
wisdom4  ,for so the apostle saith1 8,we
 are not ignorant of his stratagems40   
,and  it is no more unlawful to inquire 
the nature of evil spirits1 than to     
inquire the force of poisons in nature1 
or the nature of sin and vice in        
morality4  ,but this part touching      
angels and spirits ,i cannot note as    
deficient1 for many have occupied       
themselves in it2 ,i may rather         
challenge it1 in many of the writers    
thereof1 as fabulous and  fantastical4  
,,vii4 7#a7 ,leaving therefore divine   
philosophy or natural theology 7not     
divinity or inspired theology1 which we 
reserve for the last of all as  the     
haven and sabbath of all man's          
contemplations7 we will now proceed to  
natural philosophy4  ,if then it be true

 that ,democritus said1 8,that the      
truth of nature lieth hid in certain    
deep mines and caves20 and if it be     
true likewise that the alchemists do so 
much inculcate1 that ,vulcan is a       
second nature1 and imitateth that       
dexterously and compendiously1 which    
nature worketh by ambages and length of 
time1 it were good to divide  natural   
philosophy into the mine and the        
furnace1 and to make two  professions or
 occupations of natural                 
philosophers--some to be pioneers  and  
some smiths2 some to dig1 and some to   
refine and hammer4  ,and surely  ,i do  
best allow of a division of that kind1  
though in more familiar and             
scholastical terms3 namely1 that these  
be the two parts of natural             
philosophy--the inquisition of causes1  
and the production of effects2          
speculative and operative2 natural      
science1 and natural prudence4  ,for as 
in civil matters there is a wisdom of   
discourse1 and a wisdom of  direction2  

so is it in natural4  ,and here ,i will 
make a request1 that for  the latter 7or
 at least for a part thereof7 ,i may    
revive and reintegrate  the misapplied  
and abused name of natural magic1 which 
in the true sense  is but natural       
wisdom1 or natural prudence2 taken      
according to the  ancient acception1    
purged from vanity and superstition4    
,now although it  be true1 and ,i know  
it well1 that there is an intercourse   
between causes  and effects1 so as both 
these knowledges1 speculative and       
operative1 have  a great connection     
between themselves2 yet because all true
 and fruitful  natural philosophy hath a
 double scale or ladder1 ascendent and  
descendent1 ascending from experiments  
to the invention of causes1 and         
descending from causes to the invention 
of new experiments2 therefore ,i  judge 
it most requisite that these two parts  
be severally considered and  handled4   
7#b7 ,natural science or theory is      
divided into physic and metaphysic2     

wherein ,i desire it may be conceived   
that ,i use the word metaphysic in a    
differing sense from that that is       
received4  ,and in like manner1 ,i doubt
  not but it will easily appear to men  
of judgment1 that in this and other     
particulars1 wheresoever my conception  
and notion may differ from the  ancient1
 yet ,i am studious to keep the ancient 
terms4  ,for hoping well to  deliver    
myself from mistaking1 by the order and 
perspicuous expressing of  that ,i do   
propound1 ,i am otherwise zealous and   
affectionate to recede as  little from  
antiquity1 either in terms or opinions1 
as may stand with  truth and the        
proficience of knowledge4  ,and herein  
,i cannot a little  marvel at the       
philosopher ,aristotle1 that did proceed
 in such a spirit of  difference and    
contradiction towards all antiquity2    
undertaking not only  to frame new words
 of science at pleasure1 but to confound
 and extinguish  all ancient wisdom2    
insomuch as he never nameth or          

mentioneth an ancient  author or        
opinion1 but to confute and reprove2    
wherein for glory1 and  drawing         
followers and disciples1 he took the    
right course4  ,for certainly  there    
cometh to pass1 and hath place in human 
truth1 that which was noted  and        
pronounced in the highest truth3--,veni 
in nomine partis1 nec  recipits me2 si  
quis venerit in nomine suo eum          
recipietis4  ,but in  this divine       
aphorism 7considering to whom it was    
applied1 namely1 to  antichrist1 the    
highest deceiver71 we may discern well  
that the coming in  a man's own name1   
without regard of antiquity or          
paternity1 is no good  sign of truth1   
although it be joined with the fortune  
and success of an  eum recipietis4  ,but
 for this excellent person ,aristotle1  
,i will think  of him that he learned   
that humour of his scholar1 with whom it
 seemeth  he did emulate2 the one to    
conquer all opinions1 as the other to   
conquer  all nations4  ,wherein1        

nevertheless1 it may be1 he may at some 
men's  hands1 that are of a bitter      
disposition1 get a like title as his    
scholar  did3--        8,felix terrarum 
prdo1 non utile mundo      ,editus      
exemplum1 c40    ,so1        8,felix    
doctrin prdo40    ,but to me1 on the    
other side1 that do desire as much as   
lieth in my pen  to ground a sociable   
intercourse between antiquity and       
proficience1 it  seemeth best to keep   
way with antiquity usque ad aras2 and1  
therefore1  to retain the ancient terms1
 though ,i sometimes alter the uses and 
definitions1 according to the moderate  
proceeding in civil government2  where1 
although there be some alteration1 yet  
that holdeth which ,tacitus  wisely     
noteth1 eadem magistratuum vocabula4    
7#c7 ,to return1 therefore1 to the use  
and acception of the term metaphysic  as
 ,i do now understand the word2 it      
appeareth1 by that which hath been      
already said1 that ,i intend philosophia
 prima1 summary philosophy and          

metaphysic1 which heretofore have been  
confounded as one1 to be two  distinct  
things4  ,for the one ,i have made as a 
parent or common ancestor  to all       
knowledge2 and the other ,i have now    
brought in as a branch or  descendant of
 natural science4  ,it appeareth        
likewise that ,i have  assigned to      
summary philosophy the common principles
 and axioms which are  promiscuous and  
indifferent to several sciences2 ,i have
 assigned unto it  likewise the inquiry 
touching the operation or the relative  
and adventive  characters of essences1  
as quantity1 similitude1 diversity1     
possibility1  and the rest1 with this   
distinction and provision2 that they be 
handled  as they have efficacy in       
nature1 and not logically4  ,it         
appeareth  likewise that natural        
theology1 which heretofore hath been    
handled  confusedly with metaphysic1 ,i 
have enclosed and bounded by itself4    
,it is  therefore now a question what is
 left remaining for metaphysic2 wherein 

,i  may without prejudice preserve thus 
much of the conceit of antiquity1  that 
physic should contemplate that which is 
inherent in matter1 and  therefore      
transitory2 and metaphysic that which is
 abstracted and fixed4  ,and again1 that
 physic should handle that which        
supposeth in nature only  a being and   
moving2 and metaphysic should handle    
that which supposeth  further in nature 
a reason1 understanding1 and platform4  
,but the  difference1 perspicuously     
expressed1 is most familiar and         
sensible4  ,for  as we divided natural  
philosophy in general into the inquiry  
of causes  and productions of effects1  
so that part which concerneth the       
inquiry of  causes we do subdivide      
according to the received and sound     
division of  causes4  ,the one part1    
which is physic1 inquireth and handleth 
the  material and efficient causes2 and 
the other1 which is metaphysic1         
handleth the formal and final causes4   
7#d7 ,physic 7taking it according to the

 derivation1 and not according to  our  
idiom for medicine7 is situate in a     
middle term or distance between  natural
 history and metaphysic4  ,for natural  
history describeth the  variety of      
things2 physic the causes1 but variable 
or respective causes2  and metaphysic   
the fixed and constant causes4          
8,limus ut hic durescit1 et hc ut cera  
liquescit1      ,uno eodemque igni40    
,fire is the cause of induration1 but   
respective to clay2 fire is the  cause  
of colliquation1 but respective to wax4 
,but fire is no constant  cause either  
of induration or colliquation2 so then  
the physical causes  are but the        
efficient and the matter4  ,physic hath 
three parts1 whereof  two respect nature
 united or collected1 the third         
contemplateth nature  diffused or       
distributed4  ,nature is collected      
either into one entire  total1 or else  
into the same principles or seeds4  ,so 
as the first  doctrine is touching the  
contexture or configuration of things1  

as de  mundo1 de universitate rerum4    
,the second is the doctrine concerning  
the principles or originals of things4  
,the third is the doctrine  concerning  
all variety and particularity of things2
 whether it be of the  differing        
substances1 or their differing qualities
 and natures2 whereof  there needeth no 
enumeration1 this part being but as a   
gloss or  paraphrase that attendeth upon
 the text of natural history4  ,of these
  three ,i cannot report any as         
deficient4  ,in what truth or perfection
 they  are handled1 ,i make not now any 
judgment2 but they are parts of         
knowledge  not deserted by the labour of
 man4    7#e7 ,for metaphysic1 we have  
assigned unto it the inquiry of formal  
and  final causes2 which assignation1 as
 to the former of them1 may seem to be  
nugatory and void1 because of the       
received and inveterate opinion1 that   
the inquisition of man is not competent 
to find out essential forms or  true    
differences2 of which opinion we will   

take this hold1 that the  invention of  
forms is of all other parts of knowledge
 the worthiest to be  sought1 if it be  
possible to be found4  ,as for the      
possibility1 they are  ill discoverers  
that think there is no land1 when they  
can see nothing  but sea4  ,but it is   
manifest that ,plato1 in his opinion of 
ideas1 as one  that had a wit of        
elevation situate as upon a cliff1 did  
descry that  forms were the true object 
of knowledge2 but lost the real fruit of
 his  opinion1 by considering of forms  
as absolutely abstracted from matter1   
and not confined and determined by      
matter2 and so turning his opinion  upon
 theology1 wherewith all his natural    
philosophy is infected4  ,but if  any   
man shall keep a continual watchful and 
severe eye upon action1  operation1 and 
the use of knowledge1 he may advise and 
take notice what  are the forms1 the    
disclosures whereof are fruitful and    
important to the  state of man4  ,for as
 to the forms of substances 7man only   

except1 of  whom it is said1 ,formavit  
hominem de limo terr1 et spiravit in    
faciem  ejus spiraculum vit1 and not as 
of all other creatures1 ,producant  aqu1
 producat terra71 the forms of          
substances ,i say 7as they are now  by  
compounding and transplanting           
multiplied7 are so perplexed1 as they   
are not to be inquired2 no more than it 
were either possible or to  purpose to  
seek in gross the forms of those sounds 
which make words1  which by composition 
and transposition of letters are        
infinite4  ,but1 on  the other side1 to 
inquire the form of those sounds or     
voices which make  simple letters is    
easily comprehensible2 and being known  
induceth and  manifesteth the forms of  
all words1 which consist and are        
compounded of  them4  ,in the same      
manner to inquire the form of a lion1 of
 an oak1 of  gold2 nay1 of water1 of    
air1 is a vain pursuit2 but to inquire  
the forms  of sense1 of voluntary       
motion1 of vegetation1 of colours1 of   

gravity and  levity1 of density1 of     
tenuity1 of heat1 of cold1 and all other
 natures  and qualities1 which1 like an 
alphabet1 are not many1 and of which the
  essences 7upheld by matter7 of all    
creatures do consist2 to inquire1 ,i    
say1 the true forms of these1 is that   
part of metaphysic which we now  define 
of4  ,not but that physic doth make     
inquiry and take consideration  of the  
same natures2 but how8  ,only as to the 
material and efficient  causes of them1 
and not as to the forms4  ,for example1 
if the cause of  whiteness in snow or   
froth be inquired1 and it be rendered   
thus1 that the  subtle intermixture of  
air and water is the cause1 it is well  
rendered2  but1 nevertheless1 is this   
the form of whiteness8  ,no2 but it is  
the  efficient1 which is ever but       
vehiculum form4  ,this part of          
metaphysic  ,i do not find laboured and 
performed2 whereat ,i marvel not2       
because ,i  hold it not possible to be  
invented by that course of invention    

which  hath been used2 in regard that   
men 7which is the root of all error7    
have  made too untimely a departure1 and
 too remote a recess from particulars4  
7#f7 ,but the use of this part of       
metaphysic1 which ,i report as          
deficient1  is of the rest the most     
excellent in two respects3 the one1     
because it is  the duty and virtue of   
all knowledge to abridge the infinity of
  individual experience1 as much as the 
conception of truth will permit1  and to
 remedy the complaint of vita brevis1   
ars longa2 which is  performed by       
uniting the notions and conceptions of  
sciences4  ,for  knowledges are as      
pyramids1 whereof history is the basis4 
,so of natural  philosophy1 the basis is
 natural history2 the stage next the    
basis is  physic2 the stage next the    
vertical point is metaphysic4  ,as for  
the  vertical point1 opus quod operatur 
,deus  principio usque ad finem1 the    
summary law of nature1 we know not      
whether man's inquiry can attain unto   

it4  ,but these three be the true stages
 of knowledge1 and are to them  that are
 depraved no better than the giants'    
hills3--        8,ter sunt conati       
imponere ,pelio ,ossam1      ,scilicet  
atque ,oss frondsum involvere ,olympum40
    ,but to those which refer all things
 to the glory of ,god1 they are as the  
three acclamations1 ,sante1 sancte1     
sancte6 holy in the description  or     
dilatation of ,his works2 holy in the   
connection or concatenation of  them2   
and holy in the union of them in a      
perpetual and uniform law4  ,and1       
therefore1 the speculation was excellent
 in ,parmenides and ,plato1  although   
but a speculation in them1 that all     
things by scale did ascend  to unity4   
,so then always that knowledge is       
worthiest which is charged  with least  
multiplicity1 which appeareth to be     
metaphysic2 as that which  considereth  
the simple forms or differences of      
things1 which are few in  number1 and   
the degrees and co-ordinations whereof  

make all this variety4  ,the second     
respect1 which valueth and commendeth   
this part of metaphysic1  is that it    
doth enfranchise the power of man unto  
the greatest liberty  and possibility of
 works and effects4  ,for physic        
carrieth men in narrow  and restrained  
ways1 subject to many accidents and     
impediments1 imitating  the ordinary    
flexuous courses of nature4  ,but lat   
undique sunt  sapientibus vi2 to        
sapience 7which was anciently defined to
 be rerum  divinarum et humanarum       
scientia7 there is ever a choice of     
means4  ,for  physical causes give light
 to new invention in simili materia4    
,but  whosoever knoweth any form1       
knoweth the utmost possibility of       
superinducing that nature upon any      
variety of matter2 and so is less       
restrained in operation1 either to the  
basis of the matter1 or the  condition  
of the efficient2 which kind of         
knowledge ,solomon likewise1  though in 
a more divine sense1 elegantly          

describeth3 non arctabuntur  gressus    
tui1 et currens non habebis             
offendiculum4  ,the ways of  sapience   
are not much liable either to           
particularity or chance4    7#g7 ,the   
second part of metaphysic is the inquiry
 of final causes1 which ,i  am moved to 
report not as omitted1 but as misplaced4
  ,and yet if it were  but a fault in   
order1 ,i would not speak of it2 for    
order is matter of  illustration1 but   
pertaineth not to the substance of      
sciences4  ,but this  misplacing hath   
caused a deficience1 or at least a great
 improficience in  the sciences         
themselves4  ,for the handling of final 
causes1 mixed with  the rest in physical
 inquiries1 hath intercepted the severe 
and diligent  inquiry of all real and   
physical causes1 and given men the      
occasion to  stay upon these            
satisfactory and specious causes1 to the
 great arrest and  prejudice of further 
discovery4  ,for this ,i find done not  
only by ,plato1  who ever anchoreth upon

 that shore1 but by ,aristotle1 ,galen1 
and others  which do usually likewise   
fall upon these flats of discoursing    
causes4  ,for to say that 8the hairs of 
the eyelids are for a quickset and fence
  about the sight20 or that 8the        
firmness of the skins and hides of      
living  creatures is to defend them from
 the extremities of heat or cold20 or   
that 8the bones are for the columns or  
beams1 whereupon the frames of the      
bodies of living creatures are built20  
or that 8the leaves of trees are  for   
protecting of the fruit20 or that 8the  
clouds are for watering of the  earth20 
or that 8the solidness of the earth is  
for the station and  mansion of living  
creatures20 and the like1 is well       
inquired and  collected in metaphysic1  
but in physic they are impertinent4     
,nay1 they  are1 indeed1 but remoras and
 hindrances to stay and slug the ship   
from  further sailing2 and have brought 
this to pass1 that the search of the    
physical causes hath been neglected and 

passed in silence4  ,and1  therefore1   
the natural philosophy of ,democritus   
and some others1 who did  not suppose a 
mind or reason in the frame of things1  
but attributed the  form thereof able to
 maintain itself to infinite essays or  
proofs of  ,nature1 which they term     
fortune1 seemeth to me 7as far as ,i can
 judge by  the recital and fragments    
which remain unto us7 in particularities
 of  physical causes more real and      
better inquired than that of ,aristotle 
and  ,plato2 whereof both intermingled  
final causes1 the one as a part of      
theology1 and the other as a part of    
logic1 which were the favourite  studies
 respectively of both those persons2 not
 because those final  causes are not    
true and worthy to be inquired1 being   
kept within their  own province1 but    
because their excursions into the limits
 of physical  causes hath bred a        
vastness and solitude in that tract4    
,for otherwise1  keeping their precincts
 and borders1 men are extremely deceived

 if they  think there is an enmity or   
repugnancy at all between them4  ,for   
the  cause rendered1 that 8the hairs    
about the eyelids are for the safeguard 
of the sight10 doth not impugn the cause
 rendered1 that 8pilosity is  incident  
to orifices of moisture--muscosi fontes1
 c40  ,nor the cause  rendered1 that    
8the firmness of hides is for the armour
 of the body  against extremities of    
heat or cold10 doth not impugn the cause
 rendered1  that 8contraction of pores  
is incident to the outwardest parts1 in 
regard  of their adjacence to foreign or
 unlike bodies20 and so of the rest1    
both  causes being true and compatible1 
the one declaring an intention1 the     
other a consequence only4  ,neither doth
 this call in question or derogate  from
 ,divine ,providence1 but highly confirm
 and exalt it4  ,for as in civil        
actions he is the greater and deeper    
politique that can make other men  the  
instruments of his will and ends1 and   
yet never acquaint them with  his       

purpose1 so as they shall do it and yet 
not know what they do1 than  he that    
imparteth his meaning to those he       
employeth2 so is the wisdom of  ,god    
more admirable1 when ,nature intendeth  
one thing and ,providence  draweth forth
 another1 than if ,he had communicated  
to particular  creatures and motions the
 characters and impressions of ,his     
,providence4  ,and thus much for        
metaphysic2 the latter part whereof ,i  
allow as extant1  but wish it confined  
to his proper place4    ,,viii4 7#a7    
,nevertheless1 there remaineth yet      
another part of natural  philosophy1    
which is commonly made a principal part1
 and holdeth rank  with physic special  
and metaphysic1 which is mathematic2 but
 ,i think it  more agreeable to the     
nature of things1 and to the light of   
order1 to  place it as a branch of      
metaphysic4  ,for the subject of it     
being  quantity1 not quantity           
indefinite1 which is but a relative1 and
 belongeth  to philosophia prima 7as    

hath been said71 but quantity determined
 or  proportionable1 it appeareth to be 
one of the essential forms of things1   
as that that is causative in ,nature of 
a number of effects2 insomuch as  we see
 in the schools both of ,democritus and 
of ,pythagoras that the one  did ascribe
 figure to the first seeds of things1   
and the other did  suppose numbers to be
 the principles and originals of things4
  ,and it is  true also that of all     
other forms 7as we understand forms7 it 
is the most  abstracted and separable   
from matter1 and therefore most proper  
to  metaphysic2 which hath likewise been
 the cause why it hath been better      
laboured and inquired than any of the   
other forms1 which are more  immersed in
 matter4  ,for it being the nature of   
the mind of man 7to the  extreme        
prejudice of knowledge7 to delight in   
the spacious liberty of  generalities1  
as in a champaign region1 and not in the
 inclosures of  particularity1 the      
mathematics of all other knowledge were 

the goodliest  fields to satisfy that   
appetite4  ,but for the placing of this 
science1 it  is not much material3 only 
we have endeavoured in these our        
partitions to  observe a kind of        
perspective1 that one part may cast     
light upon another4    7#b7 ,the        
mathematics are either pure or mixed4   
,to the pure mathematics  are those     
sciences belonging which handle quantity
 determinate1 merely  severed from any  
axioms of natural philosophy2 and these 
are two1  geometry and arithmetic1 the  
one handling quantity continued1 and the
  other dissevered4  ,mixed hath for    
subject some axioms or parts of natural 
philosophy1 and considereth quantity    
determined1 as it is auxiliary and      
incident unto them4  ,for many parts of 
,nature can neither be invented  with   
sufficient subtlety1 nor demonstrated   
with sufficient perspicuity1  nor       
accommodated unto use with sufficient   
dexterity1 without the aid and          
intervening of the mathematics1 of which

 sort are perspective1 music1           
astronomy1 cosmography1 architecture1   
engineery1 and divers others4  ,in  the 
mathematics ,i can report no deficience1
 except it be that men do not           
sufficiently understand this excellent  
use of the pure mathematics1 in  that   
they do remedy and cure many defects in 
the wit and faculties  intellectual4    
,for if the wit be too dull1 they       
sharpen it2 if too  wandering1 they fix 
it2 if too inherent in the sense1 they  
abstract it4  ,so that as tennis is a   
game of no use in itself1 but of great  
use in  respect it maketh a quick eye   
and a body ready to put itself into all 
postures1 so in the mathematics that use
 which is collateral and  intervenient  
is no less worthy than that which is    
principal and intended4  ,and as for the
 mixed mathematics1 ,i may only make    
this prediction1 that  there cannot fail
 to be more kinds of them as ,nature    
grows further  disclosed4  ,thus much of
 natural science1 or the part of ,nature

  speculative4    7#c7 ,for natural     
prudence1 or the part operative of      
natural philosophy1 we  will divide it  
into three parts--experimental1         
philosophical1 and magical2  which three
 parts active have a correspondence and 
analogy with the three  parts           
speculative1 natural history1 physic1   
and metaphysic4  ,for many  operations  
have been invented1 sometimes by a      
casual incidence and  occurrence1       
sometimes by a purposed experiment2 and 
of those which have  been found by an   
intentional experiment1 some have been  
found out by  varying or extending the  
same experiment1 some by transferring   
and  compounding divers experiments the 
one into the other1 which kind of       
invention an empiric may manage4        
,again1 by the knowledge of physical    
causes there cannot fail to follow many 
indications and designations of  new    
particulars1 if men in their speculation
 will keep one eye upon use  and        
practice4  ,but these are but coastings 

along the shore1 premendo  littus       
iniquum2 for it seemeth to me there can 
hardly be discovered any  radical or    
fundamental alterations and innovations 
in ,nature1 either by  the fortune and  
essays of experiments1 or by the light  
and direction of  physical causes4  ,if1
 therefore1 we have reported metaphysic 
deficient1  it must follow that we do   
the like of natural magic1 which hath   
relation  thereunto4  ,for as for the   
natural magic whereof now there is      
mention in  books1 containing certain   
credulous and superstitious conceits and
  observations of sympathies and        
antipathies1 and hidden proprieties1 and
  some frivolous experiments1 strange   
rather by disguisement than in          
themselves1 it is as far differing in   
truth of ,nature from such a  knowledge 
as we require as the story of ,king     
,arthur of ,britain1 or ,hugh  of       
,bourdeaux1 differs from ,csar's        
,commentaries in truth of story2 for it 
is manifest that ,csar did greater      

things de vero than those imaginary     
heroes were feigned to do4  ,but he did 
them not in that fabulous manner4  ,of  
this kind of learning the fable of      
,ixion was a figure1 who designed to    
enjoy ,juno1 the goddess of power1 and  
instead of her had copulation with  a   
cloud1 of which mixture were begotten   
centaurs and chimeras4  ,so  whosoever  
shall entertain high and vaporous       
imaginations1 instead of a  laborious   
and sober inquiry of truth1 shall beget 
hopes and beliefs of  strange and       
impossible shapes4  ,and1 therefore1 we 
may note in these  sciences which hold  
so much of imagination and belief1 as   
this degenerate  natural magic1 alchemy1
 astrology1 and the like1 that in their 
propositions the description of the     
means is ever more monstrous than the   
pretence or end4  ,for it is a thing    
more probable that he that knoweth  well
 the natures of weight1 of colour1 of   
pliant and fragile in respect  of the   
hammer1 of volatile and fixed in respect

 of the fire1 and the  rest1 may        
superinduce upon some metal the nature  
and form of gold by such  mechanic as   
longeth to the production of the natures
 afore rehearsed1  than that some grains
 of the medicine projected should in a  
few moments  of time turn a sea of      
quicksilver or other material into gold4
  ,so it is  more probable that he that 
knoweth the nature of arefaction1 the   
nature  of assimilation of nourishment  
to the thing nourished1 the manner of   
increase and clearing of spirits1 the   
manner of the depredations which        
spirits make upon the humours and solid 
parts1 shall by ambages of diets1       
bathings1 anointings1 medicines1        
motions1 and the like1 prolong life1 or 
restore some degree of youth or         
vivacity1 than that it can be done with 
the use of a few drops or scruples of a 
liquor or receipt4  ,to conclude1       
therefore1 the true natural magic1 which
 is that great liberty and  latitude of 
operation which dependeth upon the      

knowledge of forms1 ,i may  report      
deficient1 as the relative thereof is4  
,to which part1 if we be  serious and   
incline not to vanities and plausible   
discourse1 besides the  deriving and    
deducing the operations themselves from 
metaphysic1 there  are pertinent two    
points of much purpose1 the one by way  
of preparation1  the other by way of    
caution4  ,the first is1 that there be  
made a  calendar1 resembling an         
inventory of the estate of man1         
containing all  the inventions 7being   
the works or fruits of ,nature or art7  
which are now  extant1 and whereof man  
is already possessed2 out of which doth 
naturally  result a note what things are
 yet held impossible1 or not invented1  
which  calendar will be the more        
artificial and serviceable if to every  
reputed  impossibility you add what     
thing is extant which cometh the nearest
 in  degree to that impossibility2 to   
the end that by these optatives and     
potentials man's inquiry may be the more

 awake in deducing direction of  works  
from the speculation of causes4  ,and   
secondly1 that these  experiments be not
 only esteemed which have an immediate  
and present use1  but those principally 
which are of most universal consequence 
for  invention of other experiments1 and
 those which give most light to the     
invention of causes2 for the invention  
of the mariner's needle1 which  giveth  
the direction1 is of no less benefit for
 navigation than the  invention of the  
sails which give the motion4    7#d7    
,thus have ,i passed through natural    
philosophy and the deficiences  thereof2
 wherein if ,i have differed from the   
ancient and received  doctrines1 and    
thereby shall move contradiction1 for my
 part1 as ,i affect  not to dissent1 so 
,i purpose not to contend4  ,if it be   
truth1        8,non canimus surdis1     
respondent omnia sylv10    the voice of 
,nature will consent1 whether the voice 
of man do or no4  ,and  as ,alexander   
,borgia was wont to say of the          

expedition of the ,french for  ,naples1 
that they came with chalk in their hands
 to mark up their  lodgings1 and not    
with weapons to fight2 so ,i like better
 that entry of  truth which cometh      
peaceably with chalk to mark up those   
minds which are  capable to lodge and   
harbour it1 than that which cometh with 
pugnacity  and contention4    7#e7 ,but 
there remaineth a division of natural   
philosophy according to the  report of  
the inquiry1 and nothing concerning the 
matter or subject3 and  that is positive
 and considerative1 when the inquiry    
reporteth either an  assertion or a     
doubt4  ,these doubts or non liquets are
 of two sorts1  particular and total4   
,for the first1 we see a good example   
thereof in  ,aristotle's ,problems which
 deserved to have had a better          
continuance2 but  so nevertheless as    
there is one point whereof warning is to
 be given and  taken4  ,the registering 
of doubts hath two excellent uses3 the  
one1 that  it saveth philosophy from    

errors and falsehoods2 when that which  
is not  fully appearing is not collected
 into assertion1 whereby error might    
draw  error1 but reserved in doubt2 the 
other1 that the entry of doubts are as  
so many suckers or sponges to draw use  
of knowledge2 insomuch as that  which if
 doubts had not preceded1 a man should  
never have advised1 but  passed it over 
without note1 by the suggestion and     
solicitation of doubts  is made to be   
attended and applied4  ,but both these  
commodities do  scarcely countervail and
 inconvenience1 which will intrude      
itself if it  be not debarred2 which is1
 that when a doubt is once received1 men
 labour  rather how to keep it a doubt  
still1 than how to solve it1 and        
accordingly bend their wits4  ,of this  
we see the familiar example in  lawyers 
and scholars1 both which1 if they have  
once admitted a doubt1 it  goeth ever   
after authorised for a doubt4  ,but that
 use of wit and  knowledge is to be     
allowed1 which laboureth to make        

doubtful things  certain1 and not those 
which labour to make certain things     
doubtful4  ,therefore these calendars of
 doubts ,i commend as excellent things2 
so  that there he this caution used1    
that when they be thoroughly sifted and 
brought to resolution1 they be from     
thenceforth omitted1 discarded1 and  not
 continued to cherish and encourage men 
in doubting4  ,to which  calendar of    
doubts or problems ,i advise be annexed 
another calendar1 as  much or more      
material which is a calendar of popular 
errors3 ,i mean  chiefly in natural     
history1 such as pass in speech and     
conceit1 and are  nevertheless          
apparently detected and convicted of    
untruth1 that man's  knowledge be not   
weakened nor embased by such dross and  
vanity4  ,as for  the doubts or non     
liquets general or in total1 ,i         
understand those  differences of        
opinions touching the principles of     
nature1 and the  fundamental points of  
the same1 which have caused the         

diversity of sects1  schools1 and       
philosophies1 as that of ,empedocles1   
,pythagoras1 ,democritus1  ,parmenides1 
and the rest4  ,for although ,aristotle1
 as though he had been  of the race of  
the ,ottomans1 thought he could not     
reign except the first  thing he did he 
killed all his brethren2 yet to those   
that seek truth and  not magistrality1  
it cannot but seem a matter of great    
profit1 to see  before them the several 
opinions touching the foundations of    
nature4  ,not  for any exact truth that 
can be expected in those theories2 for  
as the  same phenomena in astronomy are 
satisfied by this received astronomy of 
the diurnal motion1 and the proper      
motions of the planets1 with their      
eccentrics and epicycles1 and likewise  
by the theory of ,copernicus1 who       
supposed the earth to move1 and the     
calculations are indifferently          
agreeable to both1 so the ordinary face 
and view of experience is many  times   
satisfied by several theories and       

philosophies2 whereas to find the  real 
truth requireth another manner of       
severity and attention4  ,for as        
,aristotle saith1 that children at the  
first will call every woman mother1  but
 afterward they come to distinguish     
according to truth1 so experience1  if  
it be in childhood1 will call every     
philosophy mother1 but when it  cometh  
to ripeness it will discern the true    
mother4  ,so as in the  meantime it is  
good to see the several glosses and     
opinions upon ,nature1  whereof it may  
be everyone in some one point hath seen 
clearer than his  fellows1 therefore ,i 
wish some collection to be made         
painfully and  understandingly de       
antiquis philosophiis1 out of all the   
possible light  which remaineth to us of
 them3 which kind of work ,i find       
deficient4  ,but  here ,i must give     
warning1 that it be done distinctly and 
severedly2 the  philosophies of everyone
 throughout by themselves1 and not by   
titles  packed and faggoted up together1

 as hath been done by ,plutarch4  ,for  
it  is the harmony of a philosophy in   
itself1 which giveth it light and       
credence2 whereas if it be singled and  
broken1 it will seem more foreign  and  
dissonant4  ,for as when ,i read in     
,tacitus the actions of ,nero or        
,claudius1 with circumstances of times1 
inducements1 and occasions1 ,i find     
them not so strange2 but when ,i read   
them in ,suetonius ,tranquillus1        
gathered into titles and bundles and not
 in order of time1 they seem more       
monstrous and incredible3 so is it of   
any philosophy reported entire1 and     
dismembered by articles4  ,neither do ,i
 exclude opinions of latter times  to be
 likewise represented in this calendar  
of sects of philosophy1 as  that of     
,theophrastus ,paracelsus1 eloquently   
reduced into an harmony by  the pen of  
,severinus the ,dane2 and that of       
,tilesius1 and his scholar  ,donius1    
being as a pastoral philosophy1 full of 
sense1 but of no great  depth2 and that 

of ,fracastorius1 who1 though he        
pretended not to make any  new          
philosophy1 yet did use the absoluteness
 of his own sense upon the  old2 and    
that of ,gilbertus our countryman1 who  
revived1 with some  alterations and     
demonstrations1 the opinions of         
,xenophanes2 and any other  worthy to be
 admitted4    7#f7 ,thus have we now    
dealt with two of the three beams of    
man's  knowledge2 that is radius        
directus1 which is referred to nature1  
radius refractus1 which is referred to  
,god1 and cannot report truly  because  
of the inequality of the medium4  ,there
 resteth radius  reflexus1 whereby man  
beholdeth and contemplateth himself4    
,,ix4 7#a7 ,we come therefore now to    
that knowledge whereunto the ancient    
oracle directeth us1 which is the       
knowledge of ourselves2 which deserveth 
the more accurate handling1 by how much 
it toucheth us more nearly4  ,this      
knowledge1 as it is the end and term of 
natural philosophy in the  intention of 

man1 so notwithstanding it is but a     
portion of natural  philosophy in the   
continent of ,nature4  ,and generally   
let this be a rule1  that all partitions
 of knowledges be accepted rather for   
lines and veins  than for sections and  
separations2 and that the continuance   
and  entireness of knowledge be         
preserved4  ,for the contrary hereof    
hath made  particular sciences to become
 barren1 shallow1 and erroneous1 while  
they  have not been nourished and       
maintained from the common fountain4    
,so we  see ,cicero1 the orator1        
complained of ,socrates and his school1 
that he  was the first that separated   
philosophy and rhetoric2 whereupon      
rhetoric  became an empty and verbal    
art4  ,so we may see that the opinion of
  ,copernicus1 touching the rotation of 
the earth1 which astronomy itself       
cannot correct1 because it is not       
repugnant to any of the phenomena1  yet 
natural philosophy may correct4  ,so we 
see also that the science of  medicine  

if it be destituted and forsaken by     
natural philosophy1 it is  not much     
better than an empirical practice4      
,with this reservation1  therefore1 we  
proceed to human philosophy or humanity1
 which hath two  parts3 the one         
considereth man segregate or            
distributively1 the other  congregate or
 in society2 so as human philosophy is  
either simple and  particular1 or       
conjugate and civil4  ,humanity         
particular consisteth of  the same parts
 whereof man consisteth3 that is1 of    
knowledges which  respect the body1 and 
of knowledges that respect the mind4    
,but before we  distribute so far1 it is
 good to constitute4  ,for ,i do take   
the  consideration in general1 and at   
large1 of human nature to be fit to be  
emancipate and made a knowledge by      
itself1 not so much in regard of those  
delightful and elegant discourses which 
have been made of the dignity of  man1  
of his miseries1 of his state and life1 
and the like adjuncts of his  common and

 undivided nature2 but chiefly in regard
 of the knowledge  concerning the       
sympathies and concordances between the 
mind and body1  which being mixed cannot
 be properly assigned to the sciences of
 either4    7#b7 ,this knowledge hath   
two branches3 for as all leagues and    
amities  consist of mutual intelligence 
and mutual offices1 so this league of   
mind  and body hath these two parts3 how
 the one discloseth the other1 and how  
the one worketh upon the other2         
discovery and impression4  ,the former  
of  these hath begotten two arts1 both  
of prediction or prenotion2 whereof  the
 one is honoured with the inquiry of    
,aristotle1 and the other of            
,hippocrates4  ,and although they have  
of later time been used to be  coupled  
with superstitions and fantastical arts1
 yet being purged and  restored to their
 true state1 they have both of them a   
solid ground in  ,nature1 and a         
profitable use in life4  ,the first is  
physiognomy1 which  discovereth the     

disposition of the mind by the          
lineaments of the body4  ,the second is 
the exposition of natural dreams1 which 
discovereth the  state of the body by   
the imaginations of the mind4  ,in the  
former of  these ,i note a deficience4  
,for ,aristotle hath very ingeniously   
and  diligently handled the factures of 
the body1 but not the gestures of the   
body1 which are no less comprehensible  
by art1 and of greater use and          
advantage4  ,for the lineaments of the  
body do disclose the disposition  and   
inclination of the mind in general2 but 
the motions of the  countenance and     
parts do not only so1 but do further    
disclose the present  humour and state  
of the mind and will4  ,for as your     
majesty saith most  aptly and elegantly1
 8,as the tongue speaketh to the ear so 
the gesture  speaketh to the eye40      
,and1 therefore1 a number of subtle     
persons1 whose  eyes do dwell upon the  
faces and fashions of men1 do well know 
the  advantage of this observation1 as  

being most part of their ability2       
neither can it be denied1 but that it is
 a great discovery of  dissimulations1  
and a great direction in business4      
7#c7 ,the latter branch1 touching       
impression1 hath not been collected into
  art1 but hath been handled            
dispersedly2 and it hath the same       
relation or  antistrophe that the former
 hath4  ,for the consideration is       
double--either how and how far the      
humours and affects of the body do      
alter or work upon the mind1 or1 again1 
how and how far the passions or         
apprehensions of the mind do alter or   
work upon the body4  ,the former of     
these hath been inquired and considered 
as a part and appendix of  medicine1 but
 much more as a part of religion or     
superstition4  ,for the  physician      
prescribeth cures of the mind in        
frenzies and melancholy  passions1 and  
pretendeth also to exhibit medicines to 
exhilarate the  mind1 to control the    
courage1 to clarify the wits1 to        

corroborate the  memory1 and the like2  
but the scruples and superstitions of   
diet and  other regiment of the body in 
the sect of the ,pythagoreans1 in the   
heresy  of the ,manichees1 and in the   
law of ,mahomet1 do exceed4  ,so        
likewise the  ordinances in the         
ceremonial law1 interdicting the eating 
of the blood  and the fat1              
distinguishing between beasts clean and 
unclean for meat1  are many and strict2 
nay1 the faith itself being clear and   
serene from  all clouds of ceremony1 yet
 retaineth the use of fastlings1        
abstinences1  and other macerations and 
humiliations of the body1 as things     
real1 and  not figurative4  ,the root   
and life of all which prescripts is     
7besides  the ceremony7 the             
consideration of that dependency which  
the affections  of the mind are         
submitted unto upon the state and       
disposition of the  body4  ,and if any  
man of weak judgment do conceive that   
this suffering of  the mind from the    

body doth either question the           
immortality1 or derogate  from the      
sovereignty of the soul1 he may be      
taught1 in easy instances1  that the    
infant in the mother's womb is          
compatible with the mother1 and  yet    
separable2 and the most absolute monarch
 is sometimes led by his  servants1 and 
yet without subjection4  ,as for the    
reciprocal knowledge1  which is the     
operation of the conceits and passions  
of the mind upon the  body1 we see all  
wise physicians1 in the prescriptions of
 their regiments  to their patients1 do 
ever consider accidentia animi1 as of   
great force  to further or hinder       
remedies or recoveries3 and more        
specially it is an  inquiry of great    
depth and worth concerning imagination1 
how and how far  it altereth the body   
proper of the imaginant2 for although it
 hath a  manifest power to hurt1 it     
followeth not it hath the same degree of
 power  to help4  ,no more than a man   
can conclude1 that because there be     

pestilent airs1 able suddenly to kill a 
man in health1 therefore there  should  
be sovereign airs1 able suddenly to cure
 a man in sickness4  ,but  the          
inquisition of this part is of great    
use1 though it needeth1 as  ,socrates   
said1 8a ,delian diver10 being difficult
 and profound4  ,but unto  all this     
knowledge de communi vinculo1 of the    
concordances between the  mind and the  
body1 that part of inquiry is most      
necessary which  considereth of the     
seats and domiciles which the several   
faculties of the  mind do take and      
occupate in the organs of the body2     
which knowledge hath  been attempted1   
and is controverted1 and deserveth to be
 much better  inquired4  ,for the       
opinion of ,plato1 who placed the       
understanding in the  brain1 animosity  
7which he did unfitly call anger1 having
 a greater  mixture with pride7 in the  
heart1 and concupiscence or sensuality  
in the  liver1 deserveth not to be      
despised1 but much less to be allowed4  

,so1  then1 we have constituted 7as in  
our own wish and advice7 the inquiry    
touching human nature entire1 as a just 
portion of knowledge to be  handled     
apart4    ,x4 7#a7 ,the knowledge that  
concerneth man's body is divided as the 
good of  man's body is divided1 unto    
which it referreth4  ,the good of man's 
body  is of four kinds--health1 beauty1 
strength1 and pleasure3 so the          
knowledges are medicine1 or art of cure2
 art of decoration1 which is  called    
cosmetic2 art of activity1 which is     
called athletic2 and art  voluptuary1   
which ,tacitus truly calleth eruditus   
luxus4  ,this subject  of man's body is1
 of all other things in nature1 most    
susceptible of  remedy2 but then that   
remedy is most susceptible of error2 for
 the same  subtlety of the subject doth 
cause large possibility and easy        
failing1  and therefore the inquiry     
ought to be the more exact4    7#b7 ,to 
speak1 therefore1 of medicine1 and to   
resume that we have said1  ascending a  

little higher3 the ancient opinion that 
man was  microcosmus--an abstract or    
model of the world--hath been           
fantastically  strained by ,paracelsus  
and the alchemists1 as if there were to 
be found  in man's body certain         
correspondences and parallels1 which    
should have  respect to all varieties of
 things1 as stars1 planets1 minerals1   
which  are extant in the great world4   
,but thus much is evidently true1 that  
of  all substances which nature hath    
produced1 man's body is the most        
extremely compounded4  ,for we see herbs
 and plants are nourished by earth  and 
water2 beasts for the most part by herbs
 and fruits2 man by the flesh  of       
beasts1 birds1 fishes1 herbs1 grains1   
fruits1 water1 and the manifold         
alterations1 dressings1 and preparations
 of these several bodies before  they   
come to be his food and aliment4  ,add  
hereunto that beasts have a  more simple
 order of life1 and less change of      
affections to work upon  their bodies1  

whereas man in his mansion1 sleep1      
exercise1 passions1 hath  infinite      
variations3 and it cannot be denied but 
that the body of man of  all other      
things is of the most compounded mass4  
,the soul1 on the other  side1 is the   
simplest of substances1 as is well      
expressed3              8,purumque      
reliquit      thereum sensum atque aura 
simplicis ignem40    ,so that it is no  
marvel though the soul so placed enjoy  
no rest1 if that  principle be true1    
that ,motus rerum est rapidus extra     
locum1 placidus  in loco4  ,but to the  
purpose4  ,this variable composition of 
man's body  hath made it as an          
instrument easy to distemper2 and1      
therefore1 the  poets did well to       
conjoin music and medicine in ,apollo1  
because the  office of medicine is but  
to tune this curious harp of man's body 
and to  reduce it to harmony4  ,so1     
then1 the subject being so variable hath
 made  the art by consequent more       
conjectural2 and the art being          

conjectural  hath made so much the more 
place to be left for imposture4  ,for   
almost  all other arts and sciences are 
judged by acts or masterpieces1 as ,i   
may  term them1 and not by the successes
 and events4  ,the lawyer is judged by  
the virtue of his pleading1 and not by  
the issue of the cause2 this  master in 
this ship is judged by the directing his
 course aright1 and not  by the fortune 
of the voyage2 but the physician1 and   
perhaps this  politique1 hath no        
particular acts demonstrative of his    
ability1 but is  judged most by the     
event1 which is ever but as it is taken3
 for who can  tell1 if a patient die or 
recover1 or if a state be preserved or  
ruined1  whether it be art or accident8 
,and therefore many times the impostor  
is  prized1 and the man of virtue taxed4
  ,nay1 we see the weakness and         
credulity of men is such1 as they will  
often refer a mountebank or witch       
before a learned physician4  ,and       
therefore the poets were clear-sighted  

in discerning this extreme folly when   
they made sculapius and ,circe1  brother
 and sister1 both children of the sun1  
as in the verses--        8,ipse        
repertorem medicin talis et artis       
,fulmine ,phbigenam ,stygias detrusit ad
 undas40    ,and again--        8,dives 
inaccessos ubi ,solis filia lucos10 c4  
,for in all times1 in the opinion of the
 multitude1 witches and old women  and  
impostors1 have had a competition with  
physicians4  ,and what  followeth8      
,even this1 that physicians say to      
themselves1 as ,solomon  expresseth it  
upon a higher occasion1 8,if it befall  
to me as befalleth to  the fools1 why   
should ,i labour to be more wise80  ,and
 therefore ,i cannot  much blame        
physicians that they use commonly to    
intend some other art or  practice1     
which they fancy more than their        
profession2 for you shall have  of them 
antiquaries1 poets1 humanists1          
statesmen1 merchants1 divines1 and  in  
every of these better seen than in their

 profession2 and no doubt upon  this    
ground that they find that mediocrity   
and excellency in their art  maketh no  
difference in profit or reputation      
towards their fortune3 for  the weakness
 of patients1 and sweetness of life1 and
 nature of hope1  maketh men depend upon
 physicians with all their defects4     
,but1  nevertheless1 these things which 
we have spoken of are courses begotten  
between a little occasion and a great   
deal of sloth and default2 for if  we   
will excite and awake our observation1  
we shall see in familiar  instances what
 a predominant faculty the subtlety of  
spirit hath over the  variety of matter 
or form4  ,nothing more variable than   
faces and  countenances1 yet men can    
bear in memory the infinite distinctions
 of  them2 nay1 a painter1 with a few   
shells of colours1 and the benefit of   
his eye1 and habit of his imagination1  
can imitate them all that ever  have    
been1 are1 or may be1 if they were      
brought before him4  ,nothing more      

variable than voices1 yet men can       
likewise discern them personally3 nay1  
you shall have a buffon or pantomimus   
will express as many as he  pleaseth4   
,nothing more variable than the         
differing sounds of words2 yet  men have
 found the way to reduce them to a few  
simple letters4  ,so that  it is not the
 insufficiency or incapacity of man's   
mind1 but it is the  remote standing or 
placing thereof that breedeth these     
mazes and  incomprehensions2 for as the 
sense afar off is full of mistaking1 but
 is  exact at hand1 so is it of the     
understanding1 the remedy whereof is1   
not  to quicken or strengthen the organ1
 but to go nearer to the object2 and    
therefore there is no doubt but if the  
physicians will learn and use the  true 
approaches and avenues of nature1 they  
may assume as much as the  poet saith3  
8,et quoniam variant morbi1 variabimus  
artes2      ,mille mali species1 mille  
salutis erunt40    ,which that they     
should do1 the nobleness of their art   

doth deserve3 well  shadowed by the     
poets1 in that they made sculapius to be
 the son of  the sun1 the one being the 
fountain of life1 the other as the      
second-stream2 but infinitely more      
honoured by the example of our          
,saviour1 who made the body of man the  
object of ,his miracles1 as the soul    
was the object of ,his doctrine4  ,for  
we read not that ever ,he vouchsafed  to
 do any miracle about honour or money   
7except that one for giving  tribute to 
,csar71 but only about the preserving1  
sustaining1 and healing  the body of    
man4    7#c7 ,medicine is a science     
which hath been 7as we have said7 more  
professed than laboured1 and yet more   
laboured than advanced2 the labour      
having been1 in my judgment1 rather in  
circle than in progression4  ,for ,i    
find much iteration1 but small addition4
  ,it considereth causes of  diseases1  
with the occasions or impulsions2 the   
diseases themselves1 with  the          
accidents2 and the cures1 with the      

preservations4  ,the deficiences  which 
,i think good to note1 being a few of   
many1 and those such as are of  a more  
open and manifest nature1 ,i will       
enumerate and not place4    7#d7 ,the   
first is the discontinuance of the      
ancient and serious diligence  of       
,hippocrates1 which used to set down a  
narrative of the special cases  of his  
patients1 and how they proceeded1 and   
how they were judged by  recovery or    
death4  ,therefore having an example    
proper in the father of  the art1 ,i    
shall not need to allege an example     
foreign1 of the wisdom of  the lawyers1 
who are careful to report new cases and 
decisions1 for the  direction of future 
judgments4  ,this continuance of        
medicinal history ,i  find deficient2   
which ,i understand neither to be so    
infinite as to extend  to every common  
case1 nor so reserved as to admit none  
but wonders3 for  many things are new in
 this manner1 which are not new in the  
kind2 and if  men will intend to        

observe1 they shall find much worthy to 
observe4    7#e7 ,in the inquiry which  
is made by anatomy1 ,i find much        
deficience3 for  they inquire of the    
parts1 and their substances1 figures1   
and  collocations2 but they inquire not 
of the diversities of the parts1 the    
secrecies of the passages1 and the seats
 or nestling of the humours1 nor  much  
of the footsteps and impressions of     
diseases4  ,the reason of which         
omission ,i suppose to be1 because the  
first inquiry may be satisfied in  the  
view of one or a few anatomies2 but the 
latter1 being comparative and  casual1  
must arise from the view of many4  ,and 
as to the diversity of  parts1 there is 
no doubt but the facture or framing of  
the inward parts  is as full of         
difference as the outward1 and in that  
is the cause  continent of many         
diseases2 which not being observed1 they
 quarrel many  times with the humours1  
which are not in fault2 the fault being 
in the  very frame and mechanic of the  

part1 which cannot be removed by        
medicine  alterative1 but must be       
accommodated and palliated by diets and 
medicines  familiar4  ,and for the      
passages and pores1 it is true which was
 anciently  noted1 that the more subtle 
of them appear not in anatomies1 because
 they  are shut and latent in dead      
bodies1 though they be open and manifest
 in  life3 which being supposed1 though 
the inhumanity of anatomia vivorum  was 
by ,celsus justly reproved2 yet in      
regard of the great use of this         
observation1 the inquiry needed not by  
him so slightly to have been            
relinquished altogether1 or referred to 
the casual practices of surgery2  but   
might have been well diverted upon the  
dissection of beasts alive1  which      
notwithstanding the dissimilitude of    
their parts may sufficiently  satisfy   
this inquiry4  ,and for the humours1    
they are commonly passed over  in       
anatomies as purgaments2 whereas it is  
most necessary to observe1 what         

cavities1 nests1 and receptacles the    
humours do find in the parts1 with  the 
differing kind of the humour so lodged  
and received4  ,and as for the          
footsteps of diseases1 and their        
devastations of the inward parts1       
impostumations1 exulcerations1          
discontinuations1 putrefactions1        
consumptions1 contractions1 extensions1 
convulsions1 dislocations1              
obstructions1 repletions1 together with 
all preternatural substances1 as        
stones1 carnosities1 excrescences1      
worms1 and the like2 they ought to  have
 been exactly observed by multitude of  
anatomies1 and the  contribution of     
men's several experiences1 and carefully
 set down both  historically according  
to the appearances1 and artificially    
with a  reference to the diseases and   
symptoms which resulted from them1 in   
case  where the anatomy is of a defunct 
patient2 whereas now upon opening of    
bodies they are passed over slightly and
 in silence4    7#f7 ,in the inquiry of 

diseases1 they do abandon the cures of  
many1 some  as in their nature          
incurable1 and others as past the period
 of cure2 so  that ,sylla and the       
,triumvirs never proscribed so many men 
to die1 as they  do by their ignorant   
edicts3 whereof numbers do escape with  
less  difficulty than they did in the   
,roman prescriptions4  ,therefore ,i    
will  not doubt to note as a deficience1
 that they inquire not the perfect      
cures of many diseases1 or extremities  
of diseases2 but pronouncing them       
incurable do enact a law of neglect1 and
 exempt ignorance from discredit4       
7#g7 ,nay further1 ,i esteem it the     
office of a physician not only to       
restore health1 but to mitigate pain and
 dolors2 and not only when such         
mitigation may conduce to recovery1 but 
when it may serve to make a fair  and   
easy passage4  ,for it is no small      
felicity which ,augustus ,csar was  wont
 to wish to himself1 that same          
,euthanasia2 and which was specially    

noted in the death of ,antoninus ,pius1 
whose death was after the fashion1  and 
semblance of a kindly and pleasant      
sheep4  ,so it is written of  ,epicurus1
 that after his disease was judged      
desperate1 he drowned his  stomach and  
senses with a large draught and         
ingurgitation of wine2  whereupon the   
epigram was made1 ,hinc ,stygias ebrius 
hausit aquas2 he  was not sober enough  
to taste any bitterness of the ,stygian 
water4  ,but  the physicians            
contrariwise do make a kind of scruple  
and religion to  stay with the patient  
after the disease is deplored2 whereas  
in my  judgment they ought both to      
inquire the skill1 and to give the      
attendances1 for the facilitating and   
assuaging of the pains and agonies  of  
death4    7#e7 ,in the consideration of 
the cures of diseases1 ,i find a        
deficience in  the receipts of          
propriety1 respecting the particular    
cures of diseases3  for the physicians  
have frustrated the fruit of tradition  

and experience  by their magistralities1
 in adding and taking out and changing  
quid pro  qua in their receipts1 at     
their pleasures2 commanding so over the 
medicine1 as the medicine cannot command
 over the disease4  ,for except it  be  
treacle and mithridatum1 and of late    
diascordium1 and a few more1  they tie  
themselves to no receipts severely and  
religiously4  ,for as to  the           
confections of sale which are in the    
shops1 they are for readiness  and not  
for propriety4  ,for they are upon      
general intentions of purging1  opening1
 comforting1 altering1 and not much     
appropriate to particular  diseases4    
,and this is the cause why empirics and 
old women are more  happy many times in 
their cures than learned physicians1    
because they are  more religious in     
holding their medicines4  ,therefore    
here is the  deficience which ,i find1  
that physicians have not1 partly out of 
their  own practice1 partly out of the  
constant probations reported in books1  

and partly out of the traditions of     
empirics1 set down and delivered over   
certain experimental medicines for the  
cure of particular diseases1  besides   
their own conjectural and magistral     
descriptions4  ,for as they  were the   
men of the best composition in the state
 of ,rome1 which either  being consuls  
inclined to the people1 or being        
tribunes inclined to the  senate2 so in 
the matter we now handle1 they be the   
best physicians1  which being learned   
incline to the traditions of experience1
 or being  empirics incline to the      
methods of learning4    7#i7 ,in        
preparation of medicines ,i do find     
strange1 specially considering  how     
mineral medicines have been extolled1   
and that they are safer for the  outward
 than inward parts1 that no man hath    
sought to make an imitation  by art of  
natural baths and medicinable fountains3
 which nevertheless are  confessed to   
receive their virtues from minerals2 and
 not so only1 but  discerned and        

distinguished from what particular      
mineral they receive  tincture1 as      
sulphur1 vitriol1 steel1 or the like2   
which nature1 if it  may be reduced to  
compositions of art1 both the variety of
 them will be  increased1 and the temper
 of them will be more commanded4        
7#aj7 ,but lest ,i grow to be more      
particular than is agreeable either to  
my  intention or to proportion1 ,i will 
conclude this part with the note of  one
 deficience more1 which seemeth to me of
 greatest consequence3 which  is1 that  
the prescripts in use are too           
compendious to attain their end2  for1  
to my understanding1 it is a vain and   
flattering opinion to think  any        
medicine can be so sovereign or so      
happy1 as that the receipt or miss  of  
it can work any great effect upon the   
body of man4  ,it were a strange  speech
 which spoken1 or spoken oft1 should    
reclaim a man from a vice to  which he  
were by nature subject4  ,it is order1  
pursuit1 sequence1 and  interchange of  

application1 which is mighty in nature2 
which although it  require more exact   
knowledge in prescribing1 and more      
precise obedience  in observing1 yet is 
recompensed with the magnitude of       
effects4  ,and  although a man would    
think1 by the daily visitations of the  
physicians1  that there were a pursuance
 in the cure1 yet let a man look into   
their  prescripts and ministrations1 and
 he shall find them but inconstancies   
and every day's devices1 without any    
settled providence or project4  ,not    
that every scrupulous or superstitious  
prescript is effectual1 no more  than   
every straight way is the way to heaven2
 but the truth of the  direction must   
precede severity of observance4    7#aa7
 ,for cosmetic1 it hath parts civil1 and
 parts effeminate3 for  cleanness of    
body was ever esteemed to proceed from a
 due reverence to  ,god1 to society1 and
 to ourselves4  ,as for artificial      
decoration1 it is  well worthy of the   
deficiences which it hath2 being neither

 fine enough  to deceive1 nor handsome  
to use1 nor wholesome to please4        
7#ab7 ,for athletic1 ,i take the subject
 of it largely1 that is to say1 for  any
 point of ability whereunto the body of 
man may be brought1 whether it  be of   
activity1 or of patience2 whereof       
activity hath two parts1 strength  and  
swiftness2 and patience likewise hath   
two parts1 hardness against  wants and  
extremities1 and endurance of pain or   
torment2 whereof we see  the practices  
in tumblers1 in savages1 and in those   
that suffer  punishment4  ,nay1 if there
 be any other faculty which falls not   
within  any of the former divisions1 as 
in those that dive1 that obtain a       
strange  power of containing            
respiration1 and the like1 ,i refer it  
to this part4  ,of these things the     
practices are known1 but the philosophy 
that  concerneth them is not much       
inquired2 the rather1 ,i think1 because 
they  are supposed to be obtained1      
either by an aptness of nature1 which   

cannot  be taught1 or only by continual 
custom1 which is soon prescribed which  
though it be not true1 yet ,i forbear to
 note any deficiences2 for the          
,olympian games are down long since1 and
 the mediocrity of these things is  for 
use2 as for the excellency of them it   
serveth for the most part but  for      
mercenary ostentation4    7#ac7 ,for    
arts of pleasure sensual1 the chief     
deficience in them is of  laws to       
repress them4  ,for as it hath been well
 observed1 that the arts  which flourish
 in times while virtue is in growth1 are
 military2 and  while virtue is in      
state1 are liberal2 and while virtue is 
in  declination1 are voluptuary3 so ,i  
doubt that this age of the world is     
somewhat upon the descent of the wheel4 
,with arts voluptuary ,i couple         
practices joculary2 for the deceiving of
 the senses is one of the  pleasures of 
the senses4  ,as for games of           
recreation1 ,i hold them to  belong to  
civil life and education4  ,and thus    

much of that particular  human          
philosophy which concerns the body1     
which is but the tabernacle of  the     
mind4    ,,xi4 7#a7 ,for human knowledge
 which concerns the mind1 it hath two   
parts2  the one that inquireth of the   
substance or nature of the soul or mind1
  the other that inquireth of the       
faculties or functions thereof4   ,unto 
the first of these1 the considerations  
of the original of the soul1  whether it
 be native or adventive1 and how far it 
is exempted from laws  of matter1 and of
 the immortality thereof1 and many other
 points1 do  appertain3 which have been 
not more laboriously inquired than      
variously  reported2 so as the travail  
therein taken seemeth to have been      
rather in  a maze than in a way4  ,but  
although ,i am of opinion that this     
knowledge  may be more really and       
soundly inquired1 even in nature1 than  
it hath  been1 yet ,i hold that in the  
end it must be hounded by religion1 or  
else  it will be subject to deceit and  

delusion4  ,for as the substance of the 
soul in the creation was not extracted  
out of the mass of heaven and  earth by 
the benediction of a producat1 but was  
immediately inspired  from ,god1 so it  
is not possible that it should be       
7otherwise than by  accident7 subject to
 the laws of heaven and earth1 which are
 the subject  of philosophy2 and        
therefore the true knowledge of the     
nature and state  of the soul must come 
by the same inspiration that gave the   
substance4  ,unto this part of knowledge
 touching the soul there be two         
appendices2  which1 as they have been   
handled1 have rather vapoured forth     
fables than  kindled truth3 divination  
and fascination4    7#b7 ,divination    
hath been anciently and fitly divided   
into artificial and  natural3 whereof   
artificial is1 when the mind maketh a   
prediction by  argument1 concluding upon
 signs and tokens2 natural is1 when the 
mind  hath a presention by an internal  
power1 without the inducement of a sign4

  ,artificial is of two sorts3 either   
when the argument is coupled with a     
derivation of causes1 which is rational2
 or when it is only grounded upon  a    
coincidence of the effect1 which is     
experimental3 whereof the latter  for   
the most part is superstitious1 such as 
were the heathen observations  upon the 
inspection of sacrifices1 the flights of
 birds1 the swarming of  bees2 and such 
as was the ,chaldean astrology1 and the 
like4  ,for  artificial divination1 the 
several kinds thereof are distributed   
amongst  particular knowledges4  ,the   
astronomer hath his predictions1 as of  
conjunctions1 aspects1 eclipses1 and the
 like4  ,the physician hath his         
predictions1 of death1 of recovery1 of  
the accidents and issues of  diseases4  
,the politique hath his predictions2 ,o 
urbem venalem1 et  cito perituram1 si   
emptorem invenerit6 which stayed not    
long to be  performed1 in ,sylla first1 
and after in ,csar3 so as these         
predictions  are now impertinent1 and to

 be referred over4  ,but the divination 
which  springeth from the internal      
nature of the soul is that which we now 
speak  of2 which hath been made to be of
 two sorts1 primitive and by influxion4 
,primitive is grounded upon the         
supposition that the mind1 when it is   
withdrawn and collected into itself1 and
 not diffused into the organs of  the   
body1 hath some extent and latitude of  
prenotion2 which therefore  appeareth   
most in sleep1 in ecstasies1 and near   
death1 and more rarely in  waking       
apprehensions2 and is induced and       
furthered by those abstinences  and     
observances which make the mind most to 
consist in itself4  ,by  influxion1 is  
grounded upon the conceit that the mind1
 as a mirror or  glass1 should take     
illumination from the foreknowledge of  
,god and  spirits3 unto which the same  
regiment doth likewise conduce4  ,for   
the  retiring of the mind within itself 
is the state which is most susceptible  
of divine influxions2 save that it is   

accompanied in this case with a         
fervency and elevation 7which the       
ancients noted by fury71 and not with a 
repose and quiet1 as it is in the other4
    7#c7 ,fascination is the power and  
act of imagination intensive upon other 
bodies than the body of the imaginant1  
for of that we spake in the proper      
place4  ,wherein the school of          
,paracelsus1 and the disciples of       
pretended  natural magic1 have been so  
intemperate1 as they have exalted the   
power  of the imagination to be much one
 with the power of miracle-working      
faith4  ,others1 that draw nearer to    
probability1 calling to their view  the 
secret passages of things1 and specially
 of the contagion that  passeth from    
body to body1 do conceive it should     
likewise be agreeable to  nature that   
there should be some transmissions and  
operations from spirit  to spirit       
without the mediation of the senses2    
whence the conceits have  grown 7now    
almost made civil7 of the mastering     

spirit1 and the force of  confidence1   
and the like4  ,incident unto this is   
the inquiry how to raise  and fortify   
the imagination2 for if the imagination 
fortified have power1  then it is       
material to know how to fortify and     
exalt it4  ,and herein  comes in        
crookedly and dangerously a palliation  
of a great part of  ceremonial magic4   
,for it may be pretended that           
ceremonies1 characters1  and charms do  
work1 not by any tacit or sacramental   
contract with evil  spirits1 but serve  
only to strengthen the imagination of   
him that useth  it2 as images are said  
by the ,roman ,church to fix the        
cogitations and  raise the devotions of 
them that pray before them4  ,but for   
mine own  judgment1 if it be admitted   
that imagination hath power1 and that   
ceremonies fortify imagination1 and that
 they be used sincerely and             
intentionally for that purpose2 yet ,i  
should hold them unlawful1 as  opposing 
to that first edict which ,god gave unto

 man1 ,in sudore vultus  comedes panem  
tuum4  ,for they propound those noble   
effects1 which ,god  hath set forth unto
 man to be bought at the price of       
labour1 to be  attained by a few easy   
and slothful observances4  ,deficiences 
in these  knowledges ,i will report     
none1 other than the general deficience1
 that it  is not known how much of them 
is verity1 and how much vanity4         
,,xii4 7#a7 ,the knowledge which        
respecteth the faculties of the mind of 
man  is of two kinds--the one respecting
 his understanding and reason1 and the  
other his will1 appetite1 and affection2
 whereof the former produceth  position 
or decree1 the latter action or         
execution4  ,it is true that the        
imagination is an agent or nuncius in   
both provinces1 both the judicial  and  
the ministerial4  ,for sense sendeth    
over to imagination before reason  have 
judged1 and reason sendeth over to      
imagination before the decree can  be   
acted4  ,for imagination ever precedeth 

voluntary motion4  ,saving that  this   
,janus of imagination hath differing    
faces3 for the face towards  reason hath
 the print of truth1 but the face       
towards action hath the  print of good2 
which nevertheless are faces1           
8,quales decet esse sororum40           
,neither is the imagination simply and  
only a messenger2 but is invested  with1
 or at least wise usurpeth no small     
authority in itself1 besides the  duty  
of the message4  ,for it was well said  
by ,aristotle1 8,that the mind  hath    
over the body that commandment1 which   
the lord hath over a bondman2  but that 
reason hath over the imagination that   
commandment which a  magistrate hath    
over a free citizen10 who may come also 
to rule in his  turn4  ,for we see that1
 in matters of faith and religion1 we   
raise our  imagination above our reason1
 which is the cause why religion sought 
ever  access to the mind by similitudes1
 types1 parables1 visions1 dreams4  ,and
  again1 in all persuasions that are    

wrought by eloquence1 and other         
impressions of like nature1 which do    
paint and disguise the true  appearance 
of things1 the chief recommendation unto
 reason is from the  imagination4       
,nevertheless1 because ,i find not any  
science that doth  properly or fitly    
pertain to the imagination1 ,i see no   
cause to alter the  former division4    
,for as for poesy1 it is rather a       
pleasure or play of  imagination than a 
work or duty thereof4  ,and if it be a  
work1 we speak  not now of such parts of
 learning as the imagination produceth1 
but of  such sciences as handle and     
consider of the imagination4  ,no more  
than we  shall speak now of such        
knowledges as reason produceth 7for that
  extendeth to all philosophy71 but of  
such knowledges as do handle and        
inquire of the faculty of reason3 so as 
poesy had his true place4  ,as for  the 
power of the imagination in nature1 and 
the manner of fortifying the  same1 we  
have mentioned it in the doctrine ,de   

,anima1 whereunto most  fitly it        
belongeth4  ,and lastly1 for imaginative
 or insinuative reason1  which is the   
subject of rhetoric1 we think it best to
 refer it to the  arts of reason4  ,so  
therefore we content ourselves with the 
former  division1 that human philosophy1
 which respecteth the faculties of the  
mind of man1 hath two parts1 rational   
and moral4    7#b7 ,the part of human   
philosophy which is rational is of all  
knowledges1  to the most wits1 the least
 delightful1 and seemeth but a net of   
subtlety  and spinosity4  ,for as it was
 truly said1 that knowledge is pabulum  
animi2 so in the nature of men's        
appetite to this food most men are of   
the taste and stomach of the ,israelites
 in the desert1 that would fain  have   
returned ad ollas carnium1 and were     
weary of manna2 which1 though  it were  
celestial1 yet seemed less nutritive and
 comfortable4  ,so  generally men taste 
well knowledges that are drenched in    
flesh and blood1  civil history1        

morality1 policy1 about the which men's 
affections1  praises1 fortunes do turn  
and are conversant4  ,but this same     
lumen  siccum doth parch and offend most
 men's watery and soft natures4  ,but to
  speak truly of things as they are in  
worth1 rational knowledges are the  keys
 of all other arts1 for as ,aristotle   
saith aptly and elegantly1 8,that  the  
hand is the instrument of instruments1  
and the mind is the form of  forms20 so 
these be truly said to be the art of    
arts4  ,neither do they  only direct1   
but likewise confirm and strengthen2    
even as the habit of  shooting doth not 
only enable to shoot a nearer shoot1 but
 also to draw a  stronger bow4    7#c7  
,the arts intellectual are four in      
number1 divided according to the  ends  
whereunto they are referred--for man's  
labour is to invent that which  is      
sought or propounded2 or to judge that  
which is invented2 or to retain  that   
which is judged2 or to deliver over that
 which is retained4  ,so as  the arts   

must be four--art of inquiry or         
invention2 art of examination or        
judgment2 art of custody or memory2 and 
art of elocution or tradition4          
,,xiii4 7#a7 ,invention is of two kinds 
much differing--the one of arts and     
sciences1 and the other of speech and   
arguments4  ,the former of these ,i  do 
report deficient2 which seemeth to me to
 be such a deficience as if1  in the    
making of an inventory touching the     
state of a defunct1 it should  be set   
down that there is no ready money4  ,for
 as money will fetch all  other         
commodities1 so this knowledge is that  
which should purchase all  the rest4    
,and like as the ,west ,indies had never
 been discovered if the  use of the     
mariner's needle had not been first     
discovered1 though the one  be vast     
regions1 and the other a small motion2  
so it cannot be found  strange if       
sciences be no further discovered1 if   
the art itself of  invention and        
discovery hath been passed over4    7#b7

 ,that this part of knowledge is        
wanting1 to my judgment standeth        
plainly confessed2 for first1 logic doth
 not pretend to invent sciences1  or the
 axioms of sciences1 but passeth it over
 with a cuique in sua arte  credendum4  
,and ,celsus acknowledgeth it gravely1  
speaking of the  empirical and          
dogmatical sects of physicians1 8,that  
medicines and cures  were first found   
out1 and then after the reasons and     
causes were  discoursed2 and not the    
causes first found out1 and by light    
from them  the medicines and cures      
discovered40  ,and ,plato in his        
8,thetetus0 noteth  well1 8,that        
particulars are infinite1 and the higher
 generalities give no  sufficient       
direction2 and that the pith of all     
sciences1 which maketh the  artsman     
differ from the inexpert1 is in the     
middle propositions1 which in  every    
particular knowledge are taken from     
tradition and experience40  ,and        
therefore we see1 that they which       

discourse of the inventions and         
originals of things refer them rather to
 chance than to art1 and rather  to     
beasts1 birds1 fishes1 serpents1 than to
 men4        8,dictamnum genetrix ,creta
 carpit ab ,ida1      ,puberibus caulem 
foliis et flore camantem      ,purpureo2
 non illa feris incognita capris        
,gramina1 cum tergo volucres hsere      
sagitt40    ,so that it was no marvel   
7the manner of antiquity being to       
consecrate  inventors7 that the         
,egyptians had so few human idols in    
their temples1  but almost all brute3   
8,omnigenumque ,deum monstra1 et        
latrator ,anubis1      ,contra          
,neptunum1 et ,venerem1 contraque       
,minervam1 c40    ,and if you like      
better the tradition of the ,grecians1  
and ascribe the  first inventions to    
men1 yet you will rather believe that   
,prometheus  first stroke the flints1   
and marvelled at the spark1 than that   
when he  first stroke the flints he     
expected the spark2 and therefore we see

 the  ,west ,indian ,prometheus had no  
intelligence with the ,european1 because
 of  the rareness with them of flint1   
that gave the first occasion4  ,so as it
  should seem1 that hitherto men are    
rather beholden to a wild goat for      
surgery1 or to a nightingale for music1 
or to the ibis for some part of  physic1
 or to the pot-lid that flew open for   
artillery1 or generally to  chance or   
anything else than to logic for the     
invention of arts and  sciences4        
,neither is the form of invention which 
,virgil describeth much  other3         
8,ut varias usus meditande extunderet   
artes      ,paulatim40    ,for if you   
observe the words well1 it is no other  
method than that which  brute beasts are
 capable of1 and do put in ure2 which is
 a perpetual  intending or practising   
some one thing1 urged and imposed by an 
absolute  necessity of conservation of  
being4  ,for so ,cicero saith very      
truly1  ,usus uni rei deditus et naturam
 et artem spe vincit4  ,and therefore if

  it be said of men1                    
8,labor omnia vincit      ,improbus1 et 
duris urgens in rebus egestas10    it is
 likewise said of beasts1 ,quis psittaco
 docuit suum 8  ,who  taught the raven  
in a drought to throw pebbles into a    
hollow tree1 where  she spied water1    
that the water might rise so as she     
might come to it8  ,who taught the bee  
to sail through such a vast sea or air1 
and to find  the way from a field in a  
flower a great way off to her hive8     
,who taught  the ant to bite every grain
 of corn that she burieth in her hill1  
lest it  should take root and grow8     
,add then the word extundere1 which     
importeth the extreme difficulty1 and   
the word paulatim1 which  importeth the 
extreme slowness1 and we are where we   
were1 even amongst  the ,egyptians'     
gods2 there being little left to the    
faculty of reason1  and nothing to the  
duty or art1 for matter of invention4   
7#c7 ,secondly1 the induction which the 
logicians speak of1 and which  seemeth  

familiar with ,plato1 whereby the       
principles of sciences may be  pretended
 to be invented1 and so the middle      
propositions by derivation  from the    
principles2 their form of induction1 ,i 
say1 is utterly vicious  and            
incompetent2 wherein their error is the 
fouler1 because it is the  duty of art  
to perfect and exalt nature2 but they   
contrariwise have  wronged1 abused1 and 
traduced nature4  ,for he that shall    
attentively  observe how the mind doth  
gather this excellent dew of knowledge1 
like  unto that which the poet speaketh 
of1 ,arei mellis clestia dona1          
distilling and contriving it out of     
particulars natural and artificial1  as 
the flowers of the field and garden1    
shall find that the mind of  herself by 
nature doth manage and act an induction 
much better than they  describe it4     
,for to conclude upon an enumeration of 
particulars1 without  instance          
contradictory1 is no conclusion1 but a  
conjecture2 for who can  assure 7in many

 subjects7 upon those particulars which 
appear of a side1  that there are not   
other on the contrary side which appear 
not8  ,as if  ,samuel should have rested
 upon those sons of ,jesse which were   
brought  before him1 and failed of      
,david which was in the field4  ,and    
this form  7to say truth71 is so gross1 
as it had not been possible for wits so 
subtle as have managed these things to  
have offered it to the world1 but  that 
they hasted to their theories and       
dogmaticals1 and were imperious  and    
scornful toward particulars2 which their
 manner was to use but as  lictores and 
viatores1 for sergeants and whifflers1  
ad summovendam  turbam1 to make way and 
make room for their opinions1 rather    
than in  their true use and service4    
,certainly it is a thing may touch a man
 with  a religious wonder1 to see how   
the footsteps of seducement are the very
  same in divine and human truth2 for1  
as in divine truth man cannot endure  to
 become as a child1 so in human1 they   

reputed the attending the  inductions   
7whereof we speak71 as if it were a     
second infancy or  childhood4    7#d7   
,thirdly1 allow some principles or      
axioms were rightly induced1 yet1       
nevertheless1 certain it is that middle 
propositions cannot be deduced  from    
them in subject of nature by            
syllogism--that is1 by touch and        
reduction of them to principles in a    
middle term4  ,it is true that in       
sciences popular1 as moralities1 laws1  
and the like1 yea1 and divinity         
7because it pleaseth ,god to apply      
,himself to the capacity of the         
simplest71 that form may have use2 and  
in natural philosophy likewise1 by  way 
of argument or satisfactory reason1 ,qu 
assensum parit operis effta  est2 but   
the subtlety of nature and operations   
will not be enchained in  those bonds4  
,for arguments consist of propositions1 
and propositions of  words1 and words   
are but the current tokens or marks of  
popular notions  of things2 which       

notions1 if they be grossly and variably
 collected out  of particulars1 it is   
not the laborious examination either of 
consequences of arguments1 or of the    
truth of propositions1 that can ever    
correct that error1 being 7as the       
physicians speak7 in the first          
digestion4  ,and1 therefore1 it was not 
without cause1 that so many  excellent  
philosophers became sceptics and        
academics1 and denied any  certainty of 
knowledge or comprehension2 and held    
opinion that the  knowledge of man      
extended only to appearances and        
probabilities4  ,it is  true that in    
,socrates it was supposed to be but a   
form of irony1  ,scientiam dissimulando 
simulavit2 for he used to disable his   
knowledge1  to the end to enhance his   
knowledge2 like the humour of ,tiberius 
in his  beginnings1 that would reign1   
but would not acknowledge so much4  ,and
 in  the later academy1 which ,cicero   
embraced1 this opinion also of          
acatalepsia 7,i doubt7 was not held     

sincerely2 for that all those which     
excelled in copy of speech seem to have 
chosen that sect1 as that which  was    
fittest to give glory to their eloquence
 and variable discourses2  being rather 
like progresses of pleasure than        
journeys to an end4  ,but  assuredly    
many scattered in both academies did    
hold it in subtlety and  integrity4     
,but here was their chief error3 they   
charged the deceit upon  the senses2    
which in my judgment 7notwithstanding   
all their cavillations7  are very       
sufficient to certify and report truth1 
though not always  immediately1 yet by  
comparison1 by help of instrument1 and  
by producing  and urging such things as 
are too subtle for the sense to some    
effect  comprehensible by the sense1 and
 other like assistance4  ,but they ought
  to have charged the deceit upon the   
weakness of the intellectual powers1    
and upon the manner of collecting and   
concluding upon the reports of the      
senses4  ,this ,i speak1 not to disable 

the mind of man1 but to stir it up  to  
seek help2 for no man1 be he never so   
cunning or practised1 can make a        
straight line or perfect circle by      
steadiness of hand1 which may be  easily
 done by help of a ruler or compass4    
7#e7 ,this part of invention1 concerning
 the invention of sciences1 ,i  purpose 
7if ,god give me leave7 hereafter to    
propound1 having digested it  into two  
parts3 whereof the one ,i term          
experientia literata1 and the  other    
interpretatio natur2 the former being   
but a degree and rudiment  of the       
latter4  ,but ,i will not dwell too     
long1 nor speak too great upon a        
promise4    7#f7 ,the invention of      
speech or argument is not properly an   
invention2 for  to invent is to discover
 that we know not1 and not to recover or
 resummon  that which we already know2  
and the use of this invention is no     
other  but1 out of the knowledge whereof
 our mind is already possessed to draw  
forth or call before us that which may  

be pertinent to the purpose which  we   
take into our consideration4  ,so as to 
speak truly1 it is no  invention1 but a 
remembrance or suggestion1 with an      
application2 which is  the cause why the
 schools do place it after judgment1 as 
subsequent and  not precedent4          
,nevertheless1 because we do account it 
a chase as well of  deer in an enclosed 
park as in a forest at large1 and that  
it hath  already obtained the name1 let 
it be called invention2 so as it be     
perceived and discerned1 that the scope 
and end of this invention is  readiness 
and present use of our knowledge1 and   
not addition or  amplification thereof4 
7#g7 ,to procure this ready use of      
knowledge there are two courses1        
preparation and suggestion4  ,the former
 of these seemeth scarcely a part  of   
knowledge1 consisting rather of         
diligence than of any artificial        
erudition4  ,and herein ,aristotle      
wittily1 but hurtfully1 doth deride the 
sophists near his time1 saying1 8,they  

did as if one that professed the  art of
 shoemaking should not teach how to make
 up a shoe1 but only  exhibit in a      
readiness a number of shoes of all      
fashions and sizes40  ,but  yet a man   
might reply1 that if a shoemaker should 
have no shoes in his  shop1 but only    
work as he is bespoken1 he should be    
weakly customed4  ,but  our ,saviour1   
speaking of divine knowledge1 saith1    
8,that the kingdom of  heaven is like a 
good householder1 that bringeth forth   
both new and old  store20 and we see the
 ancient writers of rhetoric do give it 
in precept1  that pleaders should have  
the places1 whereof they have most      
continual  use1 ready handled in all the
 variety that may be2 as that1 to speak 
for  the literal interpretation of the  
law against equity1 and contrary2 and   
to speak for presumptions and inferences
 against testimony1 and contrary4  ,and 
,cicero himself1 being broken unto it by
 great experience1 delivereth  it       
plainly1 that whatsoever a man shall    

have occasion to speak of 7if he  will  
take the pains71 he may have it in      
effect premeditate and handled  in      
thesi4  ,so that when he cometh to a    
particular he shall have nothing  to do1
 but to put to names1 and times1 and    
places1 and such other  circumstances of
 individuals4  ,we see likewise the     
exact diligence of  ,demosthenes2 who1  
in regard of the great force that the   
entrance and  access into causes hath to
 make a good impression1 had ready      
framed a  number of prefaces for        
orations and speeches4  ,all which      
authorities and  precedents may         
overweigh ,aristotle's opinion1 that    
would have us change a  rich wardrobe   
for a pair of shears4    7#h7 ,but the  
nature of the collection of this        
provision or preparatory  store1 though 
it be common both to logic and rhetoric1
 yet having made an  entry of it here1  
where it came first to be spoken of1 ,i 
think fit to  refer over the further    
handling of it to rhetoric4    7#i7 ,the

 other part of invention1 which ,i term 
suggestion1 doth assign and  direct us  
to certain marks1 or places1 which may  
excite our mind to  return and produce  
such knowledge as it hath formerly      
collected1 to the  end we may make use  
thereof4  ,neither is this use 7truly   
taken7 only to  furnish argument to     
dispute1 probably with others1 but      
likewise to  minister unto our judgment 
to conclude aright within ourselves4    
,neither  may these places serve only to
 apprompt our invention1 but also to    
direct  our inquiry4  ,for a faculty of 
wise interrogating is half a knowledge4 
,for as ,plato saith1 8,whosoever       
seeketh1 knoweth that which he seeketh  
for  in a general notion2 else how shall
 he know it when he hath found it80     
,and1 therefore1 the larger your        
anticipation is1 the more direct and    
compendious is your search4  ,but the   
same places which will help us what  to 
produce of that which we know already1  
will also help us1 if a man of          

experience were before us1 what         
questions to ask2 or1 if we have books  
and authors to instruct us1 what points 
to search and revolve2 so as ,i  cannot 
report that this part of invention1     
which is that which the  schools call   
topics1 is deficient4    7#aj7          
,nevertheless1 topics are of two sorts1 
general and special4  ,the  general we  
have spoken to2 but the particular hath 
been touched by some1  but rejected     
generally as inartificial and variable4 
,but leaving the  humour which hath     
reigned too much in the schools 7which  
is1 to be vainly  subtle in a few things
 which are within their command1 and to 
reject the  rest71 ,i do receive        
particular topics2 that is1 places or   
directions of  invention and inquiry in 
every particular knowledge1 as things of
 great  use1 being mixtures of logic    
with the matter of sciences4  ,for in   
these  it holdeth ars inveniendi        
adolescit cum inventis2 for as in going 
of a  way1 we do not only gain that part

 of the way which is passed1 but we     
gain the better sight of that part of   
the way which remaineth1 so every       
degree of proceeding in a science giveth
 a light to that which followeth2  which
 light1 if we strengthen by drawing it  
forth into questions or  places of      
inquiry1 we do greatly advance our      
pursuit4    ,,xiv4 7#a7 ,now we pass    
unto the arts of judgment1 which handle 
the natures  of proofs and              
demonstrations1 which as to induction   
hath a coincidence  with invention2 for 
all inductions1 whether in good or      
vicious form1 the  same action of the   
mind which inventeth1 judgeth--all one  
as in the sense4  ,but otherwise it is  
in proof by syllogism1 for the proof    
being not  immediate1 but by mean1 the  
invention of the mean is one thing1 and 
the  judgment of the consequence is     
another2 the one exciting only1 the     
other  examining4  ,therefore1 for the  
real and exact form of judgment1 we     
refer  ourselves to that which we have  

spoken of interpretation of ,nature4    
7#b7 ,for the other judgment by         
syllogism1 as it is a thing most        
agreeable  to the mind of man1 so it    
hath been vehemently end excellently    
laboured4  ,for the nature of man doth  
extremely covet to have somewhat in his 
understanding fixed and unmovable1 and  
as a rest and support of the mind4      
,and1 therefore1 as ,aristotle          
endeavoureth to prove1 that in all      
motion  there is some point quiescent2  
and as he elegantly expoundeth the      
ancient  fable of ,atlas 7that stood    
fixed1 and bare up the heaven from      
falling7 to  be meant of the poles or   
axle-tree of heaven1 whereupon the      
conversion is  accomplished1 so         
assuredly men have a desire to have an  
,atlas or  axle-tree within to keep them
 from fluctuation1 which is like to a   
perpetual peril of falling4  ,therefore 
men did hasten to set down some         
principles about which the variety of   
their disputatious might turn4    7#c7  

,so1 then1 this art of judgment is but  
the reduction of propositions  to       
principles in a middle term4  ,the      
principles to be agreed by all and      
exempted from argument2 the middle term 
to be elected at the liberty of  every  
man's invention2 the reduction to be of 
two kinds1 direct and  inverted3 the one
 when the proposition is reduced to the 
principle1 which  they term a probation 
ostensive2 the other1 when the          
contradictory of the  proposition is    
reduced to the contradictory of the     
principle1 which is  that which they    
call per incommodum1 or pressing an     
absurdity2 the  number of middle terms  
to be as the proposition standeth       
degrees more or  less removed from the  
principle4    7#d7 ,but this art hath   
two several methods of doctrine1 the one
 by way of  direction1 the other by way 
of caution3 the former frameth and      
setteth  down a true form of            
consequence1 by the variations and      
deflections from  which errors and      

inconsequences may be exactly judged4   
,toward the  composition and structure  
of which form it is incident to handle  
the  parts thereof1 which are           
propositions1 and the parts of          
propositions1  which are simple words4  
,and this is that part of logic which is
  comprehended in the ,analytics4       
7#e7 ,the second method of doctrine was 
introduced for expedite use and         
assurance sake1 discovering the more    
subtle forms of sophisms and            
illaqueations with their redargutions1  
which is that which is termed  elenches4
  ,for although in the more gross sorts 
of fallacies it  happeneth 7as ,seneca  
maketh the comparison well7 as in       
juggling feats1  which1 though we know  
not how they are done1 yet we know well 
it is not  as it seemeth to be2 yet the 
more subtle sort of them doth not only  
put a  man besides his answer1 but doth 
many times abuse his judgment4    7#f7  
,this part concerning elenches is       
excellently handled by ,aristotle  in   

precept1 but more excellently by ,plato 
in example2 not only in the  persons of 
the sophists1 but even in ,socrates     
himself1 who1 professing to  affirm     
nothing1 but to infirm that which was   
affirmed by another1 hath  exactly      
expressed all the forms of objection1   
fallace1 and redargution4  ,and although
 we have said that the use of this      
doctrine is for  redargution1 yet it is 
manifest the degenerate and corrupt use 
is for  caption and contradiction1 which
 passeth for a great faculty1 and no    
doubt is of very great advantage1 though
 the difference be good which was  made 
between orators and sophisters1 that the
 one is as the greyhound1  which hath   
his advantage in the race1 and the other
 as the hare1 which  hath her advantage 
in the turn1 so as it is the advantage  
of the weaker  creature4    7#g7 ,but   
yet further1 this doctrine of elenches  
hath a more ample latitude  and extent  
than is perceived2 namely1 unto divers  
parts of knowledge1  whereof some are   

laboured and other omitted4  ,for first1
 ,i conceive  7though it may seem at    
first somewhat strange7 that that part  
which is  variably referred1 sometimes  
to logic1 sometimes to metaphysic1      
touching  the common adjuncts of        
essences1 is but an elenche2 for the    
great  sophism of all sophisms being    
equivocation or ambiguity of words and  
phrase1 specially of such words as are  
most general and intervene in  every    
inquiry1 it seemeth to me that the true 
and fruitful use 7leaving  vain         
subtleties and speculations7 of the     
inquiry of majority1 minority1          
priority1 posteriority1 identity1       
diversity1 possibility1 act1 totality1  
parts1 existence1 privation1 and the    
like1 are but wise cautions against     
ambiguities of speech4  ,so1 again1 the 
distribution of things into  certain    
tribes1 which we call categories or     
predicaments1 are but  cautions against 
the confusion of definitions and        
divisions4    7#h7 ,secondly1 there is a

 seducement that worketh by the strength
 of the  impression1 and not by the     
subtlety of the illaqueation--not so    
much  perplexing the reason1 as         
overruling it by power of the           
imagination4  ,but  this part ,i think  
more proper to handle when ,i shall     
speak of rhetoric4    7#i7 ,but lastly1 
there is yet a much more important and  
profound kind of  fallacies in the mind 
of man1 which ,i find not observed or   
inquired at  all1 and think good to     
place here1 as that which of all others 
appertaineth most to rectify judgment1  
the force whereof is such as it  doth   
not dazzle or snare the understanding in
 some particulars1 but doth  more       
generally and inwardly infect and       
corrupt the state thereof4  ,for  the   
mind of man is far from the nature of a 
clear and equal glass1  wherein the     
beams of things should reflect according
 to their true  incidence2 nay1 it is   
rather like an enchanted glass1 full of 
superstition and imposture1 if it be not

 delivered and reduced4  ,for this      
purpose1 let us consider the false      
appearances that are imposed upon us  by
 the general nature of the mind1        
beholding them in an example or two2  as
 first1 in that instance which is the   
root of all superstition1 namely1  that 
to the nature of the mind of all men it 
is consonant for the  affirmative or    
active to affect more than the negative 
or privative4  ,so  that a few times    
hitting or presence countervails        
ofttimes failing or  absence1 as was    
well answered by ,diagoras to him that  
showed him in  ,neptune's temple the    
great number of pictures of such as had 
escaped  shipwreck1 and had paid their  
vows to ,neptune1 saying1 8,advise now1 
you  that think it folly to invocate    
,neptune in tempest40  8,yea1 but10     
saith  ,diagoras1 8where are they       
painted that are drowned80  ,let us     
behold it in  another instance1 namely1 
that the spirit of man1 being of an     
equal and  uniform substance1 doth      

usually suppose and feign in nature a   
greater  equality and uniformity than is
 in truth4  ,hence it cometh that the   
mathematicians cannot satisfy themselves
 except they reduce the motions  of the 
celestial bodies to perfect circles1    
rejecting spiral lines1 and  labouring  
to be discharged of eccentrics4  ,hence 
it cometh that whereas  there are many  
things in ,nature as it were monodica1  
sui juris1 yet  the cogitations of man  
do feign unto them relatives1 parallels1
 and  conjugates1 whereas no such thing 
is2 as they have feigned an element of  
fire to keep square with earth1 water1  
and air1 and the like4  ,nay1 it is  not
 credible1 till it be opened1 what a    
number of fictions and fantasies  the   
similitude of human actions and arts1   
together with the making of man         
communis mensura1 have brought into     
natural philosophy2 not much better     
than the heresy of the                  
,anthropomorphites1 bred in the cells of
 gross and  solitary monks1 and the     

opinion of ,epicurus1 answerable to the 
same in  heathenism1 who supposed the   
gods to be of human shape4  ,and1       
therefore1  ,velleius the ,epicurean    
needed not to have asked why ,god should
 have  adorned the heavens with stars1  
as if ,he had been an dilis1 one that   
should have set forth some magnificent  
shows or plays4  ,for if that great     
,work-master had been of a human        
disposition1 ,he would have cast the    
stars  into some pleasant and beautiful 
works and orders like the frets in the  
roofs of houses2 whereas one can scarce 
find a posture in square1 or  triangle1 
or straight line1 amongst such an       
infinite number1 so differing  a harmony
 there is between the spirit of man and 
the spirit of ,nature4    7#aj7 ,let us 
consider again the false appearances    
imposed upon us by every  man's own     
individual nature and custom in that    
feigned supposition that  ,plato maketh 
of the cave2 for certainly if a child   
were continued in a  grot or cave under 

the earth until maturity of age1 and    
came suddenly  abroad1 he would have    
strange and absurd imaginations4  ,so1  
in like  manner1 although our persons   
live in the view of heaven1 yet our     
spirits  are included in the caves of   
our own complexions and customs1 which  
minister unto us infinite errors and    
vain opinions if they be not  recalled  
to examination4  ,but hereof we have    
given many examples in one  of the      
errors1 or peccant humours1 which we ran
 briefly over in our first  book4       
7#aa7 ,and lastly1 let us consider the  
false appearances that are imposed  upon
 us by words1 which are framed and      
applied according to the conceit  and   
capacities of the vulgar sort2 and      
although we think we govern our  words1 
and prescribe it well loquendum ut      
vulgus sentiendum ut  sapientes1 yet    
certain it is that words1 as a ,tartar's
 bow1 do shoot  back upon the           
understanding of the wisest1 and        
mightily entangle and  pervert the      

judgment4  ,so as it is almost necessary
 in all controversies  and disputations 
to imitate the wisdom of the            
mathematicians1 in setting  down in the 
very beginning the definitions of our   
words and terms1 that  others may know  
how we accept and understand them1 and  
whether they  concur with us or no4     
,for it cometh to pass1 for want of     
this1 that we  are sure to end there    
where we ought to have begun1 which is1 
in  questions and differences about     
words4  ,to conclude1 therefore1 it must
  be confessed that it is not possible  
to divorce ourselves from these         
fallacies and false appearances because 
they are inseparable from our  nature   
and condition of life2 so yet1          
nevertheless1 the caution of them  7for 
all elenches1 as was said1 are but      
cautions7 doth extremely import  the    
true conduct of human judgment4  ,the   
particular elenches or cautions  against
 these three false appearances ,i find  
altogether deficient4    7#ab7 ,there   

remaineth one part of judgment of great 
excellency which to  mine understanding 
is so slightly touched1 as ,i may report
 that also  deficient2 which is the     
application of the differing kinds of   
proofs to  the differing kinds of       
subjects4  ,for there being but four    
kinds of  demonstrations1 that is1 by   
the immediate consent of the mind or    
sense1  by induction1 by syllogism1 and 
by congruity1 which is that which       
,aristotle calleth demonstration in orb 
or circle1 and not a notioribus1  every 
of these hath certain subjects in the   
matter of sciences1 in which            
respectively they have chiefest use2 and
 certain others1 from which             
respectively they ought to be excluded2 
and the rigour and curiosity in         
requiring the more severe proofs in some
 things1 and chiefly the facility  in   
contenting ourselves with the more      
remiss proofs in others1 hath been      
amongst the greatest causes of detriment
 and hindrance to knowledge4  ,the      

distributions and assignations of       
demonstrations according to the analogy 
of sciences ,i note as deficient4       
,,xv4 7#a7 ,the custody or retaining of 
knowledge is either in writing or       
memory2 whereof writing hath two parts1 
the nature of the character and  the    
order of the entry4  ,for the art of    
characters1 or other visible  notes of  
words or things1 it hath nearest        
conjugation with grammar1 and1          
therefore1 ,i refer it to the due place2
 for the disposition and  collocation of
 that knowledge which we preserve in    
writing1 it consisteth  in a good digest
 of common-places1 wherein ,i am not    
ignorant of the  prejudice imputed to   
the use of common-place books1 as       
causing a  retardation of reading1 and  
some sloth or relaxation of memory4     
,but  because it is but a counterfeit   
thing in knowledges to be forward and   
pregnant1 except a man be deep and full1
 ,i hold the entry of  common-places to 
be a matter of great use and essence in 

studying1 as  that which assureth copy  
of invention1 and contracteth judgment  
to a  strength4  ,but this is true1 that
 of the methods of common-places that ,i
  have seen1 there is none of any       
sufficient worth1 all of them carrying  
merely the face of a school and not of a
 world2 and referring to vulgar  matters
 and pedantical divisions1 without all  
life or respect to action4    7#b7 ,for 
the other principal part of the custody 
of knowledge1 which is  memory1 ,i find 
that faculty in my judgment weakly      
inquired of4  ,an art  there is extant  
of it2 but it seemeth to me that there  
are better  precepts than that art1 and 
better practices of that art than those 
received4  ,it is certain the art 7as it
 is7 may be raised to points of         
ostentation prodigious2 but in use 7as  
is now managed7 it is barren1 not       
burdensome1 nor dangerous to natural    
memory1 as is imagined1 but barren1     
that is1 not dexterous to be applied to 
the serious use of business and         

occasions4  ,and1 therefore1 ,i make no 
more estimation of repeating a  great   
number of names or words upon once      
hearing1 or the pouring forth of  a     
number of verses or rhymes extempore1 or
 the making of a satirical  simile of   
everything1 or the turning of everything
 to a jest1 or the  falsifying or       
contradicting of everything by cavil1 or
 the like 7whereof  in the faculties of 
the mind there is great copy1 and such  
as by device  and practice may be       
exalted to an extreme degree of wonder71
 than ,i do of  the tricks of tumblers1 
funambuloes1 baladines2 the one being   
the same in  the mind that the other is 
in the body1 matters of strangeness     
without  worthiness4    7#c7 ,this art  
of memory is but built upon two         
intentions2 the one  prenotion1 the     
other emblem4  ,prenotion dischargeth   
the indefinite  seeking of that we would
 remember1 and directeth us to seek in a
 narrow  compass1 that is1 somewhat that
 hath congruity with our place of       

memory4  ,emblem reduceth conceits      
intellectual to images sensible1 which  
strike  the memory more2 out of which   
axioms may be drawn much better practice
  than that in use2 and besides which   
axioms1 there are divers more  touching 
help of memory not inferior to them4    
,but ,i did in the beginning            
distinguish1 not to report those things 
deficient1 which are but only ill       
managed4    ,,xvi4 7#a7 ,there remaineth
 the fourth kind of rational knowledge1 
which is  transitive1 concerning the    
expressing or transferring our knowledge
 to  others1 which ,i will term by the  
general name of tradition or delivery4  
,tradition hath three parts3 the first  
concerning the organ of tradition2  the 
second concerning the method of         
tradition2 and the third concerning  the
 illustration of tradition4    7#b7 ,for
 the organ of tradition1 it is either   
speech or writing2 for  ,aristotle saith
 well1 8,words are the images of        
cogitations1 and letters  are the images

 of words40  ,but yet it is not of      
necessity that  cogitations be expressed
 by the medium of words4  ,for          
whatsoever is  capable of sufficient    
differences1 and those perceptible by   
the sense1 is  in nature competent to   
express cogitations4  ,and1 therefore1  
we see in  the commerce of barbarous    
people that understand not one another's
  language1 and in the practice of      
divers that are dumb and deaf1 that     
men's minds are expressed in gestures1  
though not exactly1 yet to serve  the   
turn4  ,and we understand further1 that 
it is the use of ,china and the         
kingdoms of the ,high ,levant to write  
in characters real1 which express       
neither letters nor words in gross1 but 
things or notions2 insomuch as          
countries and provinces which understand
 not one another's language can         
nevertheless read one another's         
writings1 because the characters are    
accepted more generally than the        
languages do extend2 and1 therefore1    

they have a vast multitude of           
characters1 as many1 ,i suppose1 as     
radical  words4    7#c7 ,these notes of 
cogitations are of two sorts3 the one   
when the note  hath some similitude or  
congruity with the notion2 the other ad 
placitum1 having force only by contract 
or acceptation4  ,of the former  sort   
are hieroglyphics and gestures4  ,for as
 to hieroglyphics 7things of  ancient   
use and embraced chiefly by the         
,egyptians1 one of the most  ancient    
nations71 they are but as continued     
impresses and emblems4  ,and  as for    
gestures1 they are as transitory        
hieroglyphics1 and are to  hieroglyphics
 as words spoken are to words written1  
in that they abide  not2 but they have  
evermore1 as well as the other1 an      
affinity with the  things signified4    
,as ,periander1 being consulted with how
 to preserve a  tyranny newly usurped1  
bid the messenger attend and report what
 he saw  him do2 and went into his      
garden and topped all the highest       

flowers1  signifying that it consisted  
in the cutting off and keeping low of   
the  nobility and grandees4  ,ad        
placitum1 are the characters real before
  mentioned1 and words3 although some   
have been willing by curious inquiry1   
or rather by apt feigning1 to have      
derived imposition of names from  reason
 and intendment2 a speculation elegant1 
and1 by reason it searcheth  into       
antiquity1 reverent1 but sparingly mixed
 with truth1 and of small  fruit4  ,this
 portion of knowledge touching the notes
 of things and  cogitations in general1 
,i find not inquired1 but deficient4    
,and although  it may seem of no great  
use1 considering that words and writings
 by  letters do far excel all the other 
ways2 yet because this part  concerneth1
 as it were1 the mint of knowledge 7for 
words are the tokens  current and       
accepted for conceits1 as moneys are for
 values1 and that it  is fit men be not 
ignorant that moneys may be of another  
kind than gold  and silver71 ,i thought 

good to propound it to better inquiry4  
7#d7 ,concerning speech and words1 the  
consideration of them hath produced  the
 science of grammar4  ,for man still    
striveth to reintegrate himself in      
those benedictions1 from which by his   
fault he hath been deprived2 and as  he 
hath striven against the first general  
curse by the invention of all  other    
arts1 so hath he sought to come forth of
 the second general curse  7which was   
the confusion of tongues7 by the art of 
grammar2 whereof the  use in a mother   
tongue is small1 in a foreign tongue    
more2 but most in  such foreign tongues 
as have ceased to be vulgar tongues1 and
 are turned  only to learned tongues4   
,the duty of it is of two natures3 the  
one  popular1 which is for the speedy   
and perfect attaining languages1 as well
  for intercourse of speech as for      
understanding of authors2 the other     
philosophical1 examining the power and  
nature of words1 as they are the        
footsteps and prints of reason3 which   

kind of analogy between words and       
reason is handled sparsim1 brokenly     
though not entirely2 and1  therefore1 ,i
 cannot report it deficient1 though ,i  
think it very worthy to  be reduced into
 a science by itself4    7#e7 ,unto     
grammar also belongeth1 as an appendix1 
the consideration of the  accidents of  
words2 which are measure1 sound1 and    
elevation or accent1  and the sweetness 
and harshness of them3 whence hath      
issued some curious  observations in    
rhetoric1 but chiefly poesy1 as we      
consider it1 in  respect of the verse   
and not of the argument4  ,wherein      
though men in  learned tongues do tie   
themselves to the ancient measures1 yet 
in modern  languages it seemeth to me as
 free to make new measures of verses as 
of  dances2 for a dance is a measured   
pace1 as a verse is a measured speech4  
,in these things this sense is better   
judge than the art3           8,cn      
fercula nostr      ,mallem convivis quam
 placuisse cocis40    ,and of the       

servile expressing antiquity in an      
unlike and an unfit  subject1 it is well
 said1 8,quod tempore antiquum videtur1 
id  incongruitate est maxime novum40    
7#f7 ,for ciphers1 they are commonly in 
letters or alphabets1 but may be in     
words4  ,the kinds of ciphers 7besides  
the simple ciphers1 with changes1  and  
intermixtures of nulls and              
non-significants7 are many1 according to
  the nature or rule of the infolding1  
wheel-ciphers1 key-ciphers1 doubles1  c4
  ,but the virtues of them1 whereby they
 are to be preferred1 are  three2 that  
they be not laborious to write and read2
 that they be  impossible to decipher2  
and1 in some cases1 that they be without
  suspicion4  ,the highest degree       
whereof is to write omnia per omnia2    
which is undoubtedly possible1 with a   
proportion quintuple at most of the     
writing infolding to the writing        
infolded1 and no other restraint        
whatsoever4  ,this art of ciphering hath
 for relative an art of  deciphering1 by

 supposition unprofitable1 but1 as      
things are1 of great  use4  ,for suppose
 that ciphers were well managed1 there  
be multitudes of  them which exclude the
 decipherer4  ,but in regard of the     
rawness and  unskilfulness of the hands 
through which they pass1 the greatest   
matters  are many times carried in the  
weakest ciphers4    7#g7 ,in the        
enumeration of these private and retired
 arts it may be  thought ,i seek to make
 a great muster-roll of sciences1 naming
 them for  show and ostentation1 and to 
little other purpose4  ,but let those1  
which  are skilful in them1 judge       
whether ,i bring them in only for       
appearance1  or whether in that which ,i
 speak of them 7though in few words7    
there be  not some seed of proficience4 
,and this must be remembered1 that as   
there  be many of great account in their
 countries and provinces1 which1 when   
they come up to the seat of the estate1 
are but of mean rank and scarcely       
regarded2 so these arts1 being here     

placed with the principal and supreme   
sciences1 seem petty things3 yet to such
 as have chosen them to spend  their    
labours and studies in them1 they seem  
great matters4    ,,xvii4 7#a7 ,for the 
method of tradition1 ,i see it hath     
moved a controversy  in our time4  ,but 
as in civil business1 if there be a     
meeting1 and men  fall at words1 there  
is commonly an end of the matter for    
that time1 and  no proceeding at all2 so
 in learning1 where there is much       
controversy1  there is many times little
 inquiry4  ,for this part of knowledge  
of method  seemeth to me so weakly      
inquired as ,i shall report it          
deficient4    7#b7 ,method hath been    
placed1 and that not amiss1 in logic1 as
 a part of  judgment4  ,for as the      
doctrine of syllogisms comprehendeth the
 rules of  judgment upon that which is  
invented1 so the doctrine of method     
containeth the rules of judgment upon   
that which is to be delivered2 for      
judgment precedeth delivery1 as it      

followeth invention4  ,neither is the   
method or the nature of the tradition   
material only to the use of  knowledge1 
but likewise to the progression of      
knowledge3 for since the  labour and    
life of one man cannot attain to        
perfection of knowledge1 the  wisdom of 
the tradition is that which inspireth   
the felicity of  continuance and        
proceeding4  ,and therefore the most    
real diversity of  method is of method  
referred to use1 and method referred to 
progression3  whereof the one may be    
termed magistral1 and the other of      
probation4    7#c7 ,the latter whereof  
seemeth to be via deserta et interclusa4
  ,for as  knowledges are now delivered1
 there is a kind of contract of error   
between the deliverer and the receiver4 
,for he that delivereth knowledge       
desireth to deliver it in such form as  
may be best believed1 and not as  may be
 best examined2 and he that receiveth   
knowledge desireth rather  present      
satisfaction than expectant inquiry2 and

 so rather not to doubt1  than not to   
err3 glory making the author not to lay 
open his weakness1  and sloth making the
 disciple not to know his strength4     
7#d7 ,but knowledge that is delivered as
 a thread to be spun on ought to be     
delivered and intimated1 if it were     
possible1 in the same method wherein  it
 was invented3 and so is it possible of 
knowledge induced4  ,but in this  same  
anticipated and prevented knowledge1 no 
man knoweth how he came to  the         
knowledge which he hath obtained4  ,but 
yet1 nevertheless1 secundum  majus et   
minus1 a man may revisit and descend    
unto the foundations of  his knowledge  
and consent2 and so transplant it into  
another1 as it grew  in his own mind4   
,for it is in knowledges as it is in    
plants3 if you mean  to use the plant1  
it is no matter for the roots--but if   
you mean to remove  it to grow1 then it 
is more assured to rest upon roots than 
slips3 so the  delivery of knowledges   
7as it is now used7 is as of fair bodies

 of trees  without the roots2 good for  
the carpenter1 but not for the planter4 
,but  if you will have sciences grow1 it
 is less matter for the shaft or body   
of the tree1 so you look well to the    
taking up of the roots4  ,of which  kind
 of delivery the method of the          
mathematics1 in that subject1 hath  some
 shadow3 but generally ,i see it neither
 put in use nor put in  inquisition1 and
 therefore note it for deficient4       
7#e7 ,another diversity of method there 
is1 which hath some affinity with  the  
former1 used in some cases by the       
discretion of the ancients1 but         
disgraced since by the impostures of    
many vain persons1 who have made it  as 
a false light for their counterfeit     
merchandises2 and that is  enigmatical  
and disclosed4  ,the pretence whereof   
is1 to remove the vulgar  capacities    
from being admitted to the secrets of   
knowledges1 and to  reserve them to     
selected auditors1 or wits of such      
sharpness as can  pierce the veil4      

7#f7 ,another diversity of method1      
whereof the consequence is great1 is the
  delivery of knowledge in aphorisms1 or
 in methods2 wherein we may observe     
that it hath been too much taken into   
custom1 out of a few axioms or          
observations upon any subject1 to make a
 solemn and formal art1 filling  it with
 some discourses1 and illustrating it   
with examples1 and digesting  it into a 
sensible method4  ,but the writing in   
aphorisms hath many  excellent virtues1 
whereto the writing in method doth not  
approach4    7#g7 ,for first1 it trieth 
the writer1 whether he be superficial or
 solid3  for aphorisms1 except they     
should be ridiculous1 cannot be made but
 of  the pith and heart of sciences2 for
 discourse of illustration is cut off2  
recitals of examples are cut off2       
discourse of connection and order is    
cut off2 descriptions of practice are   
cut off4  ,so there remaineth  nothing  
to fill the aphorisms but some good     
quantity of observation2 and  therefore 

no man can suffice1 nor in reason will  
attempt1 to write  aphorisms1 but he    
that is sound and grounded4  ,but in    
methods1           8,tantum series      
juncturaque pollet1      ,tantum de     
medio sumptis accedit honoris10    as a 
man shall make a great show of an art1  
which1 if it were disjointed1  would    
come to little4  ,secondly1 methods are 
more fit to win consent or  belief1 but 
less fit to point to action2 for they   
carry a kind of  demonstration in orb or
 circle1 one part illuminating another1 
and  therefore satisfy4  ,but           
particulars being dispersed do best     
agree with  dispersed directions4  ,and 
lastly1 aphorisms1 representing a       
knowledge  broken1 do invite men to     
inquire further2 whereas methods1       
carrying the  show of a total1 do secure
 men1 as if they were at furthest4      
7#h7 ,another diversity of method1 which
 is likewise of great weight1 is  the   
handling of knowledge by assertions and 
their proofs1 or by questions  and their

 determinations4  ,the latter kind      
whereof1 if it be immoderately          
followed1 is as prejudicial to the      
proceeding of learning as it is to the  
proceeding of an army to go about to    
besiege every little fort or hold4  ,for
 if the field be kept1 and the sum of   
the enterprise pursued1 those  smaller  
things will come in of themselves3      
indeed a man would not leave  some      
important piece enemy at his back4  ,in 
like manner1 the use of  confutation in 
the delivery of sciences ought to be    
very sparing2 and to  serve to remove   
strong preoccupations and prejudgments1 
and not to  minister and excite         
disputatious and doubts4    7#i7        
,another diversity of method is1        
according to the subject or matter      
which is handled4  ,for there is a great
 difference in delivery of the          
mathematics1 which are the most         
abstracted of knowledges1 and policy1   
which is the most immersed4  ,and       
howsoever contention hath been moved1   

touching a uniformity of method in      
multiformity of matter1 yet we see how  
that opinion1 besides the weakness of   
it1 hath been of ill desert towards     
learning1 as that which taketh the way  
to reduce learning to certain  empty and
 barren generalities2 being but the very
 husks and shells of  sciences1 all the 
kernel being forced out and expulsed    
with the torture  and press of the      
method4  ,and1 therefore1 as ,i did     
allow well of  particular topics for    
invention1 so ,i do allow likewise of   
particular  methods of tradition4       
7#aj7 ,another diversity of judgment in 
the delivery and teaching of  knowledge 
is1 according unto the light and        
presuppositions of that which  is       
delivered4  ,for that knowledge which is
 new1 and foreign from opinions         
received1 is to be delivered in another 
form than that that is agreeable  and   
familiar2 and therefore ,aristotle1 when
 he thinks to tax ,democritus1  doth in 
truth commend him1 where he saith 8,if  

we shall indeed dispute1  and not follow
 after similitudes10 c4  ,for those     
whose conceits are  seated in popular   
opinions need only but to prove or      
dispute2 but those  whose conceits are  
beyond popular opinions1 have a double  
labour2 the one  to make themselves     
conceived1 and the other to prove and   
demonstrate4  ,so  that it is of        
necessity with them to have recourse to 
similitudes and  translations to express
 themselves4  ,and therefore in the     
infancy of  learning1 and in rude times 
when those conceits which are now       
trivial  were then new1 the world was   
full of parables and similitudes2 for   
else  would men either have passed over 
without mark1 or else rejected for      
paradoxes that which was offered1 before
 they had understood or judged4  ,so in 
divine learning1 we see how frequent    
parables and tropes are1 for  it is a   
rule1 that whatsoever science is not    
consonant to presuppositions  must pray 
in aid of similitudes4    7#aa7 ,there  

be also other diversities of methods    
vulgar and received3 as  that of        
resolution or analysis1 of constitution 
or systasis1 of  concealment or cryptic1
 c41 which ,i do allow well of1 though  
,i have  stood upon those which are     
least handled and observed4  ,all which 
,i have  remembered to this purpose1    
because ,i would erect and constitute   
one  general inquiry 7which seems to me 
deficient7 touching the wisdom of       
tradition4    7#ab7 ,but unto this part 
of knowledge1 concerning method1 doth   
further  belong not only the            
architecture of the whole frame of a    
work1 but also  the several beams and   
columns thereof2 not as to their stuff1 
but as to  their quantity and figure4   
,and therefore method considereth not   
only the  disposition of the argument or
 subject1 but likewise the propositions3
  not as to their truth or matter1 but  
as to their limitation and manner4  ,for
 herein ,ramus merited better a great   
deal in reviving the good rules  of     

propositions-- 1   c4--than he did in   
introducing the canker of epitomes2 and 
yet 7as it is the condition of  human   
things that1 according to the ancient   
fables1 8the most precious  things have 
the most pernicious keepers07 it was so1
 that the attempt of  the one made him  
fall upon the other4  ,for he had need  
be well conducted  that should design to
 make axioms convertible1 if he make    
them not withal  circular1 and          
non-promovent1 or incurring into        
themselves2 but yet the  intention was  
excellent4    7#ac7 ,the other          
considerations of method1 concerning    
propositions1 are  chiefly touching the 
utmost propositions1 which limit the    
dimensions of  sciences3 for every      
knowledge may be fitly said1 besides the
 profundity  7which is the truth and    
substance of it1 that makes it solid71  
to have a  longitude and a latitude2    
accounting the latitude towards other   
sciences1  and the longitude towards    
action2 that is1 from the greatest      

generality  to the most particular      
precept4  ,the one giveth rule how far  
one  knowledge ought to intermeddle     
within the province of another1 which is
  the rule they call 2 the other giveth 
rule unto what degree of  particularity 
a knowledge should descend3 which latter
 ,i find passed over  in silence1 being 
in my judgment the more material4  ,for 
certainty there  must be somewhat left  
to practice2 but how much is worthy the 
inquiry8  ,we see remote and superficial
 generalities do but offer knowledge to 
scorn of practical men2 and are no more 
aiding to practice than an  ,ortelius'  
universal map is to direct the way      
between ,london and ,york4  ,the better 
sort of rules have been not unfitly     
compared to glasses of  steel           
unpolished1 where you may see the images
 of things1 but first they  must be     
filed3 so the rules will help if they be
 laboured and polished by  practice4    
,but how crystalline they may be made at
 the first1 and how far  forth they may 

be polished aforehand1 is the question1 
the inquiry  whereof seemeth to me      
deficient4    7#ad7 ,there hath been    
also laboured and put in practice a     
method1 which is  not a lawful method1  
but a method of imposture3 which is1 to 
deliver  knowledges in such manner as   
men may speedily come to make a show of 
learning1 who have it not4  ,such was   
the travail of ,raymundus ,lullius in   
making that art which bears his name2   
not unlike to some books of  typocosmy1 
which have been made since2 being       
nothing but a mass of words  of all     
arts1 to give men countenance1 that     
those which use the terms  might be     
thought to understand the art2 which    
collections are much like a  fripper's  
or broker's shop1 that hath ends of     
everything1 but nothing of  worth4      
,,xviii4 7#a7 ,now we descend to that   
part which concerneth the illustration  
of tradition1 comprehended in that      
science which we call rhetoric1 or art  
of eloquence1 a science excellent1 and  

excellently well laboured4  ,for        
although in true value it is inferior to
 wisdom 7as it is said by ,god to       
,moses1 when he disabled himself for    
want of this faculty1 8,aaron shall be  
thy speaker1 and thou shalt be to him as
 ,god071 yet with people it is the  more
 mighty2 for so ,solomon saith1 ,sapiens
 corde appellabitur prudens1  sed dulcis
 eloquio majora reperiet1 signifying    
that profoundness of  wisdom will help a
 man to a name or admiration1 but that  
it is eloquence  that prevaileth in an  
active life4  ,and as to the labouring  
of it1 the  emulation of ,aristotle with
 the rhetoricians of his time1 and the  
experience of ,cicero1 hath made them in
 their works of rhetoric exceed         
themselves4  ,again1 the excellency of  
examples of eloquence in the  orations  
of ,demosthenes and ,cicero1 added to   
the perfection of the  precepts of      
eloquence1 hath doubled the progression 
in this art2 and  therefore the         
deficiences which ,i shall note will    

rather be in some  collections1 which   
may as handmaids attend the art1 than in
 the rules or  use of the art itself4   
7#b7  ,notwithstanding1 to stir the     
earth a little about the roots of this  
science1 as we have done of the rest1   
the duty and office of rhetoric is  to  
apply reason to imagination for the     
better moving of the will4  ,for we  see
 reason is disturbed in the             
administration thereof by three         
means--by  illaqueation or sophism1     
which pertains to logic2 by imagination 
or  impression1 which pertains to       
rhetoric2 and by passion or affection1  
which pertains to morality4  ,and as in 
negotiation with others1 men are        
wrought by cunning1 by importunity1 and 
by vehemency2 so in this  negotiation   
within ourselves1 men are undermined by 
inconsequences1  solicited and          
importuned by impressions or            
observations1 and transported  by       
passions4  ,neither is the nature of man
 so unfortunately built1 as  that those 

powers and arts should have force to    
disturb reason1 and not  to establish   
and advance it4  ,for the end of logic  
is to teach a form of  argument to      
secure reason1 and not to entrap it2 the
 end of morality is  to procure the     
affections to obey reason1 and not to   
invade it2 the end  of rhetoric is to   
fill the imagination to second reason1  
and not to  oppress it2 for these abuses
 of arts come in but ex oblique1 for    
caution4    7#c7 ,and therefore it was  
great injustice in ,plato1 though       
springing out  of a just hatred to the  
rhetoricians of his time1 to esteem of  
rhetoric  but as a voluptuary art1      
resembling it to cookery1 that did mar  
wholesome  meats1 and help unwholesome  
by variety of sauces to the pleasure of 
the  taste4  ,for we see that speech is 
much more conversant in adorning that   
which is good than in colouring that    
which is evil2 for there is no man  but 
speaketh more honestly than he can do or
 think2 and it was  excellently noted by

 ,thucydides1 in ,cleon1 that because he
 used to hold  on the bad side in causes
 of estate1 therefore he was ever       
inveighing  against eloquence and good  
speech1 knowing that no man can speak   
fair of  courses sordid and base4  ,and 
therefore1 as ,plato said elegantly1    
8,that  virtue1 if she could be seen1   
would move great love and affection20 so
  seeing that she cannot be showed to   
the sense by corporal shape1 the next   
degree is to show her to the imagination
 in lively representation2 for to  show 
her to reason only in subtlety of       
argument was a thing ever derided  in   
,chrysippus and many of the ,stoics1 who
 thought to thrust virtue upon  men by  
sharp disputations and conclusions1     
which have no sympathy with  the will of
 man4    7#d7 ,again1 if the affections 
in themselves were pliant and obedient  
to  reason1 it were true there should be
 no great use of persuasions and        
insinuations to the will1 more than of  
naked proposition and proofs2 but  in   

regard of the continual mutinies and    
seditious of the affections--           
8,video meliora1 proboque1              
,deteriora sequor10    reason would     
become captive and servile1 if eloquence
 of persuasions did  not practise and   
win the imagination from the affections'
 part1 and  contract a confederacy      
between the reason and imagination      
against the  affections2 for the        
affections themselves carry ever an     
appetite to good1  as reason doth4  ,the
 difference is1 that the affection      
beholdeth merely  the present2 reason   
beholdeth the future and sum of time4   
,and1  therefore1 the present filling   
the imagination more1 reason is commonly
  vanquished2 but after that force of   
eloquence and persuasion hath made      
things future and remote appear as      
present1 then upon the revolt of the    
imagination reason prevaileth4    7#e7  
,we conclude1 therefore1 that rhetoric  
can be no more charged with the         
colouring of the worst part1 than logic 

with sophistry1 or morality with  vice2 
for we know the doctrines of contraries 
are the same1 though the  use be        
opposite4  ,it appeareth also that logic
 differeth from rhetoric1  not only as  
the fist from the palm--the one close1  
the other at large--but  much more in   
this1 that logic handleth reason exact  
and in truth1 and  rhetoric handleth it 
as it is planted in popular opinions and
 manners4  ,and therefore ,aristotle    
doth wisely place rhetoric as between   
logic on  the one side1 and moral or    
civil knowledge on the other1 as        
participating  of both2 for the proofs  
and demonstrations of logic are toward  
all men  indifferent and the same1 but  
the proofs and persuasions of rhetoric  
ought to differ according to the        
auditors3        8,orpheus in sylvis1   
inter delphinas ,arion40    ,which      
application in perfection of idea ought 
to extend so far that if a  man should  
speak of the same thing to several      
persons1 he should speak to  them all   

respectively and several ways2 though   
this politic part of  eloquence in      
private speech it is easy for the       
greatest orators to want3  whilst1 by   
the observing their well-graced forms of
 speech1 they leese  the volubility of  
application2 and therefore it shall not 
be amiss to  recommend this to better   
inquiry1 not being curious whether we   
place it  here or in that part which    
concerneth policy4    7#f7 ,now         
therefore will ,i descend to the        
deficiences1 which1 as ,i said1  are but
 attendances2 and first1 ,i do not find 
the wisdom and diligence of  ,aristotle 
well pursued1 who began to make a       
collection of the popular  signs and    
colours of good and evil1 both simple   
and comparative1 which  are as the      
sophisms of rhetoric 7as ,i touched     
before74  ,for example--                
8,sophisma4        ,quod laudatur1      
bonum3 quod vituperatur1 malum4         
,redargutio4        ,laudat venales qui 
vult extrudere merces40    ,malum est1  

malum est 7inquit emptor73 sed cum      
recesserit1 tum  gloriabitur6  ,the     
defects in the labour of ,aristotle are 
three--one1 that  there be but a few of 
many2 another1 that there elenches are  
not annexed2  and the third1 that he    
conceived but a part of the use of them3
 for their  use is not only in          
probation1 but much more in impression4 
,for many  forms are equal in           
signification which are differing in    
impression1 as  the difference is great 
in the piercing of that which is sharp  
and that  which is flat1 though the     
strength of the percussion be the same4 
,for  there is no man but will be a     
little more raised by hearing it said1  
8,your enemies will be glad of this0--  
8,hoc ,ithacus velit1 et magno mercentur
 ,atrid40    than by hearing it said    
only1 8,this is evil for you40    7#g7  
,secondly1 ,i do resume also that which 
,i mentioned before1 touching  provision
 or preparatory store for the furniture 
of speech and readiness  of invention1  

which appeareth to be of two sorts3 the 
one in resemblance  to a shop of pieces 
unmade up1 the other to a shop of things
 ready made  up2 both to be applied to  
that which is frequent and most in      
request4  ,the former of these ,i will  
call antitheta1 and the latter formul4  
7#h7 ,antitheta are theses argued pro et
 contra1 wherein men may be  more large 
and laborious2 but 7in such as are able 
to do it7 to avoid  prolixity of entry1 
,i wish the seeds of the several        
arguments to be cast  up into some brief
 and acute sentences1 not to be cited1  
but to be as  skeins or bottoms of      
thread1 to be unwinded at large when    
they come to be  used2 supplying        
authorities and examples by reference4  
8,pro verbis legis4      ,non est       
interpretatio1 sed divinatio1 qu recedit
 a litera3      ,cum receditur a litera1
 judex transit in legislatorem4         
,pro sententia legis4      ,ex omnibus  
verbis est eliciendus sensus qui        
interpretatur singula40    7#i7 ,formul 

are but decent and apt passages or      
conveyances of speech1  which may serve 
indifferently for differing subjects2 as
 of preface1  conclusion1 digression1   
transition1 excusation1 c4  ,for as in  
buildings  there is great pleasure and  
use in the well casting of the          
staircases1  entries1 doors1 windows1   
and the like2 so in speech1 the         
conveyances and  passages are of special
 ornament and effect4        8,a        
conclusion in a deliberative4      ,so  
may we redeem the faults passed1 and    
prevent the inconveniences      future40
    ,,xix4 7#a7 ,there remain two       
appendices touching the tradition of    
knowledge1  the one critical1 the other 
pedantical4  ,for all knowledge is      
either  delivered by teachers1 or       
attained by men's proper endeavours3 and
  therefore as the principal part of    
tradition of knowledge concerneth       
chiefly writing of books1 so the        
relative part thereof concerneth reading
  of books2 whereunto appertain         

incidently these considerations4  ,the  
first  is concerning the true correction
 and edition of authors2 wherein        
nevertheless rash diligence hath done   
great prejudice4  ,for these critics    
have often presumed that that which they
 understand not is false set  down3 as  
the priest that1 where he found it      
written of ,st4 ,paul ,demissus  est per
 sportam1 mended his book1 and made it  
,demissus est per portam2  because      
sporta was a hard word1 and out of his  
reading3 and surely  their errors1      
though they be not so palpable and      
ridiculous1 yet are of  the same kind4  
,and therefore1 as it hath been wisely  
noted1 the most  corrected copies are   
commonly the least correct4    ,the     
second is concerning the exposition and 
explication of authors1 which  resteth  
in annotations and commentaries3 wherein
 it is over usual to  blanch the obscure
 places and discourse upon the plain4   
,the third is concerning the times1     
which in many cases give great light  to

 true interpretations4    ,the fourth is
 concerning some brief censure and      
judgment of the authors2  that men      
thereby may make some election unto     
themselves what books to  read4    ,and 
the fifth is concerning the syntax and  
disposition of studies2 that  men may   
know in what order or pursuit to read4  
7#b7 ,for pedantical knowledge1 it      
containeth that difference of tradition 
which is proper for youth2 whereunto    
appertain divers considerations of      
great fruit4    ,as first1 the timing   
and seasoning of knowledges2 as with    
what to  initiate them1 and from what   
for a time to refrain them4             
,secondly1 the consideration where to   
begin with the easiest1 and so  proceed 
to the more difficult2 and in what      
courses to press the more  difficult1   
and then to turn them to the more easy2 
for it is one method  to practise       
swimming with bladders1 and another to  
practise dancing with  heavy shoes4     
,a third is the application of learning 

according unto the propriety of  the    
wits2 for there is no defect in the     
faculties intellectual1 but  seemeth to 
have a proper cure contained in some    
studies3 as1 for example1  if a child be
 bird-witted1 that is1 hath not the     
faculty of attention1  the mathematics  
giveth a remedy thereunto2 for in them1 
if the wit be  caught away but a moment1
 one is new to begin4  ,and as sciences 
have a  propriety towards faculties for 
cure and help1 so faculties or powers   
have a sympathy towards sciences for    
excellency or speedy profiting3 and     
therefore it is an inquiry of great     
wisdom1 what kinds of wits and  natures 
are most apt and proper for what        
sciences4    ,fourthly1 the ordering of 
exercises is matter of great consequence
 to  hurt or help3 for1 as is well      
observed by ,cicero1 men in exercising  
their  faculties1 if they be not well   
advised1 do exercise their faults and   
get  ill habits as well as good2 so as  
there is a great judgment to be had in  

the continuance and intermission of     
exercises4  ,it were too long to        
particularise a number of other         
considerations of this nature1 things   
but  of mean appearance1 but of singular
 efficacy4  ,for as the wronging or     
cherishing of seeds or young plants is  
that that is most important to  their   
thriving1 and as it was noted that the  
first six kings being in  truth as      
tutors of the state of ,rome in the     
infancy thereof was the  principal cause
 of the immense greatness of that state 
which followed1 so  the culture and     
manurance of minds in youth hath such a 
forcible 7though  unseen7 operation1 as 
hardly any length of time or contention 
of labour  can countervail it           
afterwards4  ,and it is not amiss to    
observe also how  small and mean        
faculties gotten by education1 yet when 
they fall into  great men or great      
matters1 do work great and important    
effects3 whereof  we see a notable      
example in ,tacitus of two stage        

players1 ,percennius and  ,vibulenus1   
who by their faculty of playing put the 
,pannonian armies into  an extreme      
tumult and combustion4  ,for there      
arising a mutiny amongst  them upon the 
death of ,augustus ,csar1 ,blsus the    
lieutenant had  committed some of the   
mutineers1 which were suddenly rescued2 
whereupon  ,vibulenus got to be heard   
speak1 which he did in this             
manner3--8,these poor  innocent wretches
 appointed to cruel death1 you have     
restored to behold  the light2 but who  
shall restore my brother to me1 or life 
unto my  brother1 that was sent hither  
in message from the legions of ,germany1
 to  treat of the common cause8 and he  
hath murdered him this last night by    
some of his fencers and ruffians1 that  
he hath about him for his  executioners 
upon soldiers4  ,answer1 ,blsus1 what is
 done with his body8  ,the mortalest    
enemies do not deny burial4  ,when ,i   
have performed my last  duties to the   
corpse with kisses1 with tears1 command 

me to be slain  besides him2 so that    
these my fellows1 for our good meaning  
and our true  hearts to the legions1 may
 have leave to bury us40  ,with which   
speech he  put the army into an infinite
 fury and uproar3 whereas truth was he  
had  no brother1 neither was there any  
such matter2 but he played it merely as 
if he had been upon the stage4    7#c7  
,but to return3 we are now come to a    
period of rational knowledges2  wherein 
if ,i have made the divisions other than
 those that are received1  yet would ,i 
not be thought to disallow all those    
divisions which ,i do not  use4  ,for   
there is a double necessity imposed upon
 me of altering the  divisions4  ,the   
one1 because it differeth in end and    
purpose1 to sort  together those things 
which are next in nature1 and those     
things which  are next in use4  ,for if 
a secretary of estate should sort his   
papers1 it  is like in his study or     
general cabinet he would sort together  
things of  a nature1 as treaties1       

instructions1 c4  ,but in his boxes or  
particular  cabinet he would sort       
together those that he were like to use 
together1  though of several natures4   
,so in this general cabinet of knowledge
 it  was necessary for me to follow the 
divisions of the nature of things2      
whereas if myself had been to handle any
 particular knowledge1 ,i would  have   
respected the divisions fittest for use4
  ,the other1 because the  bringing in  
of the deficiences did by consequence   
alter the partitions of  the rest4  ,for
 let the knowledge extant 7for          
demonstration sake7 be  fifteen4  ,let  
the knowledge with the deficiences be   
twenty2 the parts of  fifteen are not   
the parts of twenty2 for the parts of   
fifteen are three  and five2 the parts  
of twenty are two1 four1 five1 and ten4 
,so as these  things are without        
contradiction1 and could not otherwise  
be4    ,,xx4 7#a7 ,we proceed now to    
that knowledge which considereth of the 
appetite and will of man3 whereof       

,solomon saith1 ,ante omnia1 fili1      
custodi cor tuum3 nam inde procedunt    
actiones vit4  ,in the handling  of this
 science1 those which have written seem 
to me to have done as if a  man1 that   
professed to teach to write1 did only   
exhibit fair copies of  alphabets and   
letters joined1 without giving any      
precepts or directions  for the carriage
 of the hand and framing of the letters4
  ,so have they  made good and fair     
exemplars and copies1 carrying the      
draughts and  portraitures of good1     
virtue1 duty1 felicity2 propounding them
 well  described as the true objects and
 scopes of man's will and desires4  ,but
  how to attain these excellent marks1  
and how to frame and subdue the will  of
 man to become true and conformable to  
these pursuits1 they pass it  over      
altogether1 or slightly and             
unprofitably4  ,for it is not the       
disputing that moral virtues are in the 
mind of man by habit and not by  nature1
 or the distinguishing that generous    

spirits are won by doctrines  and       
persuasions1 and the vulgar sort by     
reward and punishment1 and the  like    
scattered glances and touches1 that can 
excuse the absence of this  part4       
7#b7 ,the reason of this omission ,i    
suppose to be that hidden rock          
whereupon both this and many other barks
 of knowledge have been cast  away2     
which is1 that men have despised to be  
conversant in ordinary and  common      
matters1 the judicious direction whereof
 nevertheless is the  wisest doctrine   
7for life consisteth not in novelties   
nor subtleties71  but contrariwise they 
have compounded sciences chiefly of a   
certain  resplendent or lustrous mass of
 matter1 chosen to give glory either to 
the subtlety of disputatious1 or to the 
eloquence of discourses4  ,but  ,seneca 
giveth an excellent check to eloquence1 
,nocet illis eloquentia1  quibus non    
rerum cupiditatem facit1 sed sui4       
,doctrine should be such  as should make
 men in love with the lesson1 and not   

with the teacher2  being directed to the
 auditor's benefit1 and not to the      
author's  commendation4  ,and therefore 
those are of the right kind which may be
  concluded as ,demosthenes concludes   
his counsel1 ,qu si feceritis1 non      
oratorem dumtaxat in prsentia           
laudabitis1 sed vosmetipsos etiam non   
ita multo post statu rerum vestraram    
meliore4    7#c7 ,neither needed men of 
so excellent parts to have despaired of 
a  fortune1 which the poet ,virgil      
promised himself1 and indeed obtained1  
who  got as much glory of eloquence1    
wit1 and learning in the expressing of  
the observations of husbandry1 as of the
 heroical acts of neas3        8,nec sum
 animi dubius1 verbis ea vincere magnum 
,quam sit1 et angustis his addere rebus 
honorem40    ,and surely1 if the purpose
 be in good earnest1 not to write at    
leisure  that which men may read at     
leisure1 but really to instruct and     
suborn  action and active life1 these   
,georgics of the mind1 concerning the   

husbandry and tillage thereof1 are no   
less worthy than the heroical           
descriptions of virtue1 duty1 and       
felicity4  ,wherefore the main and      
primitive division of moral knowledge   
seemeth to be into the exemplar or      
platform of good1 and the regiment or   
culture of the mind3 the one  describing
 the nature of good1 the other          
prescribing rules how to subdue1  apply1
 and accommodate the will of man        
thereunto4    7#d7 ,the doctrine        
touching the platform or nature of good 
considereth it  either simple or        
compared2 either the kinds of good1 or  
the degrees of  good2 in the latter     
whereof those infinite disputatious     
which were  touching the supreme degree 
thereof1 which they term felicity1      
beatitude1  or the highest good1 the    
doctrines concerning which were as the  
heathen  divinity1 are by the ,christian
 faith discharged4  ,and as ,aristotle  
saith1  8,that young men may be happy1  
but not otherwise but by hope20 so we   

must  all acknowledge our minority1 and 
embrace the felicity which is by hope   
of the future world4    7#e7 ,freed     
therefore and delivered from this       
doctrine of the philosopher's  heaven1  
whereby they feigned a higher elevation 
of man's nature than was  7for we see in
 what height of style ,seneca writeth1  
,vere magnum1  habere fragilitatem      
hominis1 securitatem ,dei71 we may with 
more  sobriety and truth receive the    
rest of their inquiries and labours4    
,wherein for the nature of good positive
 or simple1 they have set it down       
excellently in describing the forms of  
virtue and duty1 with their  situations 
and postures2 in distributing them into 
their kinds1 parts1  provinces1 actions1
 and administrations1 and the like3 nay 
further1 they  have commended them to   
man's nature and spirit with great      
quickness of  argument and beauty of    
persuasions2 yea1 and fortified and     
entrenched  them 7as much as discourse  
can do7 against corrupt and popular     

opinions4  ,again1 for the degrees and  
comparative nature of good1 they have   
also  excellently handled it in their   
triplicity of good1 in the comparisons  
between a contemplative and an active   
life1 in the distinction between  virtue
 with reluctation and virtue secured1 in
 their encounters between  honesty and  
profit1 in their balancing of virtue    
with virtue1 and the  like2 so as this  
part deserveth to be reported for       
excellently laboured4    7#f7           
,notwithstanding1 if before they had    
come to the popular and received        
notions of virtue and vice1 pleasure and
 pain1 and the rest1 they had  stayed a 
little longer upon the inquiry          
concerning the roots of good and  evil1 
and the strings of those roots1 they had
 given1 in my opinion1 a  great light to
 that which followed2 and specially if  
they had consulted  with nature1 they   
had made their doctrines less prolix and
 more profound3  which being by them in 
part omitted and in part handled with   

much  confusion1 we will endeavour to   
resume and open in a more clear manner4 
7#g7 ,there is formed in everything a   
double nature of good--the one1 as      
everything is a total or substantive in 
itself2 the other1 as it is a  part or  
member of a greater body2 whereof the   
latter is in degree the  greater and the
 worthier1 because it tendeth to the    
conservation of a  more general form4   
,therefore we see the iron in particular
 sympathy  moveth to the loadstone2 but 
yet if it exceed a certain quantity1 it 
forsaketh the affection to the          
loadstone1 and like a good patriot      
moveth  to the earth1 which is the      
region and country of massy bodies2 so  
may we  go forward1 and see that water  
and massy bodies move to the centre of  
the  earth2 but rather than to suffer a 
divulsion in the continuance of  nature1
 they will move upwards from the centre 
of the earth1 forsaking  their duty to  
the earth in regard of their duty to the
 world4  ,this  double nature of good1  

and the comparative thereof1 is much    
more engraven  upon man1 if he          
degenerate not1 unto whom the           
conservation of duty to the  public     
ought to be much more precious than the 
conservation of life and  being2        
according to that memorable speech of   
,pompeius ,magnus1 when being  in       
commission of purveyance for a famine at
 ,rome1 and being dissuaded  with great 
vehemency and instance by his friends   
about him1 that he  should not hazard   
himself to sea in an extremity of       
weather1 he said only  to them1 ,necesse
 est ut eam1 non ut vivam4  ,but it may 
be truly  affirmed that there was never 
any philosophy1 religion1 or other      
discipline1 which did so plainly and    
highly exalt the good which is          
communicative1 and depress the good     
which is private and particular1 as  the
 ,holy ,faith2 well declaring that it   
was the same ,god that gave the         
,christian law to men1 who gave those   
laws of nature to inanimate  creatures  

that we spake of before2 for we read    
that the elected saints of  ,god have   
wished themselves anathematised and     
razed out of the book of  life1 in an   
ecstasy of charity and infinite feeling 
of communion4    7#h7 ,this being set   
down and strongly planted1 doth judge   
and determine  most of the controversies
 wherein moral philosophy is conversant4
  ,for  first1 it decideth the question 
touching the preferment of the          
contemplative or active life1 and       
decideth it against ,aristotle4  ,for   
all  the reasons which he bringeth for  
the contemplative are private1 and      
respecting the pleasure and dignity of a
 man's self 7in which respects no       
question the contemplative life hath the
 pre-eminence71 not much unlike  to that
 comparison which ,pythagoras made for  
the gracing and magnifying  of          
philosophy and contemplation1 who being 
asked what he was1 answered1  8,that if 
,hiero were ever at the ,olympian games1
 he knew the manner1 that  some came to 

try their fortune for the prizes1 and   
some came as merchants  to utter their  
commodities1 and some came to make good 
cheer and meet  their friends1 and some 
came to look on2 and that he was one of 
them that  came to look on40  ,but men  
must know1 that in this theatre of man's
 life  it is reserved only for ,god and 
angels to be lookers on4  ,neither could
  the like question ever have been      
received in the ,church1 notwithstanding
  their ,pretiosa in oculis ,domini mors
 sanctorum ejus1 by which place  they   
would exalt their civil death and       
regular professions1 but upon this      
defence1 that the monastical life is not
 simple contemplative1 but  performeth  
the duty either of incessant prayers and
 supplications1 which  hath been truly  
esteemed as an office in the ,church1 or
 else of writing  or taking instructions
 for writing concerning the law of ,god1
 as ,moses  did when he abode so long in
 the mount4  ,and so we see ,enoch1 the 
seventh  from ,adam1 who was the first  

contemplative and walked with ,god1 yet 
did  also endow the ,church with        
prophecy1 which ,saint ,jude citeth4    
,but for  contemplation which should be 
finished in itself1 without casting     
beams  upon society1 assuredly divinity 
knoweth it not4    7#i7 ,it decideth    
also the controversies between ,zeno and
 ,socrates1 and  their schools and      
successions1 on the one side1 who placed
 felicity in  virtue simply or attended1
 the actions and exercises whereof do   
chiefly  embrace and concern society2   
and on the other side1 the ,cyrenaics   
and  ,epicureans1 who placed it in      
pleasure1 and made virtue 7as it is used
 in  some comedies of errors1 wherein   
the mistress and the maid change habits7
  to be but as a servant1 without which 
pleasure cannot be served and  attended2
 and the reformed school of the         
,epicureans1 which placed it in         
serenity of mind and freedom from       
perturbation2 as if they would have     
deposed ,jupiter again1 and restored    

,saturn and the first age1 when there   
was no summer nor winter1 spring nor    
autumn1 but all after one air and       
season2 and ,herillus1 which placed     
felicity in extinguishment of the       
disputes of the mind1 making no fixed   
nature of good and evil1 esteeming      
things according to the clearness of the
 desires1 or the reluctation2  which    
opinion was revived in the heresy of the
 ,anabaptists1 measuring  things        
according to the motions of the spirit1 
and the constancy or  wavering of       
belief2 all which are manifest to tend  
to private repose and  contentment1 and 
not to point of society4    7#aj7 ,it   
censureth also the philosophy of        
,epictetus1 which presupposeth  that    
felicity must be placed in those things 
which are in our power1 lest  we be     
liable to fortune and disturbance2 as if
 it were not a thing much  more happy to
 fail in good and virtuous ends for the 
public1 than to  obtain all that we can 
wish to ourselves in our proper fortune3

 as  ,consalvo said to his soldiers1    
showing them ,naples1 and protesting he 
had  rather die one foot forwards1 than 
to have his life secured for long by    
one foot of retreat4  ,whereunto the    
wisdom of that heavenly leader hath     
signed1 who hath affirmed that 8a good  
conscience is a continual feast20       
showing plainly that the conscience of  
good intentions1 howsoever  succeeding1 
is a more continual joy to nature than  
all the provision  which can be made for
 security and repose4    7#aa7 ,it      
censureth likewise that abuse of        
philosophy which grew general  about the
 time of ,epictetus1 in converting it   
into an occupation or  profession2 as if
 the purpose had been1 not to resist and
 extinguish  perturbations1 but to fly  
and avoid the causes of them1 and to    
shape a  particular kind and course of  
life to that end2 introducing such a    
health  of mind1 as was that health of  
body of which ,aristotle speaketh of    
,herodicus1 who did nothing all his life

 long but intend his health2  whereas if
 men refer themselves to duties of      
society1 as that health of  body is best
 which is ablest to endure all          
alterations and extremities1  so        
likewise that health of mind is most    
proper which can go through the         
greatest temptations and perturbations4 
,so as ,diogenes' opinion is to be      
accepted1 who commended not them which  
abstained1 but them which  sustained1   
and could refrain their mind in         
prcipitio1 and could give  unto the mind
 7as is used in horsemanship7 the       
shortest stop or turn4    7#ab7 ,lastly1
 it censureth the tenderness and want of
 application in some  of the most       
ancient and reverend philosophers and   
philosophical men1 that  did retire too 
easily from civil business1 for avoiding
 of indignities  and perturbations2     
whereas the resolution of men truly     
moral ought to be  such as the same     
,consalvo said the honour of a soldier  
should be1 e tel  crassiore1 and not so 

fine as that everything should catch in 
it and  endanger it4    ,,xxi4 7#a7 ,to 
resume private or particular good1 it   
falleth into the  division of good      
active and passive2 for this difference 
of good 7not  unlike to that which      
amongst the ,romans was expressed in the
 familiar or  household terms of promus 
and condus7 is formed also in all       
things1  and is best disclosed in the   
two several appetites in creatures2 the 
one  to preserve or continue themselves1
 and the other to dilate or multiply    
themselves1 whereof the latter seemeth  
to be the worthier2 for in nature  the  
heavens1 which are the more worthy1 are 
the agent1 and the earth1  which is the 
less worthy1 is the patient4  ,in the   
pleasures of living  creatures1 that of 
generation is greater than that of food4
  ,in divine  doctrine1 beatius est dare
 quam accipere4  ,and in life1 there is 
no  man's spirit so soft1 but esteemeth 
the effecting of somewhat that he  hath 
fixed in his desire1 more than          

sensuality1 which priority of the       
active good is much upheld by the       
consideration of our estate to be       
mortal and exposed to fortune4  ,for if 
we might have a perpetuity and          
certainty in our pleasures1 the state of
 them would advance their price4  ,but  
when we see it is but magni stimamus    
mori tardius1 and ne  glorieris de      
crastino1 nescis partum diei1 it maketh 
us to desire to  have somewhat secured  
and exempted from time1 which are only  
our deeds  and works2 as it is said1    
,opera eorum sequuntur eos4  ,the       
pre-eminence  likewise of this active   
good is upheld by the affection which is
 natural  in man towards variety and    
proceeding1 which in the pleasures of   
the  sense1 which is the principal part 
of passive good1 can have no great      
latitude4  ,cogita quamdiu eadem        
feceris2 cibus1 somnus1 ludus per  hunc 
circulum curritur2 mori velle non tantum
 fortis1 aut miser1  aut prudens1 sed   
etiam fastidiosus potest4  ,but in      

enterprises1  pursuits1 and purposes of 
life1 there is much variety2 whereof men
 are  sensible with pleasure in their   
inceptions1 progressions1 recoils1      
reintegrations1 approaches and          
attainings to their ends4  ,so as it was
  well said1 ,vita sine proposito       
languida et vaga est4  ,neither hath    
this  active good an identity with the  
good of society1 though in some cases it
  hath an incidence into it4  ,for      
although it do many times bring forth   
acts of beneficence1 yet it is with a   
respect private to a man's own  power1  
glory1 amplification1 continuance2 as   
appeareth plainly1 when it  findeth a   
contrary subject4  ,for that gigantine  
state of mind which  possesseth the     
troublers of the world1 such as was     
,lucius ,sylla and  infinite other in   
smaller model1 who would have all men   
happy or unhappy  as they were their    
friends or enemies1 and would give form 
to the world1  according to their own   
humours 7which is the true theomachy71  

pretendeth  and aspireth to active good1
 though it recedeth furthest from good  
of  society1 which we have determined to
 be the greater4    7#b7 ,to resume     
passive good1 it receiveth a subdivision
 of conservative  and effective4  ,for  
let us take a brief review of that which
 we have  said3 we have spoken first of 
the good of society1 the intention      
whereof  embraceth the form of human    
nature1 whereof we are members and      
portions1  and not our own proper and   
individual form2 we have spoken of      
active  good1 and supposed it as a part 
of private and particular good4  ,and   
rightly1 for there is impressed upon all
 things a triple desire or  appetite    
proceeding from love to themselves3 one 
of preserving and  continuing their     
form2 another of advancing and          
perfecting their form2  and a third of  
multiplying and extending their form    
upon other things3  whereof the         
multiplying1 or signature of it upon    
other things1 is that  which we handled 

by the name of active good4  ,so as     
there remaineth the  conserving of it1  
and perfecting or raising of it1 which  
latter is the  highest degree of passive
 good4  ,for to preserve in state is the
 less1 to  preserve with advancement is 
the greater4  ,so in man1               
8,igneus est ollis vigor1 et clestis    
origo40    ,his approach or assumption  
to divine or angelical nature is the    
perfection of his form2 the error or    
false imitation of which good is  that  
which is the tempest of human life2     
while man1 upon the instinct of  an     
advancement1 formal and essential1 is   
carried to seek an advancement  local4  
,for as those which are sick1 and find  
no remedy1 do tumble up and  down and   
change place1 as if by a remove local   
they could obtain a remove  internal1 so
 is it with men in ambition1 when       
failing of the mean to  exalt their     
nature1 they are in a perpetual         
estuation to exalt their  place4  ,so   
then passive good is1 as was said1      

either conservative or  perfective4     
7#c7 ,to resume the good of conservation
 or comfort1 which consisteth in  the   
fruition of that which is agreeable to  
our natures2 it seemeth to be  most pure
 and natural of pleasures1 but yet the  
softest and lowest4  ,and  this also    
receiveth a difference1 which hath      
neither been well judged of1  nor well  
inquired2 for the good of fruition or   
contentment is placed  either in the    
sincereness of the fruition1 or in the  
quickness and vigour  of it2 the one    
superinduced by equality1 the other by  
vicissitude2 the  one having less       
mixture of evil1 the other more         
impression of good4  ,whether of these  
is the greater good is a question       
controverted2 but  whether man's nature 
may not be capable of both is a question
 not  inquired4    7#d7 ,the former     
question being debated between ,socrates
 and a sophist1  ,socrates placing      
felicity in an equal and constant peace 
of mind1 and the  sophist in much       

desiring and much enjoying1 they fell   
from argument to  ill words3 the sophist
 saying that ,socrates' felicity was the
 felicity of  a block or stone2 and     
,socrates saying that the sophist's     
felicity was the  felicity of one that  
had the itch1 who did nothing but itch  
and scratch4  ,and both these opinions  
do not want their supports4  ,for the   
opinion of  ,socrates is much upheld by 
the general consent even of the epicures
  themselves1 that virtue beareth a     
great part in felicity2 and if so1      
certain it is1 that virtue hath more use
 in clearing perturbations then  in     
compassing desires4  ,the sophist's     
opinion is much favoured by the         
assertion we last spake of1 that good of
 advancement is greater than good  of   
simple preservation2 because every      
obtaining a desire hath a show of       
advancement1 as motion though in a      
circle hath a show of progression4      
7#e7 ,but the second question1 decided  
the true way1 maketh the former         

superfluous4  ,for can it be doubted1   
but that there are some who take  more  
pleasure in enjoying pleasures than some
 other1 and yet1  nevertheless1 are less
 troubled with the loss or leaving of   
them8  ,so as  this same1 ,non uti ut   
non appetas1 non appetere ut non metuas1
 sunt  animi pusilli et diffidentis4    
,and it seemeth to me that most of the  
doctrines of the philosophers are more  
fearful and cautious than the  nature of
 things requireth4  ,so have they       
increased the fear of death in  offering
 to cure it4  ,for when they would have 
a man's whole life to be  but a         
discipline or preparation to die1 they  
must needs make men think  that it is a 
terrible enemy1 against whom there is no
 end of preparing4  ,better saith the   
poet3--        8,qui finem vit extremum 
inter munera ponat      ,natur40    ,so 
have they sought to make men's minds too
 uniform and harmonical1 by  not        
breaking them sufficiently to contrary  
motions2 the reasons whereof ,i  suppose

 to be1 because they themselves were men
 dedicated to a private1  free1 and     
unapplied course of life4  ,for as we   
see1 upon the lute or like  instrument1 
a ground1 though it be sweet and have   
show of many changes1  yet breaketh not 
the hand to such strange and hard stops 
and passages1 as  a set song or         
voluntary2 much after the same manner   
was the diversity  between a            
philosophical and civil life4  ,and1    
therefore1 men are to  imitate the      
wisdom of jewellers3 who1 if there be a 
grain1 or a cloud1 or  an ice which may 
be ground forth without taking too much 
of the stone1  they help it2 but if it  
should lessen and abate the stone too   
much1 they  will not meddle with it3 so 
ought men so to procure serenity as they
  destroy not magnanimity4    7#f7      
,having therefore deduced the good of   
man which is private and  particular1 as
 far as seemeth fit1 we will now return 
to that good of man  which respecteth   
and beholdeth society1 which we may term

 duty2 because  the term of duty is more
 proper to a mind well framed and       
disposed  towards others1 as the term of
 virtue is applied to a mind well formed
  and composed in itself2 though neither
 can a man understand virtue  without   
some relation to society1 nor duty      
without an inward disposition4  ,this   
part may seem at first to pertain to    
science civil and politic2 but  not if  
it be well observed4  ,for it concerneth
 the regiment and  government of every  
man over himself1 and not over others4  
,and as in  architecture the direction  
of framing the posts1 beams1 and other  
parts  of building1 is not the same with
 the manner of joining them and erecting
  the building2 and in mechanicals1 the 
direction how to frame an  instrument or
 engine is not the same with the manner 
of setting it on  work and employing it2
 and yet1 nevertheless1 in expressing of
 the one  you incidently express the    
aptness towards the other2 so the       
doctrine of  conjugation of men in      

society differeth from that of their    
conformity  thereunto4    7#g7 ,this    
part of duty is subdivided into two     
parts3 the common duty of  every man1 as
 a man or member of a state2 the other1 
the respective or  special duty of every
 man in his profession1 vocation1 and   
place4  ,the  first of these is extant  
and well laboured1 as hath been said4   
,the  second likewise ,i may report     
rather dispersed than deficient2 which  
manner of dispersed writing in this kind
 of argument ,i acknowledge to be  best4
  ,for who can take upon him to write of
 the proper duty1 virtue1  challenge1   
and right of every several vocation1    
profession1 and place8  ,for although   
sometimes a looker on may see more than 
a gamester1 and  there be a proverb more
 arrogant than sound1 8,that the vale   
best  discovereth the hill20 yet there  
is small doubt but that men can write   
best and most really and materially in  
their own professions2 and that  the    
writing of speculative men of active    

matter for the most part doth  seem to  
men of experience1 as ,phormio's        
argument of the wars seemed to          
,hannibal1 to be but dreams and dotage4 
,only there is one vice which           
accompanieth them that write in their   
own professions1 that they magnify  them
 in excess4  ,but generally it were to  
be wished 7as that which would  make    
learning indeed solid and fruitful7 that
 active men would or could  become      
writers4    7#h7 ,in which kind ,i      
cannot but mention1 honoris causa1 your 
,majesty's  excellent book touching the 
duty of a king2 a work richly compounded
 of  divinity1 morality1 and policy1    
with great aspersion of all other arts2 
and being in some opinion one of the    
most sound and healthful writings  that 
,i have read3 not distempered in the    
heat of invention1 nor in the  coldness 
of negligence2 not sick of dizziness1 as
 those are who leese  themselves in     
their order1 nor of convulsions1 as     
those which cramp in  matters           

impertinent2 not savouring of perfumes  
and paintings1 as those do  who seek to 
please the reader more than nature      
beareth2 and chiefly well  disposed in  
the spirits thereof1 being agreeable to 
truth and apt for  action2 and far      
removed from that natural infirmity1    
whereunto ,i noted  those that write in 
their own professions to be             
subject--which is1 that  they exalt it  
above measure4  ,for your ,majesty hath 
truly described1 not  a king of ,assyria
 or ,persia in their extern glory1 but a
 ,moses or a  ,david1 pastors of their  
people4  ,neither can ,i ever leese out 
of my  remembrance what ,i heard your   
,majesty in the same sacred spirit of   
government deliver in a great cause of  
judicature1 which was1 8,that kings     
ruled by their laws1 as ,god did by the 
laws of nature2 and ought as  rarely to 
put in use their supreme prerogative as 
,god doth ,his power of  working        
miracles40  ,and yet notwithstanding in 
your book of a free  monarchy1 you do   

well give men to understand1 that you   
know the plenitude  of the power and    
right of a king1 as well as the circle  
of his office and  duty4  ,thus have ,i 
presumed to allege this excellent       
writing of your  ,majesty1 as a prime or
 eminent example of tractates concerning
 special  and respective duties2 wherein
 ,i should have said as much1 if it had 
been  written a thousand years since4   
,neither am ,i moved with certain       
courtly  decencies1 which esteem it     
flattery to praise in presence4  ,no1 it
 is  flattery to praise in absence--that
 is1 when either the virtue is absent1  
or the occasion is absent2 and so the   
praise is not natural1 but forced1      
either in truth or in time4  ,but let   
,cicero be read in his oration pro      
,marcello1 which is nothing but an      
excellent table of ,csar's virtue1 and  
made to his face2 besides the example of
 many other excellent persons1  wiser a 
great deal than such observers2 and we  
will never doubt1 upon a  full occasion1

 to give just praises to present or     
absent4    7#i7 ,but to return2 there   
belongeth further to the handling of    
this part1  touching the duties of      
professions and vocations1 a relative or
 opposite1  touching the frauds1        
cautels1 impostures1 and vices of every 
profession1  which hath been likewise   
handled2 but how8 rather in a satire and
  cynically1 than seriously and wisely2 
for men have rather sought by wit  to   
deride and traduce much of that which is
 good in professions1 than  with        
judgment to discover and sever that     
which is corrupt4  ,for1 as  ,solomon   
saith1 he that cometh to seek after     
knowledge with a mind to  scorn and     
censure shall be sure to find matter for
 his humour1 but no  matter for his     
instruction3 ,qurenti derisori scientiam
 ipsa se  abscondit2 sed studioso fit   
obviam4  ,but the managing of this      
argument  with integrity and truth1     
which ,i note as deficient1 seemeth to  
me to be  one of the best fortifications

 for honesty and virtue that can be     
planted4  ,for1 as the fable goeth of   
the basilisk--that if he see you  first1
 you die for it2 but if you see him     
first1 he dieth--so is it with  deceits 
and evil arts1 which1 if they be first  
espied they leese their  life2 but if   
they prevent1 they endanger4  ,so that  
we are much beholden  to ,machiavel and 
others1 that write what men do1 and not 
what they ought  to do4  ,for it is not 
possible to join serpentine wisdom with 
the  columbine innocency1 except men    
know exactly all the conditions of the  
serpent2 his baseness and going upon his
 belly1 his volubility and  lubricity1  
his envy and sting1 and the rest--that  
is1 all forms and  natures of evil4     
,for without this1 virtue lieth open and
 unfenced4  ,nay1  an honest man can do 
no good upon those that are wicked1 to  
reclaim them1  without the help of the  
knowledge of evil4  ,for men of         
corrupted minds  presuppose that honesty
 groweth out of simplicity of manners1  

and  believing of preachers1            
schoolmasters1 and men's exterior       
language4  ,so  as1 except you can make 
them perceive that you know the utmost  
reaches of  their own corrupt opinions1 
they despise all morality4  ,non recipit
  stultus verba prudenti1 nisi ea       
dixeris qu1 versantur in corde  ejus4   
7#aj7 ,unto this part1 touching         
respective duty1 doth also appertain the
  duties between husband and wife1      
parent and child1 master and servant4   
,so likewise the laws of friendship and 
gratitude1 the civil bond of  companies1
 colleges1 and politic bodies1 of       
neighbourhood1 and all other            
proportionate duties2 not as they are   
parts of government and society1  but as
 to the framing of the mind of          
particular persons4    7#aa7 ,the       
knowledge concerning good respecting    
society doth handle it  also1 not simply
 alone1 but comparatively2 whereunto    
belongeth the  weighing of duties       
between person and person1 case and     

case1 particular  and public4  ,as we   
see in the proceeding of ,lucius ,brutus
 against his own  sons1 which was so    
much extolled1 yet what was said8       
8,infelix1 utcunque ferent ea fata      
minores40    ,so the case was doubtful1 
and had opinion on both sides4  ,again1 
we see  when ,m4 ,brutus and ,cassius   
invited to a supper certain whose       
opinions  they meant to feel1 whether   
they were fit to be made their          
associates1  and cast forth the question
 touching the killing of a tyrant being 
a  usurper1 they were divided in        
opinion2 some holding that servitude was
  the extreme of evils1 and others that 
tyranny was better than a civil  war3   
and a number of the like cases there are
 of comparative duty4  ,amongst which   
that of all others is the most frequent1
 where the question  is of a great deal 
of good to ensue of a small injustice4  
,which ,jason of  ,thessalia determined 
against the truth3 ,aliqua sunt injuste 
facienda1  ut multa juste fieri possint4

  ,but the reply is good3 ,auctorem     
prsentis justiti habes1 sponsorem futur 
non habes4  ,men must pursue  things    
which are just in present1 and leave the
 future to the ,divine  ,providence4    
,so then we pass on from this general   
part touching the  exemplar and         
description of good4    ,,xxii4 7#a7    
,now1 therefore1 that we have spoken of 
this fruit of life1 it  remaineth to    
speak of the husbandry that belongeth   
thereunto1 without  which part the      
former seemeth to be no better than a   
fair image or  statue1 which is         
beautiful to contemplate1 but is without
 life and  motion2 whereunto ,aristotle 
himself subscribeth in these words3     
,necesse  est scilicet de virtute       
dicere1 et quid sit1 et ex quibus       
gignatur4  ,inutile enum fere fuerit    
virtutem quidem nosse1 acquirend autem  
ejus  modos et vias ignorare4  ,non enum
 de virtute tantum1 qua specie sit1     
qurendum est1 sed et quomodo sui copiam 
faciat3 utrumque enum  volumeus1 et rem 

ipsam nosse1 et ejus compotes fieri3 hoc
 autem ex  voto non succedet1 nisi      
sciamus et ex quibus et quomodo4  ,in   
such full  words and with such iteration
 doth he inculcate this part4  ,so saith
  ,cicero in great commendation of ,cato
 the second1 that he had applied        
himself to philosophy1 ,non ita         
disputandi causa1 sed ita vivendi4  ,and
 although the neglect of our times1     
wherein few men do hold any             
consultations touching the reformation  
of their life 7as ,seneca  excellently  
saith1 ,de partibus vit quisque         
deliberat1 de summa  nemo71 may make    
this part seem superfluous2 yet ,i must 
conclude with  that aphorism of         
,hippocrates1 ,qui gravi morbo correpti 
dolores non  sentiunt1 iis mens grotat4 
,they need medicine1 not only to assuage
  the disease1 but to awake the sense4  
,and if it be said that the cure of     
men's minds belongeth to sacred         
divinity1 it is most true2 but yet moral
  philosophy may be preferred unto her  

as a wise servant and humble  handmaid4 
,for as the ,psalm saith1 8,that the    
eyes of the handmaid look  perpetually  
towards the mistress10 and yet no doubt 
many things are left  to the discretion 
of the handmaid to discern of the       
mistress' will2 so  ought moral         
philosophy to give a constant attention 
to the doctrines of  divinity1 and yet  
so as it may yield of herself 7within   
due limits7 many  sound and profitable  
directions4    7#b7 ,this part1         
therefore1 because of the excellency    
thereof1 ,i cannot but  find exceeding  
strange that it is not reduced to       
written inquiry2 the  rather1 because it
 consisteth of much matter1 wherein both
 speech and  action is often conversant2
 and such wherein the common talk of men
  7which is rare1 but yet cometh        
sometimes to pass7 is wiser than their  
books4  ,it is reasonable1 therefore1   
that we propound it in the more         
particularity1 both for the worthiness1 
and because we may acquit  ourselves for

 reporting it deficient1 which seemeth  
almost incredible1  and is otherwise    
conceived and presupposed by those      
themselves that have  written4  ,we     
will1 therefore1 enumerate some heads or
 points thereof1  that it may appear the
 better what it is1 and whether it be   
extant4    7#c7 ,first1 therefore1 in   
this1 as in all things which are        
practical we  ought to cast up our      
account1 what is in our power1 and what 
not2 for the  one may be dealt with by  
way of alteration1 but the other by way 
of  application only4  ,the husbandman  
cannot command neither the nature of    
the earth nor the seasons of the        
weather2 no more can the physician the  
constitution of the patient nor the     
variety of accidents4  ,so in the       
culture and cure of the mind of man1 two
 things are without our command3  points
 of ,nature1 and points of fortune4     
,for to the basis of the one1  and the  
conditions of the other1 our work is    
limited and tied4  ,in these  things1   

therefore1 it is left unto us to proceed
 by application3--        8,vincenda est
 omnis fertuna ferendo30    and so      
likewise1        8,vincenda est omnis   
,natura ferendo40    ,but when that we  
speak of suffering1 we do not speak of a
 dull and  neglected suffering1 but of a
 wise and industrious suffering1 which  
draweth and contriveth use and advantage
 out of that which seemeth  adverse and 
contrary2 which is that properly which  
we call accommodating  or applying4     
,now the wisdom of application resteth  
principally in the  exact and distinct  
knowledge of the precedent state or     
disposition1 unto  which we do apply2   
for we cannot fit a garment except we   
first take  measure of the body4    7#d7
 ,so1 then1 the first article of this   
knowledge is to set down sound  and true
 distributions and descriptions of the  
several characters and  tempers of men's
 natures and dispositions1 specially    
having regard to  those differences     
which are most radical in being the     

fountains and  causes of the rest1 or   
most frequent in concurrence or         
commixture2  wherein it is not the      
handling of a few of them in passage1   
the better to  describe the mediocrities
 of virtues1 that can satisfy this      
intention4  ,for if it deserve to be    
considered1 that there are minds which  
are  proportioned to great matters1 and 
others to small 7which ,aristotle       
handleth1 or ought to have bandied1 by  
the name of magnanimity71 doth it  not  
deserve as well to be considered that   
there are minds proportioned to  intend 
many matters1 and others to few8  ,so   
that some can divide  themselves3 others
 can perchance do exactly well1 but it  
must be but in  few things at once2 and 
so there cometh to be a narrowness of   
mind1 as  well as a pusillanimity4  ,and
 again1 that some minds are proportioned
 to  that which may be dispatched at    
once1 or within a short return of time2 
others to that which begins afar off1   
and is to be won with length of         

pursuit3--        8,jam tum tenditqus   
fovetque40    ,so that there may be     
fitly said to be a longanimity1 which is
 commonly  also ascribed to ,god as a   
magnanimity4  ,so further deserved it to
 be  considered by ,aristotle1 8,that   
there is a disposition in conversation  
7supposing it in things which do in no  
sort touch or concern a man's  self7 to 
soothe and please1 and a disposition    
contrary to contradict and  cross20 and 
deserveth it not much better to be      
considered4  8,that there  is a         
disposition1 not in conversation or     
talk1 but in matter of more  serious    
nature 7and supposing it still in things
 merely indifferent71 to  take pleasure 
in the good of another2 and a           
disposition contrariwise1 to  take      
distaste at the good of another80 which 
is that properly which we  call good    
nature or ill nature1 benignity or      
malignity2 and1 therefore1 ,i  cannot   
sufficiently marvel that this part of   
knowledge1 touching the  several        

characters of natures and dispositions1 
should be omitted both in  morality and 
policy1 considering it is of so great   
ministry and  suppeditation to them     
both4  ,a man shall find in the         
traditions of  astrology some pretty and
 apt divisions of men's natures1        
according to  the predominances of the  
planets3 lovers of quiet1 lovers of     
action1  lovers of victory1 lovers of   
honour1 lovers of pleasure1 lovers of   
arts1  lovers of change1 and so forth4  
,a man shall find in the wisest sort of 
these relations which the ,italians make
 touching conclaves1 the natures  of the
 several cardinals handsomely and lively
 painted forth4  ,a man  shall meet with
 in every day's conference the          
denominations of sensitive1  dry1       
formal1 real1 humorous1 certain1 huomo  
di prima impressione1  huomo di ultima  
impressione1 and the like2 and yet1     
nevertheless1 this  kind of observations
 wandereth in words1 but is not fixed in
 inquiry4  ,for the distinctions are    

found 7many of them71 but we conclude no
  precepts upon them3 wherein our fault 
is the greater1 because both  history1  
poesy1 and daily experience are as      
goodly fields where these  observations 
grow2 whereof we make a few posies to   
hold in our hands1 but  no man bringeth 
them to the confectionary that receipts 
might be made of  them for use of life4 
7#e7 ,of much like kind are those       
impressions of ,nature1 which are       
imposed  upon the mind by the sex1 by   
the age1 by the region1 by health and   
sickness1 by beauty and deformity1 and  
the like1 which are inherent and  not   
extern2 and again1 those which are      
caused by extern fortune1 as            
sovereignty1 nobility1 obscure birth1   
riches1 want1 magistracy1  privateness1 
prosperity1 adversity1 constant fortune1
 variable fortune1  rising per saltum1  
per gradus1 and the like4  ,and1        
therefore1 we see  that ,plautus maketh 
it a wonder to see an old man           
beneficent1 benignitas  hujis ut        

adolescentuli est4  ,saint ,paul        
concludeth that severity of  discipline 
was to be used to the ,cretans1 increpa 
eos dure1 upon the  disposition of their
 country1 ,cretensus semper mendaces1   
mal besti1  ventres4  ,sallust noteth   
that it is usual with kings to desire   
contradictories3 ,sed plerumque regi    
voluntates1 ut vehementes sunt1  sic    
mobiles1 speque ips sibi advers4        
,tacitus observeth how rarely  raising  
of the fortune mendeth the disposition3 
solus ,vespasianus  mutatus in melius4  
,pindarus maketh an observation1 that   
great and  sudden fortune for the most  
part defeateth men qui magnam           
felicitatem  concoquere non possunt4    
,so the ,psalm showeth it is more easy  
to keep a  measure in the enjoying of   
fortune1 than in the increase of        
fortune2  ,diviti si affluant1 nolite   
cor apponere4  ,these observations and  
the  like ,i deny not but are touched a 
little by ,aristotle as in passage in   
his ,rhetorics1 and are handled in some 

scattered discourses2 but they  were    
never incorporate into moral philosophy1
 to which they do  essentially          
appertain2 as the knowledge of this     
diversity of grounds and  moulds doth to
 agriculture1 and the knowledge of the  
diversity of  complexions and           
constitutions doth to the physician1    
except we mean to  follow the           
indiscretion of empirics1 which minister
 the same medicines to  all patients4   
7#f7 ,another article of this knowledge 
is the inquiry touching the  affections2
 for as in medicining of the body1 it is
 in order first to  know the divers     
complexions and constitutions2 secondly1
 the diseases2  and lastly1 the cures3  
so in medicining of the mind1 after     
knowledge of  the divers characters of  
men's natures1 it followeth in order to 
know the  diseases and infirmities of   
the mind1 which are no other than the   
perturbations and distempars of the     
affections4  ,for as the ancient        
politiques in popular estates were wont 

to compare the people to the sea1  and  
the orators to the winds2 because as the
 sea would of itself be calm  and quiet1
 if the winds did not move and trouble  
it2 so the people would  be peaceable   
and tractable if the seditious orators  
did not set them in  working and        
agitation3 so it may be fitly said1 that
 the mind in the  nature thereof would  
be temperate and stayed1 if the         
affections1 as  winds1 did not put it   
into tumult and perturbation4  ,and here
 again ,i  find strange1 as before1 that
 ,aristotle should have written divers  
volumes of ,ethics1 and never handled   
the affections which is the  principal  
subject thereof2 and yet in his         
,rhetorics1 where they are  considered  
but collaterally and in a second degree 
7as they may be moved  by speech71 he   
findeth place for them1 and handleth    
them well for the  quantity2 but where  
their true place is he pretermitteth    
them4  ,for it is  not his disputations 
about pleasure and pain that can satisfy

 this  inquiry1 no more than he that    
should generally handle the nature of   
light  can be said to handle the nature 
of colours2 for pleasure and pain are to
  the particular affections as light is 
to particular colours4  ,better         
travails1 ,i suppose1 had the ,stoics   
taken in this argument1 as far as ,i    
can gather by that which we have at     
second hand4  ,but yet it is like it    
was after their manner1 rather in       
subtlety of definitions 7which in a     
subject of this nature are but          
curiosities71 than in active and ample  
descriptions and observations4  ,so     
likewise ,i find some particular        
writings of an elegant nature1 touching 
some of the affections3 as of  anger1 of
 comfort upon adverse accidents1 of     
tenderness of countenance1  and other4  
,but the poets and writers of histories 
are the best doctors  of this knowledge2
 where we may find painted forth1 with  
great life1 how  affections are kindled 
and incited2 and how pacified and       

refrained2 and  how again contained from
 act and further degree2 how they       
disclose  themselves2 how they work2 how
 they vary2 how they gather and fortify3
  how they are enwrapped one within     
another2 and how they do fight and      
encounter one with another2 and other   
the like particularities4  ,amongst  the
 which this last is of special use in   
moral and civil matters2 how1 ,i  say1  
to set affection against affection1 and 
to master one by another2  even as we   
used to hunt beast with beast1 and fly  
bird with bird1 which  otherwise percase
 we could not so easily recover3 upon   
which foundation  is erected that       
excellent use of prmium and pna1 whereby
 civil  states consist3 employing the   
predominant affections of fear and hope1
  for the suppressing and bridling the  
rest4  ,for as in the government of     
states it is sometimes necessary to     
bridle one faction with another1 so  it 
is in the government within4    7#g7    
,now come we to those points which are  

within our own command1 and  have force 
and operation upon the mind1 to affect  
the will and appetite1  and to alter    
manners3 wherein they ought to have     
handled custom1  exercise1 habit1       
education1 example1 imitation1          
emulation1 company1  friends1 praise1   
reproof1 exhortation1 fame1 laws1 books1
 studies3 these  as they have           
determinate use in moralities1 from     
these the mind  suffereth1 and of these 
are such receipts and regiments         
compounded and  described1 as may serve 
to recover or preserve the health and   
good estate  of the mind1 as far as     
pertaineth to human medicine3 of which  
number we  will insist upon some one or 
two1 as an example of the rest1 because 
it  were too long to prosecute all2 and 
therefore we do resume custom and  habit
 to speak of4    7#h7 ,the opinion of   
,aristotle seemeth to me a negligent    
opinion1 that of  those things which    
consist by ,nature1 nothing can be      
changed by custom2  using for example1  

that if a stone be thrown ten thousand  
times up it  will not learn to ascend2  
and that by often seeing or hearing we  
do not  learn to see or hear the better4
  ,for though this principle be true in 
things wherein ,nature is peremptory    
7the reason whereof we cannot now  stand
 to discuss71 yet it is otherwise in    
things wherein ,nature admitteth  a     
latitude4  ,for he might see that a     
strait glove will come more easily  on  
with use2 and that a wand will by use   
bend otherwise than it grew2 and  that  
by use of the voice we speak louder and 
stronger2 and that by use of  enduring  
heat or cold we endure it the better1   
and the like3 which latter  sort have a 
nearer resemblance unto that subject of 
manners he handleth1  than those        
instances which he allegeth4  ,but      
allowing his conclusion1  that virtues  
and vices consist in habit1 he ought so 
much the more to  have taught the manner
 of superinducing that habit3 for there 
be many  precepts of the wise ordering  

the exercises of the mind1 as there is  
of  ordering the exercises of the body1 
whereof we will recite a few4    7#i7   
,the first shall be1 that we beware we  
take not at the first either  too high a
 strain or too weak3 for if too high1 in
 a diffident nature you  discourage1 in 
a confident nature you breed an opinion 
of facility1 and  so a sloth2 and in all
 natures you breed a further expectation
 than can  hold out1 and so an          
insatisfaction in the end3 if too weak1 
of the other  side1 you may not look to 
perform and overcome any great task4    
7#aj7 ,another precept is to practise   
all things chiefly at two several       
times1 the one when the mind is best    
disposed1 the other when it is worst    
disposed2 that by the one you may gain a
 great step1 by the other you may  work 
out the knots and stonds of the mind1   
and make the middle times the  more easy
 and pleasant4    7#aa7 ,another precept
 is that which ,aristotle mentioneth by 
the way1 which  is to bear ever towards 

the contrary extreme of that whereunto  
we are by  nature inclined2 like unto   
the rowing against the stream1 or making
 a  wand straight by bending him        
contrary to his natural crookedness4    
7#ab7 ,another precept is that the mind 
is brought to anything better1 and  with
 more sweetness and happiness1 if that  
whereunto you pretend be not  first in  
the intention1 but tanquam aliud agendo1
 because of the  natural hatred of the  
mind against necessity and constraint4  
,many other  axioms there are touching  
the managing of exercise and custom1    
which  being so conducted doth prove    
indeed another nature2 but1 being       
governed  by chance1 doth commonly prove
 but an ape of ,nature1 and bringeth    
forth  that which is lame and           
counterfeit4    7#ac7 ,so if we should  
handle books and studies1 and what      
influence and  operation they have upon 
manners1 are there not divers precepts  
of great  caution and direction         
appertaining thereunto8  ,did not one of

 the fathers  in great indignation call 
poesy vinum dmonum1 because it          
increaseth  temptations1 perturbations1 
and vain opinions8  ,is not the opinion 
of  ,aristotle worthy to be regarded1   
wherein he saith1 8,that young men are  
no  fit auditors of moral philosophy1   
because they are not settled from the   
boiling heat of their affections1 nor   
attempered with time and  experience08  
,and doth it not hereof come1 that those
 excellent books and  discourses of the 
ancient writers 7whereby they have      
persuaded unto  virtue most effectually1
 by representing her in state and       
majesty1 and  popular opinions against  
virtue in their parasites' coats fit to 
be  scorned and derided71 are of so     
little effect towards honesty of life1  
because they are not read and revolved  
by men in their mature and settled      
years1 but confined almost to boys and  
beginners8  ,but is it not true  also1  
that much less young men are fit        
auditors of matters of policy1  till    

they have been thoroughly seasoned in   
religion and morality2 lest  their      
judgments be corrupted1 and made apt to 
think that there are no  true           
differences of things1 but according to 
utility and fortune1 as the  verse      
describes it1 ,prosperum et felix scelus
 virtus vocatur2 and  again1 ,ille      
crucem pretium sceleris tulit1 hic      
diadema3 which the  poets do speak      
satirically and in indignation on       
virtue's behalf2 but  books of policy do
 speak it seriously and positively2 for 
so it pleaseth  ,machiavel to say1      
8,that if ,csar had been overthrown1 he 
would have been  more odious than ever  
was ,catiline20 as if there had been no 
difference1  but in fortune1 between a  
very fury of lust and blood1 and the    
most  excellent spirit 7his ambition    
reserved7 of the world8  ,again1 is     
there  not a caution likewise to be     
given of the doctrines of moralities    
themselves 7some kinds of them71 lest   
they make men too precise1  arrogant1   

incompatible2 as ,cicero saith of ,cato1
 ,in ,marco ,catone hc  bona qu videmus 
divina et egregia1 ipsius scitote esse  
propria2 qu  nonunquam requirimus ea    
sunt omnia non a natura1 sed a magistro8
  ,many  other axioms and advices there 
are touching those proprieties and      
effects1 which studies do infuse and    
instil into manners4  ,and so1          
likewise1 is there touching the use of  
all those other points1 of  company1    
fame1 laws1 and the rest1 which we      
recited in the beginning in  the        
doctrine of morality4    7#ad7 ,but     
there is a kind of culture of the mind  
that seemeth yet more  accurate and     
elaborate than the rest1 and is built   
upon this ground2 that  the minds of all
 men are at some times in a state more  
perfect1 and at  other times in a state 
more depraved4  ,the purpose1 therefore1
 of this  practice is to fix and cherish
 the good hours of the mind1 and to     
obliterate and take forth the evil4     
,the fixing of the good hath been       

practised by two means1 vows or constant
 resolutions1 and observances or        
exercises2 which are not to be regarded 
so much in themselves1 as because  they 
keep the mind in continual obedience4   
,the obliteration of the evil  hath been
 practised by two means1 some kind of   
redemption or expiation of  that which  
is past1 and an inception or account de 
novo for the time to  come4  ,but this  
part seemeth sacred and religious1 and  
justly2 for all  good moral philosophy  
7as was said7 is but a handmaid to      
religion4    7#ae7 ,wherefore we will   
conclude with that last point1 which is 
of all  other means the most compendious
 and summary1 and again1 the most noble 
and effectual to the reducing of the    
mind unto virtue and good estate2  which
 is1 the electing and propounding unto a
 man's self good and  virtuous ends of  
his life1 such as may be in a reasonable
 sort within his  compass to attain4    
,for if these two things be supposed1   
that a man set  before him honest and   

good ends1 and again1 that he be        
resolute1  constant1 and true unto them2
 it will follow that he shall mould     
himself  into all virtue at once4  ,and 
this indeed is like the work of nature2 
whereas the other course is like the    
work of the hand4  ,for as when a       
carver makes an image1 he shapes only   
that part whereupon he worketh2 as  if  
he be upon the face1 that part which    
shall be the body is but a rude  stone  
still1 till such times as he comes to   
it4  ,but contrariwise when  nature     
makes a flower or living creature1 she  
formeth rudiments of all  the parts at  
one time4  ,so in obtaining virtue by   
habit1 while a man  practiseth          
temperance1 he doth not profit much to  
fortitude1 nor the like  but when he    
dedicateth and applieth himself to good 
ends1 look1 what  virtue soever the     
pursuit and passage towards those ends  
doth commend  unto him1 he is invested  
of a precedent disposition to conform   
himself  thereunto4  ,which state of    

mind ,aristotle doth excellently express
  himself1 that it ought not to be      
called virtuous1 but divine4  ,his words
  are these3 ,immanitati autem          
consentaneum est opponere eam1 qu supra 
humanitatem est1 heroicam sive divinam  
virtutem2 and a little after1  ,nam ut  
fer neque vitium neque virtus est1 swic 
neque ,dei3 sed hic  quidem status      
altius quiddam virtute est1 ille aluid  
quiddam a vitio4  ,and therefore we may 
see what celsitude of honour ,plinius   
,secundus  attributeth to ,trajan in his
 funeral oration1 where he said1 8,that 
men  needed to make no other prayers to 
the gods1 but that they would continue  
as good lords to them as ,trajan had    
been20 as if he had not been only an    
imitation of divine nature1 but a       
pattern of it4  ,but these be heathen   
and profane passages1 having but a      
shadow of that divine state of mind1    
which religion and the holy faith doth  
conduct men unto1 by imprinting  upon   
their souls charity1 which is           

excellently called the bond of          
perfection1 because it comprehendeth and
 fasteneth all virtues together4  ,and  
as it is elegantly said by ,menander of 
vain love1 which is but a  false        
imitation of divine love1 ,amor melior  
,sophista lvo ad humanam  vitam--that   
love teacheth a man to carry himself    
better than the sophist  or preceptor2  
which he calleth left-handed1 because1  
with all his rules  and preceptions1 he 
cannot form a man so dexterously1 nor   
with that  facility to prize himself and
 govern himself1 as love can do3 so     
certainly1 if a man's mind be truly     
inflamed with charity1 it doth work  him
 suddenly into greater perfection than  
all the doctrine of morality  can do1   
which is but a sophist in comparison of 
the other4  ,nay1 further1  as ,xenophon
 observed truly1 that all other         
affections1 though they raise  the mind1
 yet they do it by distorting and       
uncomeliness of ecstasies or  excesses2 
but only love doth exalt the mind1 and  

nevertheless at the same  instant doth  
settle and compose it3 so in all other  
excellences1 though  they advance       
nature1 yet they are subject to excess4 
,only charity  admitteth no excess4     
,for so we see1 aspiring to be like ,god
 in power1  the angels transgressed and 
fell2 ,ascendam1 et ero similis         
altissimo3  by aspiring to be like ,god 
in knowledge1 man transgressed and fell2
  ,eritis sicut ,dii1 scientes bonum et 
malum3 but by aspiring to a  similitude 
of ,god in goodness or love1 neither man
 nor angel ever  transgressed1 or shall 
transgress4  ,for unto that imitation we
 are  called3 ,diligite inimicos        
vestros1 benefacite eis qui oderunt vos1
  et orate pro persequentibus et        
calumniantibus vos1 ut sitis filii      
,patris vestri qui in clis est1 qui     
solem suum oriri facit super bonos  et  
malos1 et pluit super justos et         
injustos4  ,so in the first platform  of
 the divine nature itself1 the heathen  
religion speaketh thus1 ,optimus        

,maximus3 and the sacred ,scriptures    
thus1 ,miscericordia ejus super omnia   
opera ejus4    7#af7 ,wherefore ,i do   
conclude this part of moral knowledge1  
concerning the  culture and regiment of 
the mind2 wherein if any man1           
considering the  arts thereof which ,i  
have enumerated1 do judge that my labour
 is but to  collect into an art or      
science that which hath been            
pretermitted by  others1 as matter of   
common sense and experience1 he judgeth 
well4  ,but  as ,philocrates sported    
with ,demosthenes1 8,you may not marvel 
7,athenians7  that ,demosthenes and ,i  
do differ2 for he drinketh water1 and ,i
 drink  wine20 and like as we read of an
 ancient parable of the two gates of    
sleep--        8,sunt gemin somni port3 
quarum altera fertur      ,cornea1 qua  
veris facilis datur exitus umbris3      
,altera candenti perfecta nitens        
elephanto1      ,sed falsa ad clum      
mittunt insomnia manes30    so if we put
 on sobriety and attention1 we shall    

find it a sure maxim in  knowledge1 that
 the more pleasant liquor 78of wine07 is
 the more  vaporous1 and the braver gate
 78of ivory07 sendeth forth the falser  
dreams4    7#ag7 ,but we have now       
concluded that general part of human    
philosophy1  which contemplateth man    
segregate1 and as he consisteth of body 
and  spirit4  ,wherein we may further   
note1 that there seemeth to be a        
relation  or conformity between the good
 of the mind and the good of the body4  
,for  as we divided the good of the body
 into health1 beauty1 strength1 and     
pleasure1 so the good of the mind1      
inquired in rational and moral          
knowledges1 tendeth to this1 to make the
 mind sound1 and without  perturbation2 
beautiful1 and graced with decency2 and 
strong and agile  for all duties of     
life4  ,these three1 as in the body1 so 
in the mind1  seldom meet1 and commonly 
sever4  ,for it is easy to observe1 that
 many  have strength of wit and courage1
 but have neither health from           

perturbations1 nor any beauty or decency
 in their doings2 some again have  an   
elegancy and fineness of carriage which 
have neither soundness of  honesty nor  
substance of sufficiency2 and some again
 have honest and  reformed minds1 that  
can neither become themselves nor manage
 business2  and sometimes two of them   
meet1 and rarely all three4  ,as for    
pleasure1  we have likewise determined  
that the mind ought not to be reduced to
  stupid1 but to retain pleasure2       
confined rather in the subject of it1   
than in the strength and vigour of it4  
,,xxiii4 7#a7 ,civil knowledge is       
conversant about a subject which of all 
others is most immersed in matter1 and  
hardliest reduced to axiom4             
,nevertheless1 as ,cato the ,censor     
said1 8,that the ,romans were like      
sheep1  for that a man were better drive
 a flock of them1 than one of them2 for 
in a flock1 if you could get but some   
few go right1 the rest would  follow30  
so in that respect moral philosophy is  

more difficile than  policy4  ,again1   
moral philosophy propoundeth to itself  
the framing of  internal goodness2 but  
civil knowledge requireth only an       
external  goodness2 for that as to      
society sufficeth4  ,and therefore it   
cometh oft  to pass that there be evil  
times in good governments3 for so we    
find in  the ,holy story1 when the kings
 were good1 yet it is added1 ,sed adhuc 
poulus non direxerat cor suum ad        
,dominum ,deum patrum suorum4  ,again1  
states1 as great engines1 move slowly1  
and are not so soon put out of  frame3  
for as in ,egypt the seven good years   
sustained the seven bad1 so  governments
 for a time well grounded do bear out   
errors following2 but  the resolution of
 particular persons is more suddenly    
subverted4  ,these  respects do somewhat
 qualify the extreme difficulty of civil
 knowledge4    7#b7 ,this knowledge hath
 three parts1 according to the three    
summary  actions of society2 which are  
conversation1 negotiation1 and          

government4  ,for man seeketh in society
 comfort1 use1 and protection2 and they 
be  three wisdoms of divers natures     
which do often sever--wisdom of the     
behaviour1 wisdom of business1 and      
wisdom of state4    7#c7 ,the wisdom of 
conversation ought not to be over much  
affected1 but  much less despised2 for  
it hath not only an honour in itself1   
but an  influence also into business and
 government4  ,the poet saith1 ,nec     
vultu  destrue verba tuo3 a man may     
destroy the force of his words with his 
countenance2 so may he of his deeds1    
saith ,cicero1 recommending to his      
brother affability and easy access2 ,nil
 interest habere ostium apertum1  vultum
 clausum3 it is nothing won to admit men
 with an open door1 and  to receive them
 with a shut and reserved countenance4  
,so we see ,atticus1  before the first  
interview between ,csar and ,cicero1 the
 war depending1  did seriously advise   
,cicero touching the composing and      
ordering of his  countenance and        

gesture4  ,and if the government of the 
countenance be of  such effect1 much    
more is that of the speech1 and other   
carriage  appertaining to conversation2 
the true model whereof seemeth to me    
well  expressed by ,livy1 though not    
meant for this purpose3 ,ne aut arrogans
  videar1 aut obnoxius2 quorum alterum  
est lien libertatis obliti1  alterum su3
 the sum of behaviour is to retain a    
man's own dignity1  without intruding   
upon the liberty of others4  ,on the    
other side1 if  behaviour and outward   
carriage be intended too much1 first it 
may pass  into affectation1 and then    
,quid deformius quam scenam in vitam    
transferre--to act a man's life8  ,but  
although it proceed not to that         
extreme1 yet it consumeth time1 and     
employeth the mind too much4  ,and      
therefore as we use to advise young     
students from company keeping1 by       
saying1 ,amici fures temporis3 so       
certainly the intending of the          
discretion of behaviour is a great thief

 of meditation4  ,again1 such as  are   
accomplished in that form of urbanity   
please themselves in it1 and  seldom    
aspire to higher virtue2 whereas those  
that have defect in it do  seek         
comeliness by reputation2 for where     
reputation is1 almost everything        
becometh2 but where that is not1 it must
 be supplied by puntos and  compliments4
  ,again1 there is no greater impediment
 of action than an  over-curious        
observance of decency1 and the guide of 
decency1 which is  time and season4     
,for as ,solomon saith1 ,qui respicit ad
 ventos1 non  seminat2 et qui respicit  
ad nubes1 non metet3 a man must make his
  opportunity1 as oft as find it4  ,to  
conclude1 behaviour seemeth to me as  a 
garment of the mind1 and to have the    
conditions of a garment4  ,for it  ought
 to be made in fashion2 it ought not to 
be too curious2 it ought to  be shaped  
so as to set forth any good making of   
the mind and hide any  deformity2 and   
above all1 it ought not to be too strait

 or restrained for  exercise or motion4 
,but this part of civil knowledge hath  
been elegantly  handled1 and therefore  
,i cannot report it for deficient4      
7#d7 ,the wisdom touching negotiation or
 business hath not been hitherto        
collected into writing1 to the great    
derogation of learning and the          
professors of learning4  ,for from this 
root springeth chiefly that note  or    
opinion1 which by us is expressed in    
adage to this effect1 that there  is no 
great concurrence between learning and  
wisdom4  ,for of the three  wisdoms     
which we have set down to pertain to    
civil life1 for wisdom of  behaviour1 it
 is by learned men for the most part    
despised1 as an  inferior to virtue and 
an enemy to meditation2 for wisdom of   
government1  they acquit themselves well
 when they are called to it1 but that   
happeneth to few2 but for the wisdom of 
business1 wherein man's life is  most   
conversant1 there be no books of it1    
except some few scattered               

advertisements1 that have no proportion 
to the magnitude of this subject4  ,for 
if books were written of this as the    
other1 ,i doubt not but learned  men    
with mean experience would far excel men
 of long experience without  learning1  
and outshoot them in their own bow4     
7#e7 ,neither needeth it at all to be   
doubted1 that this knowledge should  be 
so variable as it falleth not under     
precept2 for it is much less  infinite  
than science of government1 which we see
 is laboured and in some  part reduced4 
,of this wisdom it seemeth some of the  
ancient ,romans in  the saddest and     
wisest times were professors2 for       
,cicero reporteth1 that  it was then in 
use for senators that had name and      
opinion for general  wise men1 as       
,coruncanius1 ,curius1 ,llius1 and many 
others1 to walk at  certain hours in the
 ,place1 and to give audience to those  
that would use  their advice2 and that  
the particular citizens would resort    
unto them1  and consult with them of the

 marriage of a daughter1 or of the      
employing  of a son1 or of a purchase or
 bargain1 or of an accusation1 and every
  other occasion incident to man's life4
  ,so as there is a wisdom of  counsel  
and advice even in private causes1      
arising out of a universal  insight into
 the affairs of the world2 which is used
 indeed upon  particular causes         
propounded1 but is gathered by general  
observation of  causes of like nature4  
,for so we see in the book which ,q4    
,cicero writeth  to his brother1 ,de    
petitione consulatus 7being the only    
book of  business that ,i know written  
by the ancients71 although it concerned 
a  particular action then on foot1 yet  
the substance thereof consisteth of     
many wise and politic axioms1 which     
contain not a temporary1 but a          
perpetual direction in the case of      
popular elections4  ,but chiefly we may 
see in those aphorisms which have place 
amongst divine writings1 composed  by   
,solomon the king1 of whom the          

,scriptures testify that his heart was  
as  the sands of the sea1 encompassing  
the world and all worldly matters1 we   
see1 ,i say1 not a few profound and     
excellent cautions1 precepts1           
positions1 extending to much variety of 
occasions2 whereupon we will stay  a    
while1 offering to consideration some   
number of examples4    7#f7 ,sed et     
cunctis sermonibus qui dicuntur ne      
accommodes aurem tuam1  ne forte audias 
servum tuum maledicentem tibi4  ,here is
 commended the  provident stay of       
inquiry of that which we would be loth  
to find3 as it  was judged great wisdom 
in ,pompeius ,magnus that he burned     
,sertorius'  papers unperused4    ,vir  
sapiens1 si cum stulto contenderit1 sive
 irascatur1 sive  rideat1 non inveniet  
requiem4  ,here is described the great  
disadvantage which a wise man hath in   
undertaking a lighter person than       
himself2 which is such an engagement as1
 whether a man turn the matter to  jest1
 or turn it to heat1 or howsoever he    

change copy1 he can no ways  quit       
himself well of it4    ,qui delicate a  
pueritia nutrit servum suum1 postea     
sentiet eum  contumacem4  ,here is      
signified1 that if a man begin too high 
a pitch in  his favours1 it doth        
commonly end in unkindness and          
unthankfulness4    ,vidisti virum       
velocem in opere suo8 coram regibus     
stabit1 nec erit  inter ignobiles4      
,here is observed1 that of all virtues  
for rising to  honour1 quickness of     
despatch is the best2 for superiors many
 times love  not to have those they     
employ too deep or too sufficient1 but  
ready and  diligent4    ,vidi cunctos   
viventes qui ambulant sub sole1 cum     
adolescente secundo  qui consurgit pro  
eo4  ,here is expressed that which was  
noted by ,sylla  first1 and after him by
 ,tiberius4  ,plures adorant solem      
orientem quam  occidentem vel           
meridianum4    ,si spiritus potestatem  
habentis ascenderit super te1 locum tuum
 ne  demiseris2 quia curatio faciet     

cessare peccata maxima4  ,here caution  
is given1 that upon displeasure1        
retiring is of all courses the          
unfittest2 for a man leaveth things at  
worst1 and depriveth himself of  means  
to make them better4    ,erat civitas   
parva1 et pauci in ea viri3 venit contra
 eam rex  magnus1 et vallavit eam1      
instruxitque munitones per gyrum1 et    
perfecta est obsidio2 inventusque est in
 ea vir pauper et sapiens1 et  liberavit
 eam per sapientiam suam2 et nullus     
deinceps recordatus est  huminis illius 
pauperis4  ,here the corruption of      
states is set forth1  that esteem not   
virtue or merit longer than they have   
use of it4    ,millis responsio frangit 
iram4  ,here is noted that silence or   
rough  answer exasperateth2 but an      
answer present and temperate pacifieth4 
,iter pigrorum quasi sepes spinarum4    
,here is lively represented how         
laborious sloth proveth in the end2 for 
when things are deferred till the  last 
instant1 and nothing prepared           

beforehand1 every step findeth a briar  
or impediment1 which catcheth or        
stoppeth4    ,melior est finis orationis
 quam principium4  ,here is taxed the   
vanity  of formal speakers1 that study  
more about prefaces and inducements1    
than  upon the conclusions and issues of
 speech4    ,qui cognoscit in judicio   
faciem1 non bene facit2 iste et pro     
buccella panis deseret veritatem4  ,here
 is noted1 that a judge were  better be 
a briber than a respecter of persons2   
for a corrupt judge  offendeth not so   
lightly as a facile4    ,vir pauper     
calumnians pauperes simils est imbri    
vehementi1 in quo  paratur fames4  ,here
 is expressed the extremity of          
necessitous  extortions1 figured in the 
ancient fable of the full and the hungry
  horseleech4    ,fons turbatus pede1 et
 vena corrupta1 est justus cadens coram 
impio4  ,here is noted1 that one        
judicial and exemplar iniquity in the   
face of the world doth trouble the      
fountains of justice more than many     

particular injuries passed over by      
connivance4    ,qui subtrahit aliquid a 
patre et a matre1 et dicit hoc non esse 
peccatum1 particeps est homicidii4      
,here is noted that1 whereas men in     
wronging their best friends use to      
extenuate their fault1 as if they  might
 presume or be bold upon them1 it doth  
contrariwise indeed aggravate  their    
fault1 and turneth it from injury to    
impiety4    ,noli esse amicus homini    
iracundo1 nec ambulato cum homine       
furioso4  ,here caution is given1 that  
in the election of our friends we do    
principally avoid those which are       
impatient1 as those that will espouse   
us to many factions and quarrels4       
,qui conturbat domum suam1 possidebit   
ventum4  ,here is noted1 that in        
domestical separations and breaches men 
do promise to themselves quieting  of   
their mind and contentment2 but still   
they are deceived of their  expectation1
 and it turneth to wind4    ,filius     
sapiens ltificat patrem3 filius vero    

stultus mstitia est  matri su4  ,here is
 distinguished1 that fathers have most  
comfort of the  good proof of their     
sons2 but mothers have most discomfort  
of their ill  proof1 because women have 
little discerning of virtue1 but of     
fortune4    ,qui celat delictum1 qurit  
amicitiam2 sed qui altero sermone       
repetit1 separat fderatos4  ,here       
caution is given1 that reconcilement  is
 better managed by an amnesty1 and      
passing over that which is past1  than  
by apologies and excuses4    ,in omni   
opere bono erit abundantia2 ubi autem   
verba sunt plurima1  ibi frequenter     
egestas4  ,here is noted1 that words and
 discourse  aboundeth most where there  
is idleness and want4    ,primus in sua 
causa justus3 sed venit altera pars1 et 
inquiret in  eum4  ,here is observed1   
that in all causes the first tale       
possesseth  much2 in sort1 that the     
prejudice thereby wrought will be hardly
 removed1  except some abuse or falsity 
in the information be detected4         

,verba bilinguis quasi simplicia1 et    
ipsa perveniunt ad interiora  ventris4  
,here is distinguished1 that flattery   
and insinuation1 which  seemeth set and 
artificial1 sinketh not far2 but that   
entereth deep which  hath show of       
nature1 liberty1 and simplicity4    ,qui
 erudit derisorem1 ipse sibi injuriam   
facit2 et qui arguit  impium1 sibi      
maculam generat4  ,here caution is given
 how we tender  reprehension to arrogant
 and scornful natures1 whose manner is  
to esteem  it for contumely1 and        
accordingly to return it4    ,da        
sapienti occasionem1 et addetur ei      
sapientia4  ,here is  distinguished the 
wisdom brought into habit1 and that     
which is but verbal  and swimming only  
in conceit2 for the one upon the        
occasion presented is  quickened and    
redoubled1 the other is amazed and      
confused4    ,quomodo in aquis          
resplendent vultus prospicientium1 sic  
corda hominum  manifesta sunt           
prudentibus4  ,here the mind of a wise  

man is compared to  a glass1 wherein the
 images of all diversity of natures and 
customs are  represented2 from which    
representation proceedeth that          
application1        8,qui sapit1        
innumeris moribus aptus erit40    7#g7  
,thus have ,i stayed somewhat longer    
upon these sentences politic of         
,solomon than is agreeable to the       
proportion of an example2 led with a    
desire to give authority to this part of
 knowledge1 which ,i noted as           
deficient1 by so excellent a precedent2 
and have also attended them with  brief 
observations1 such as to my             
understanding offer no violence to the  
sense1 though ,i know they may be       
applied to a more divine use3 but it is 
allowed1 even in divinity1 that some    
interpretations1 yea1 and some          
writings1 have more of the eagle than   
others2 but taking them as  instructions
 for life1 they might have received     
large discourse1 if ,i  would have      
broken them and illustrated them by     

deducements and examples4    7#h7       
,neither was this in use only with the  
,hebrews1 but it is generally to  be    
found in the wisdom of the more ancient 
times2 that as men found out  any       
observation that they thought was good  
for life1 they would gather it  and     
express it in parable or aphorism or    
fable4  ,but for fables1 they  were     
vicegerents and supplies where examples 
failed3 now that the times  abound with 
history1 the aim is better when the mark
 is alive4  ,and  therefore the form of 
writing which of all others is fittest  
for this  variable argument of          
negotiation and occasions is that which 
,machiavel  chose wisely and aptly for  
government2 namely1 discourse upon      
histories  or examples4  ,for knowledge 
drawn freshly and in our view out of    
particulars1 knoweth the way best to    
particulars again4  ,and it hath much   
greater life for practice when the      
discourse attendeth upon the example1   
than when the example attendeth upon the

 discourse4  ,for this is no point  of  
order1 as it seemeth at first1 but of   
substance4  ,for when the example  is   
the ground1 being set down in a history 
at large1 it is set down with  all      
circumstances1 which may sometimes      
control the discourse thereupon  made1  
and sometimes supply it1 as a very      
pattern for action2 whereas the         
examples alleged for the discourse's    
sake are cited succinctly1 and  without 
particularity1 and carry a servile      
aspect towards the discourse  which they
 are brought in to make good4    7#i7   
,but this difference is not amiss to be 
remembered1 that as history of  times is
 the best ground for discourse of       
government1 such as ,machiavel          
handleth1 so histories of lives is the  
most popular for discourse of  business1
 because it is more conversant in       
private actions4  ,nay1 there  is a     
ground of discourse for this purpose    
fitter than them both1 which is         
discourse upon letters1 such as are wise

 and weighty1 as many are of  ,cicero ad
 ,atticum1 and others4  ,for letters    
have a great and more  particular       
representation of business than either  
chronicles or lives4  ,thus have we     
spoken both of the matter and form of   
this part of civil  knowledge1 touching 
negotiation1 which we note to be        
deficient4    7#aj7 ,but yet there is   
another part of this part1 which        
differeth as much  from that whereof we 
have spoken as sapere and sibi sapere1  
the one  moving as it were to the       
circumference1 the other to the centre4 
,for  there is a wisdom of counsel1 and 
again there is a wisdom of pressing a   
man's own fortune2 and they do sometimes
 meet1 and often sever4  ,for many  are 
wise in their own ways that are weak for
 government or counsel2 like  ants1     
which is a wise creature for itself1 but
 very hurtful for the  garden4  ,this   
wisdom the ,romans did take much        
knowledge of3 ,nam pol  sapiens 7saith  
the comical poet7 fingit fortunam sibi2 

and it grew to  an adage1 ,faber quisque
 fortun propri2 and ,livy attributed it 
to ,cato  the first1 ,in hoc viro tanta 
vis animi et ingenii inerat1 ut         
quocunque  loco natus esset sibi ipse   
fortunam facturus videretur4    7#aa7   
,this conceit or position1 if it be too 
much declared and professed1  hath been 
thought a thing impolitic and unlucky1  
as was observed in  ,timotheus the      
,athenian1 who1 having done many great  
services to the state  in his           
government1 and giving an account       
thereof to the people as the  manner    
was1 did conclude every particular with 
this clause1 8,and in this  fortune had 
no part40  ,and it came so to pass1 that
 he never prospered in  anything he took
 in hand afterwards4  ,for this is too  
high and too  arrogant1 savouring of    
that which ,ezekiel saith of ,pharaoh1  
,dicis1  ,fluvius est neus et ego feci  
memet ipsum2 or of that which another   
prophet speaketh1 that men offer        
sacrifices to their nets and snares2 and

  that which the poet expresseth1       
8,dextra mihi ,deus1 et telum quod      
missile libro1      ,nunc adsint60      
,for these confidences were ever        
unhallowed1 and unblessed2 and1         
therefore1 those that were great        
politiques indeed ever ascribed their   
successes to their felicity and not to  
their skill or virtue4  ,for so  ,sylla 
surnamed himself ,felix1 not ,magnus4   
,so ,csar said to the master of  the    
ship1 ,csarem portas et fortunam ejus4  
7#ab7 ,but yet1 nevertheless1 these     
positions1 ,faber quisque fortun su3    
,sapiens dominabitur astris3 ,invia     
virtuti null est via1 and the like1     
being taken and used as spurs to        
industry1 and not as stirrups to        
insolency1 rather for resolution than   
for the presumption or outward          
declaration1 have been ever thought     
sound and good2 and are no question     
imprinted in the greatest minds1 who are
 so sensible of this opinion as  they   
can scarce contain it within4  ,as we   

see in ,augustus ,csar 7who was  rather 
diverse from his uncle than inferior in 
virtue71 how when he died  he desired   
his friends about him to give him a     
plaudite1 as if he were  conscious to   
himself that he had played his part well
 upon the stage4  ,this part of         
knowledge we do report also as          
deficient2 not but that it is  practised
 too much1 but it hath not been reduced 
to writing4  ,and1  therefore1 lest it  
should seem to any that it is not       
comprehensible by  axiom1 it is         
requisite1 as we did in the former1 that
 we set down some  heads or passages of 
it4    7#ac7 ,wherein it may appear at  
the first a new and unwonted argument to
  teach men how to raise and make their 
fortune2 a doctrine wherein every  man  
perchance will be ready to yield himself
 a disciple1 till he see the            
difficulty3 for fortune layeth as heavy 
impositions as virtue2 and it is  as    
hard and severe a thing to be a true    
politique1 as to be truly moral4  ,but  

the handling hereof concerneth learning 
greatly1 both in honour and  in         
substance4  ,in honour1 because         
pragmatical men may not go away with an 
opinion that learning is like a lark1   
that can mount and sing1 and please     
herself1 and nothing else2 but may know 
that she holdeth as well of the  hawk1  
that can soar aloft1 and can also       
descend and strike upon the prey4  ,in  
substance1 because it is the perfect law
 of inquiry of truth1 that  nothing be  
in the globe of matter1 which should not
 be likewise in the  globe of crystal or
 form2 that is1 that there be not       
anything in being  and action which     
should not be drawn and collected into  
contemplation and  doctrine4  ,neither  
doth learning admire or esteem of this  
architecture of  fortune otherwise than 
as of an inferior work1 for no man's    
fortune can  be an end worthy of his    
being1 and many times the worthiest men 
do  abandon their fortune willingly for 
better respects3 but nevertheless       

fortune as an organ of virtue and merit 
deserveth the consideration4    7#ad7   
,first1 therefore1 the precept which ,i 
conceive to be most summary  towards the
 prevailing in fortune1 is to obtain    
that window which ,momus  did require2  
who seeing in the frame of man's heart  
such angles and  recesses1 found fault  
there was not a window to look into     
them2 that is1  to procure good         
informations of particulars touching    
persons1 their  natures1 their desires  
and ends1 their customs and fashions1   
their helps  and advantages1 and whereby
 they chiefly stand1 so again their     
weaknesses  and disadvantages1 and where
 they lie most open and obnoxious1 their
  friends1 factions1 dependences2 and   
again their opposites1 enviers1         
competitors1 their moods and times1     
,sola viri molles aditus et tempora     
noras2 their principles1 rules1 and     
observations1 and the like3 and this    
not only of persons but of actions2 what
 are on foot from time to time1  and how

 they are conducted1 favoured1 opposed1 
and how they import1 and  the like4     
,for the knowledge of present actions is
 not only material in  itself1 but      
without it also the knowledge of persons
 is very erroneous3  for men change with
 the actions2 and whilst they are in    
pursuit they are  one1 and when they    
return to their nature they are another4
  ,these  informations of particulars1  
touching persons and actions1 are as the
  minor propositions in every active    
syllogism2 for no excellency of         
observations 7which are as the major    
propositions7 can suffice to ground  a  
conclusion1 if there be error and       
mistaking in the minors4    7#ae7 ,that 
this knowledge is possible1 ,solomon is 
our surety1 who saith1  ,consilium in   
corde viri tanquam aqua profunda2 sed   
vir prudens  exhauriet illud4  ,and     
although the knowledge itself falleth   
not under  precept because it is of     
individuals1 yet the instructions for   
the  obtaining of it may4    7#af7 ,we  

will begin1 therefore1 with this        
precept1 according to the  ancient      
opinion1 that the sinews of wisdom are  
slowness of belief and  distrust2 that  
more trust be given to countenances and 
deeds than to  words2 and in words      
rather to sudden passages and surprised 
words than to  set and purposed words4  
,neither let that be feared which is    
said1  ,fronti nulla fides1 which is    
meant of a general outward behaviour1   
and  not of the private and subtle      
motions and labours of the countenance  
and  gesture2 which1 as ,q4 ,cicero     
elegantly saith1 is ,animi janua1 8the  
gate  of the mind40  ,none more close   
than ,tiberius1 and yet ,tacitus saith  
of  ,gallus1 ,etenim vultu offensionem  
conjectaverat4  ,so again1 noting the   
differing character and manner of his   
commending ,germanicus and ,drusus in   
the ,senate1 he saith1 touching his     
fashion wherein he carried his speech   
of ,germanicus1 thus3 ,magis in speciem 
adornatis verbis1 quam ut  penitus      

sentire crederetur2 but of ,drusus thus3
 ,paucioribus sed  intentior1 et fida   
oratione2 and in another place1 speaking
 of his  character of speech when he did
 anything that was gracious and popular1
  he saith1 8,that in other things he   
was velut eluctantium verborum20 but    
then again1 solutius loquebatur quando  
subveniret4  ,so that there is no  such 
artificer of dissimulation1 nor no such 
commanded countenance  7vultus jussus71 
that can sever from a feigned tale some 
of these  fashions1 either a more slight
 and careless fashion1 or more set and  
formal1 or more tedious and wandering1  
or coming from a man more drily  and    
hardly4    7#ag7 ,neither are deeds such
 assured pledges as that they may be    
trusted  without a judicious            
consideration of their magnitude and    
nature3 ,fraus  sibi in parvis fidem    
prstruit ut majore emolumento fallat2   
and the  ,italian thinketh himself upon 
the point to be bought and sold1 when he
 is  better used than he was wont to be 

without manifest cause4  ,for small     
favours1 they do but lull men to sleep1 
both as to caution and as to  industry2 
and are1 as ,demosthenes calleth them1  
,alimenta socordi4  ,so  again we see   
how false the nature of some deeds are1 
in that particular  which ,mutianus     
practised upon ,antonius ,primus1 upon  
that hollow and  unfaithful             
reconcilement which was made between    
them2 whereupon ,mutianus  advanced many
 of the friends of ,antonius1 ,simul    
amicis ejus prfecturas  et tribunatus   
largitur3 wherein1 under pretence to    
strengthen him1 he  did desolate him1   
and won from him his dependents4        
7#ah7 ,as for words1 though they be like
 waters to physicians1 full of  flattery
 and uncertainty1 yet they are not to be
 despised specially with  the advantage 
of passion and affection4  ,for so we   
see ,tiberius1 upon a  stinging and     
incensing speech of ,agrippina1 came a  
step forth of his  dissimulation when he
 said1 8,you are hurt because you do not

 reign20 of  which ,tacitus saith1      
,audita hc raram occulti pectoris vocem 
elicuere3  correptamque ,grco versu     
admonuit1 ideo ldi quia non regnaret4   
,and1  therefore1 the poet doth         
elegantly call passions tortures that   
urge men  to confess their secrets3--   
8,vino torus et ira40    ,and experience
 showeth there are few men so true to   
themselves and so  settled but that1    
sometimes upon heat1 sometimes upon     
bravery1 sometimes  upon kindness1      
sometimes upon trouble of mind and      
weakness1 they open  themselves2        
specially if they be put to it with a   
counter-dissimulation1  according to the
 proverb of ,spain1 ,di mentira1 y sacar
 as verdad3  8,tell a lie and find a    
truth40    7#ai7 ,as for the knowing of 
men which is at second hand from        
reports3  men's weaknesses and faults   
are best known from their enemies1 their
  virtues and abilities from their      
friends1 their customs and times from   
their servants1 their conceits and      

opinions from their familiar friends1   
with whom they discourse most4  ,general
 fame is light1 and the opinions        
conceived by superiors or equals are    
deceitful2 for to such men are more     
masked3 ,verior fama e domesticis       
emanat4    7#bj7 ,but the soundest      
disclosing and expounding of men is by  
their  natures and ends1 wherein the    
weakest sort of men are best interpreted
 by  their natures1 and the wisest by   
their ends4  ,for it was both pleasantly
  and wisely said 7though ,i think very 
untruly7 by a nuncio of the ,pope1      
returning from a certain nation where he
 served as lidger2 whose opinion  being 
asked touching the appointment of one to
 go in his place1 he wished  that in any
 case they did not send one that was too
 wise2 because no very  wise man would  
ever imagine what they in that country  
were like to do4  ,and certainly it is  
an error frequent for men to shoot over1
 and to  suppose deeper ends and more   
compass reaches than are3 the ,italian  

proverb being elegant1 and for the most 
part true3--        8,di danari1 di     
senno1 e di fede1      ,c' ne manco che 
non credi40    8,there is commonly less 
money1 less wisdom1 and less good faith 
than men  do account upon40    7#ba7    
,but princes1 upon a far other reason1  
are best interpreted by their  natures1 
and private persons by their ends4  ,for
 princes being at the top  of human     
desires1 they have for the most part no 
particular ends whereto  they aspire1 by
 distance from which a man might take   
measure and scale of  the rest of their 
actions and desires2 which is one of the
 causes that  maketh their hearts more  
inscrutable4  ,neither is it sufficient 
to inform  ourselves in men's ends and  
natures of the variety of them only1 but
 also  of the predominancy1 what humour 
reigneth most1 and what end is          
principally sought4  ,for so we see1    
when ,tigellinus saw himself            
outstripped by ,petronius ,turpilianus  
in ,nero's humours of pleasures1  metus 

ejus rimatur1 he wrought upon ,nero's   
fears1 whereby he broke the  other's    
neck4    7#bb7 ,but to all this part of 
inquiry the most compendious way resteth
 in  three things2 the first1 to have   
general acquaintance and inwardness with
  those which have general acquaintance 
and look most into the world2 and       
specially according to the diversity of 
business1 and the diversity of  persons1
 to have privacy and conversation with  
some one friend at least  which is      
perfect and well-intelligenced in every 
several kind4  ,the  second is to keep a
 good mediocrity in liberty of speech   
and secrecy2 in  most things liberty2   
secrecy where it importeth2 for liberty 
of speech  inviteth and provoketh       
liberty to be used again1 and so        
bringeth much to  a man's knowledge2 and
 secrecy on the other side induceth     
trust and  inwardness4  ,the last is the
 reducing of a man's self to this       
watchful  and serene habit1 as to make  
account and purpose1 in every conference

 and  action1 as well to observe as to  
act4  ,for as ,epictetus would have a   
philosopher in every particular action  
to say to himself1 ,et hoc volo1  et    
etiam institutum servare2 so a politic  
man in everything should say  to        
himself1 ,et hoc volo1 ac etiam aliquid 
addiscere4  ,i have stayed  the longer  
upon this precept of obtaining good     
information because it is  a main part  
by itself1 which answereth to all the   
rest4  ,but1 above all  things1 caution 
must be taken that men have a good stay 
and hold of  themselves1 and that this  
much knowing do not draw on much        
meddling2 for  nothing is more          
unfortunate than light and rash         
intermeddling in many  matters4  ,so    
that this variety of knowledge tendeth  
in conclusion but  only to this1 to make
 a better and freer choice of those     
actions which  may concern us1 and to   
conduct them with the less error and the
 more  dexterity4    7#bc7 ,the second  
precept concerning this knowledge is1   

for men to take  good information       
touching their own person1 and well to  
understand  themselves2 knowing that1 as
 ,st4 ,james saith1 though men look oft 
in a  glass1 yet they do suddenly forget
 themselves2 wherein as the divine      
glass is the ,word of ,god1 so the      
politic glass is the state of the world1
  or times wherein we live1 in the which
 we are to behold ourselves4    7#bd7   
,for men ought to take an impartial view
 of their own abilities and  virtues2   
and again of their wants and            
impediments2 accounting these with  the 
most1 and those other with the least2   
and from this view and  examination to  
frame the considerations following4     
7#be7 ,first1 to consider how the       
constitution of their nature sorteth    
with  the general state of the times2   
which if they find agreeable and fit1   
then in all things to give themselves   
more scope and liberty2 but if          
differing and dissonant1 then in the    
whole course of their life to be  more  

close retired1 and reserved2 as we see  
in ,tiberius1 who was never  seen at a  
play1 and came not into the senate in   
twelve of his last years2  whereas      
,augustus ,csar lived ever in men's     
eyes1 which ,tacitus observeth1  alia   
,tiberio morum via4    7#bf7 ,secondly1 
to consider how their nature sorteth    
with professions and  courses of life1  
and accordingly to make election1 if    
they be free2 and1  if engaged1 to make 
the departure at the first opportunity2 
as we see was  done by ,duke ,valentine1
 that was designed by his father to a   
sacerdotal  profession1 but quitted it  
soon after in regard of his parts and   
inclination2 being such1 nevertheless1  
as a man cannot tell well whether  they 
were worse for a prince or for a priest4
    7#bg7 ,thirdly1 to consider how they
 sort with those whom they are like to  
have competitors and concurrents2 and to
 take that course wherein there  is most
 solitude1 and themselves like to be    
most eminent2 as ,csar ,julius  did1 who

 at first was an orator or pleader2 but 
when he saw the  excellency of ,cicero1 
,hortensius1 ,catulus1 and others for   
eloquence1 and  saw there was no man of 
reputation for the wars but ,pompeius1  
upon whom  the state was forced to rely1
 he forsook his course begun towards a  
civil  and popular greatness1 and       
transferred his designs to a martial    
greatness4    7#bh7 ,fourthly1 in the   
choice of their friends and dependents1 
to proceed  according to the composition
 of their own nature2 as we may see in  
,csar1  all whose friends and followers 
were men active and effectual1 but not  
solemn1 or of reputation4    7#bi7      
,fifthly1 to take special heed how they 
guide themselves by examples1  in       
thinking they can do as they see others 
do2 whereas perhaps their  natures and  
carriages are far differing4  ,in which 
error it seemeth  ,pompey was1 of whom  
,cicero saith that he was wont often to 
say1 ,sylla  potuit1 ego non potero8    
,wherein he was much abused1 the natures

 and  proceedings of himself and his    
example being the unlikest in the world2
  the one being fierce1 violent1 and    
pressing the fact2 the other solemn1    
and full of majesty and circumstance1   
and therefore the less effectual4       
,but this precept touching the politic  
knowledge of ourselves hath many  other 
branches1 whereupon we cannot insist4   
7#cj7 ,next to the well understanding   
and discerning of a man's self1 there   
followeth the well opening and revealing
 a man's self2 wherein we see  nothing  
more usual than for the more able man to
 make the less show4  ,for  there is a  
great advantage in the well setting     
forth of a man's virtues1  fortunes1    
merits2 and again1 in the artificial    
covering of a man's  weaknesses1        
defects1 disgraces2 staying upon the    
one1 sliding from the  other2 cherishing
 the one by circumstances1 gracing the  
other by  exposition1 and the like4     
,wherein we see what ,tacitus saith of  
,mutianus1  who was the greatest        

politique of his time1 ,omnium qu       
dixerat  feceratque arte quadam         
ostentator1 which requireth indeed some 
art1 lest  it turn tedious and arrogant2
 but yet so1 as ostentation 7though it  
be to  the first degree of vanity7      
seemeth to me rather a vice in manners  
than  in policy2 for as it is said1     
,audacter calumniare1 semper aliquid    
hret2 so1 except it be in a ridiculous  
degree of deformity1 ,audacter  te      
vendita1 semper aluquid hret4  ,for it  
will stick with the more  ignorant and  
inferior sort of men1 though men of     
wisdom and rank do smile  at it and     
despise it2 and yet the authority won   
with many doth  countervail the disdain 
of a few4  ,but if it be carried with   
decency and  government1 as with a      
natural1 pleasant1 and ingenious        
fashion2 or at  times when it is mixed  
with some peril and unsafety 7as in     
military  persons72 or at times when    
others are most envied2 or with easy and
  careless passage to it and from it1   

without dwelling too long1 or being  too
 serious2 or with an equal freedom of   
taxing a man's self1 as well as  gracing
 himself2 or by occasion of repelling or
 putting down others'  injury or        
insolency2 it doth greatly add to       
reputation3 and surely not a  few solid 
natures1 that want this ventosity and   
cannot sail in the height  of the winds1
 are not without some prejudice and     
disadvantage by their  moderation4      
7#ca7 ,but for these flourishes and     
enhancements of virtue1 as they are not 
perchance unnecessary1 so it is at least
 necessary that virtue be not  disvalued
 and embased under the just price1 which
 is done in three  manners--by offering 
and obtruding a man's self1 wherein men 
think he is  rewarded when he is        
accepted2 by doing too much1 which will 
not give that  which is well done leave 
to settle1 and in the end induceth      
satiety2 and  by finding too soon the   
fruit of a man's virtue1 in             
commendation1  applause1 honour1 favour2

 wherein if a man be pleased with a     
little1 let  him hear what is truly     
said3 ,cave ne insuetus rebus majoribus 
videaris1  si hc te res parva sicuti    
magna delectat4    7#cb7 ,but the       
covering of defects is of no less       
importance than the  valuing of good    
parts2 which may be done likewise in    
three manners--by  caution1 by colour1  
and by confidence4  ,caution is when men
 do  ingeniously and discreetly avoid to
 be put into those things for which     
they are not proper2 whereas            
contrariwise bold and unquiet spirits   
will  thrust themselves into matters    
without difference1 and so publish and  
proclaim all their wants4  ,colour is   
when men make a way for themselves  to  
have a construction made of their faults
 or wants1 as proceeding from  a better 
cause or intended for some other        
purpose4  ,for of the one it is  well   
said1        8,spe latet vitium         
proximitate boni10    and therefore     
whatsoever want a man hath1 he must see 

that he pretend the  virtue that        
shadoweth it2 as if he be dull1 he must 
affect gravity2 if a  coward1 mildness2 
and so the rest4  ,for the second1 a man
 must frame some  probable cause why he 
should not do his best1 and why he      
should dissemble  his abilities2 and for
 that purpose must use to dissemble     
those abilities  which are notorious in 
him1 to give colour that his true wants 
are but  industries and dissimulations4 
,for confidence1 it is the last but the 
surest remedy--namely1 to depress and   
seem to despise whatsoever a man  cannot
 attain2 observing the good principle of
 the merchants1 who  endeavour to raise 
the price of their own commodities1 and 
to beat down  the price of others4  ,but
 there is a confidence that passeth this
 other1  which is to face out a man's   
own defects1 in seeming to conceive that
 he  is best in those things wherein he 
is failing2 and1 to help that again1  to
 seem on the other side that he hath    
least opinion of himself in those       

things wherein he is best3 like as we   
shall see it commonly in poets1  that if
 they show their verses1 and you except 
to any1 they will say1  8,that that line
 cost them more labour than any of the  
rest20 and  presently will seem to      
disable and suspect rather some other   
line1 which  they know well enough to be
 the best in the number4  ,but above    
all1 in  this righting and helping of a 
man's self in his own carriage1 he must 
take heed he show not himself dismantled
 and exposed to scorn and injury1  by   
too much dulceness1 goodness1 and       
facility of nature2 but show some       
sparkles of liberty1 spirit1 and edge4  
,which kind of fortified carriage1  with
 a ready rescussing of a man's self from
 scorns1 is sometimes of  necessity     
imposed upon men by somewhat in their   
person or fortune2 but it  ever         
succeedeth with good felicity4    7#cc7 
,another precept of this knowledge is by
 all possible endeavour to  frame the   
mind to be pliant and obedient to       

occasion2 for nothing  hindereth men's  
fortunes so much as this3 ,idem manebat1
 neque idem  decebat--men are where they
 were1 when occasions turn3 and         
therefore to  ,cato1 whom ,livy maketh  
such an architect of fortune1 he addeth 
that he  had versatile ingenium4  ,and  
thereof it cometh that these grave      
solemn  wits1 which must be like        
themselves and cannot make departures1  
have more  dignity than felicity4  ,but 
in some it is nature to be somewhat     
vicious  and enwrapped1 and not easy to 
turn4  ,in some it is a conceit that is 
almost a nature1 which is1 that men can 
hardly make themselves believe  that    
they ought to change their course1 when 
they have found good by it  in former   
experience4  ,for ,machiavel noted      
wisely how ,fabius ,maximus  would have 
been temporising still1 according to his
 old bias1 when the  nature of the war  
was altered and required hot pursuit4   
,in some other it  is want of point and 
penetration in their judgment1 that they

 do not  discern when things have a     
period1 but come in too late after the  
occasion2 as ,demosthenes compareth the 
people of ,athens to country  fellows1  
when they play in a fence school1 that  
if they have a blow1 then  they remove  
their weapon to that ward1 and not      
before4  ,in some other it  is a        
lothness to lose labours passed1 and a  
conceit that they can bring  about      
occasions to their ply2 and yet in the  
end1 when they see no other  remedy1    
then they come to it with disadvantage2 
as ,tarquinius1 that gave  for the third
 part of ,sibylla's books the treble    
price1 when he might at  first have had 
all three for the simple4  ,but from    
whatsoever root or  cause this          
restiveness of mind proceedeth1 it is a 
thing most  prejudicial2 and nothing is 
more politic than to make the wheels of 
our  mind concentric and voluble with   
the wheels of fortune4    7#cd7 ,another
 precept of this knowledge1 which hath  
some affinity with  that we last spoke  

of1 but with difference1 is that which  
is well  expressed1 ,fatis accede       
deisque1 that men do not only turn with 
the  occasions1 but also run with the   
occasions1 and not strain their credit  
or strength to over-hard or extreme     
points2 but choose in their actions     
that which is most passable3 for this   
will preserve men from foil1 not  occupy
 them too much about one matter1 win    
opinion of moderation1 please  the most1
 and make a show of a perpetual felicity
 in all they undertake3  which cannot   
but mightily increase reputation4       
7#ce7 ,another part of this knowledge   
seemeth to have some repugnancy with    
the former two1 but not as ,i understand
 it2 and it is that which  ,demosthenes 
uttereth in high terms3 ,et quemadmodum 
receptum est1 ut  exercitum ducat       
imperator1 sic et a cordatis viris res  
ips ducend2  ut quipsis videntur1 ea    
gerantur1 et non ipsi eventus persequi  
cogantur4  ,for if we observe we shall  
find two differing kinds of  sufficiency

 in managing of business3 some can make 
use of occasions aptly  and dexterously1
 but plot little2 some can urge and     
pursue their own  plots well1 but cannot
 accommodate nor take in2 either of     
which is very  imperfect without the    
other4    7#cf7 ,another part of this   
knowledge is the observing a good       
mediocrity in  the declaring or not     
declaring a man's self3 for although    
depth of  secrecy1 and making way       
7qualis est via navis in mari1 which the
 ,french  calleth sourdes menes1 when   
men set things in work without opening  
themselves at all71 be sometimes both   
prosperous and admirable2 yet many      
times dissimulatio errores parit1 qui   
dissimulatorem ipsum  illaqueant4  ,and 
therefore we see the greatest politiques
 have in a  natural and free manner     
professed their desires1 rather than    
been  reserved and disguised in them4   
,for so we see that ,lucius ,sylla made 
a  kind of profession1 8that he wished  
all men happy or unhappy1 as they  stood

 his friends or enemies40  ,so ,csar1   
when he went first into ,gaul1  made no 
scruple to profess 8that he had rather  
be first in a village than  second at   
,rome40  ,so again1 as soon as he had   
begun the war1 we see what  ,cicero     
saith of him1 ,alter 7meaning of ,csar7 
non recusat1 sed  quodammodo postulat1  
ut 7ut est7 sic appelletur tyrannus4    
,so we  may see in a letter of ,cicero  
to ,atticus1 that ,augustus ,csar1 in   
his  very entrance into affairs1 when he
 was a darling of the senate1 yet in    
his harangues to the people would swear1
 ,ita parentis honores consequi  liceat 
7which was no less than the tyranny71   
save that1 to help it1 he  would stretch
 forth his hand towards a statue of     
,csar's that was erected  in the place3 
and men laughed and wondered1 and said1 
8,is it possible80  or1 8,did you ever  
hear the like80 and yet thought he meant
 no hurt2 he  did it so handsomely and  
ingenuously4  ,and all these were       
prosperous3  whereas ,pompey1 who tended

 to the same ends1 but in a more dark   
and  dissembling manner as ,tacitus     
saith of him1 ,occultior non melior1    
wherein ,sallust concurreth1 ,ore probo1
 animo inverecundo1 made it his  design1
 by infinite secret engines1 to cast the
 state into an absolute  anarchy and    
confusion1 that the state might cast    
itself into his arms for  necessity and 
protection1 and so the sovereign power  
be put upon him1 and  he never seen in  
it3 and when he had brought it 7as he   
thought7 to that  point when he was     
chosen consul alone1 as never any was1  
yet he could  make no great matter of   
it1 because men understood him not2 but 
was fain  in the end to go the beaten   
track of getting arms into his hands1 by
  colour of the doubt of ,csar's        
designs3 so tedious1 casual1 and        
unfortunate are these deep              
dissimulations3 whereof it seemeth      
,tacitus  made this judgment1 that they 
were a cunning of an inferior form in   
regard of true policy2 attributing the  

one to ,augustus1 the other to          
,tiberius2 where1 speaking of ,livia1 he
 saith1 ,et cum artibus mariti          
simulatione filii bene compostia3 for   
surely the continual habit of           
dissimulation is but a weak and sluggish
 cunning1 and not greatly  politic4     
7#cg7 ,another precept of this          
architecture of fortune is to accustom  
our  minds to judge of the proportion or
 value of things1 as they conduce and   
are material to our particular ends2 and
 that to do substantially and not       
superficially4  ,for we shall find the  
logical part 7as ,i may term it7 of     
some men's minds good1 but the          
mathematical part erroneous2 that is1   
they  can well judge of consequences1   
but not of proportions and comparison1  
preferring things of show and sense     
before things of substance and  effect4 
,so some fall in love with access to    
princes1 others with popular  fame and  
applause1 supposing they are things of  
great purchase1 when in  many cases they

 are but matters of envy1 peril1 and    
impediment4  ,so some  measure things   
according to the labour and difficulty  
or assiduity which  are spent about     
them2 and think1 if they be ever moving1
 that they must  needs advance and      
proceed2 as ,csar saith in a despising  
manner of ,cato  the second1 when he    
describeth how laborious and            
indefatigable he was to  no great       
purpose1 ,hc omnia magno studio agebat4 
,so in most things men  are ready to    
abuse themselves in thinking the        
greatest means to be best1  when it     
should be the fittest4    7#ch7 ,as for 
the true marshalling of men's pursuits  
towards their fortune1  as they are more
 or less material1 ,i hold them to stand
 thus4  ,first the  amendment of their  
own minds4  ,for the removal of the     
impediments of the  mind will sooner    
clear the passages of fortune than the  
obtaining fortune  will remove the      
impediments of the mind4  ,in the second
 place ,i set down  wealth and means2   

which ,i know most men would have placed
 first1 because  of the general use     
which it beareth towards all variety of 
occasions4  ,but that opinion ,i may    
condemn with like reason as ,machiavel  
doth that  other1 that moneys were the  
sinews of the wars2 whereas 7saith he7  
the  true sinews of the wars are the    
sinews of men's arms1 that is1 a        
valiant1  populous1 and military nation3
 and he voucheth aptly the authority of 
,solon1 who1 when ,crsus showed him his 
treasury of gold1 said to him1  that if 
another came that had better iron1 he   
would be master of his  gold4  ,in like 
manner it may be truly affirmed that it 
is not moneys that  are the sinews of   
fortune1 but it is the sinews and steel 
of men's minds1  wit1 courage1 audacity1
 resolution1 temper1 industry1 and the  
like4  ,in  the third place ,i set down 
reputation1 because of the peremptory   
tides  and currents it hath2 which1 if  
they be not taken in their due time1 are
  seldom recovered1 it being extreme    

hard to play an after-game of           
reputation4  ,and lastly ,i place       
honour1 which is more easily won by any 
of the other three1 much more by all1   
than any of them can be purchased  by   
honour4  ,to conclude this precept1 as  
there is order and priority in  matter1 
so is there in time1 the preposterous   
placing whereof is one of  the commonest
 errors3 while men fly to their ends    
when they should intend  their          
beginnings1 and do not take things in   
order of time as they come  on1 but     
marshal them according to greatness and 
not according to  instance2 not         
observing the good precept1 ,quod nunc  
instat agamus4    7#ci7 ,another precept
 of this knowledge is not to embrace any
 matters  which do occupy too great a   
quantity of time1 but to have that      
sounding  in a man's ears1 ,sed fugit   
interea fugit irreparabile tempus3 and  
that  is the cause why those which take 
their course of rising by professions   
of burden1 as lawyers1 orators1 painful 

divines1 and the like1 are not  commonly
 so politic for their own fortune1      
otherwise than in their  ordinary way1  
because they want time to learn         
particulars1 to wait  occasions1 and to 
devise plots4    7#dj7 ,another precept 
of this knowledge is to imitate nature1 
which doth  nothing in vain2 which      
surely a man may do if he do well       
interlace his  business1 and bend not   
his mind too much upon that which he    
principally  intendeth4  ,for a man     
ought in every particular action so to  
carry the  motions of his mind1 and so  
to have one thing under another1 as if  
he  cannot have that he seeketh in the  
best degree1 yet to have it in a        
second1 or so in a third2 and if he can 
have no part of that which he  purposed1
 yet to turn the use of it to somewhat  
else2 and if he cannot  make anything of
 it for the present1 yet to make it as a
 seed of somewhat  in time to come2 and 
if he can contrive no effect or         
substance from it1  yet to win some good

 opinion by it1 or the like4  ,so that  
he should exact  an account of himself  
of every action1 to reap somewhat1 and  
not to stand  amazed and confused if he 
fail of that he chiefly meant3 for      
nothing is  more impolitic than to mind 
actions wholly one by one4  ,for he that
 doth  so loseth infinite occasions     
which intervene1 and are many times more
  proper and propitious for somewhat    
that he shall need afterwards1 than  for
 that which he urgeth for the present2  
and therefore men must be  perfect in   
that rule1 ,hc oportet facere1 et illa  
non imittere4    7#da7 ,another precept 
of this knowledge is1 not to engage a   
man's self  peremptorily in anything1   
though it seem not liable to accident2  
but ever  to have a window to fly out   
at1 or a way to retire3 following the   
wisdom  in the ancient fable of the two 
frogs1 which consulted when their plash 
was dry whither they should go2 and the 
one moved to go down into a pit1        
because it was not likely the water     

would dry there2 but the other          
answered1 8,true1 but if it do1 how     
shall we get out again80    7#db7       
,another precept of this knowledge is   
that ancient precept of ,bias1          
construed not to any point of           
perfidiousness1 but to caution and      
moderation1 ,et ama tanquam inimicus    
futurus et odi tanquam amaturus4  ,for  
it utterly betrayeth all utility for men
 to embark themselves too far  into     
unfortunate friendships1 troublesome    
spleens1 and childish and  humorous     
envies or emulations4    7#dc7 ,but ,i  
continue this beyond the measure of an  
example2 led1 because ,i  would not have
 such knowledges1 which ,i note as      
deficient1 to be thought  things        
imaginative or in the air1 or an        
observation or two much made of1  but   
things of bulk and mass1 whereof an end 
is more hardly made than a  beginning4  
,it must be likewise conceived1 that in 
these points which ,i  mention and set  
down1 they are far from complete        

tractates of them1 but  only as small   
pieces for patterns4  ,and lastly1 no   
man ,i suppose will  think that ,i mean 
fortunes are not obtained without all   
this ado2 for ,i  know they come        
tumbling into some men's laps2 and a    
number obtain good  fortunes by         
diligence in a plain way1 little        
intermeddling1 and keeping  themselves  
from gross errors4    7#dd7 ,but as     
,cicero1 when he setteth down an idea of
 a perfect orator1  doth not mean that  
every pleader should be such2 and so    
likewise1 when a  prince or a courtier  
hath been described by such as have     
handled those  subjects1 the mould hath 
used to be made according to the        
perfection of  the art1 and not         
according to common practice3 so ,i     
understand it1 that  it ought to be done
 in the description of a politic man1 ,i
 mean politic  for his own fortune4     
7#de7 ,but it must be remembered all    
this while1 that the precepts which we  
have set down are of that kind which may

 be counted and called ,bon  ,artes4    
,as for evil arts1 if a man would set   
down for himself that  principle of     
,machiavel1 8,that a man seek not to    
attain virtue itself1 but  the          
appearance only thereof2 because the    
credit of virtue is a help1 but  the use
 of it is cumber30 or that other of his 
principles1 8,that he  presuppose that  
men are not fitly to be wrought         
otherwise but by fear2  and therefore   
that he seek to have every man          
obnoxious1 low1 and in  straits10 which 
the ,italians call seminar spine1 to sow
 thorns3 or that  other principle1      
contained in the verse which ,cicero    
citeth1 ,cadant  amici1 dummodo inimici 
intercidant1 as the triumvirs1 which    
sold every  one to other the lives of   
their friends for the deaths of their   
enemies3  or that other protestation of 
,l4 ,catilina1 to set on fire and       
trouble  states1 to the end to fish in  
droumy waters1 and to unwrap their      
fortunes1 ,ego si quid in fortunis meis 

excitatum sit incendium1 id non  aqua   
sed ruina restinguam3 or that other     
principle of ,lysander1 8,that  children
 are to be deceived with comfits1 and   
men with oaths30 and the  like evil and 
corrupt positions1 whereof 7as in all   
things7 there are  more in number than  
of the good3 certainly with these       
dispensations from  the laws of charity 
and integrity1 the pressing of a man's  
fortune may be  more hasty and          
compendious4  ,but it is in life as it  
is in ways1 the  shortest way is        
commonly the foulest1 and surely the    
fairer way is not  much about4    7#df7 
,but men1 if they be in their own power1
 and do bear and sustain  themselves1   
and be not carried away with a whirlwind
 or tempest of  ambition1 ought in the  
pursuit of their own fortune to set     
before their  eyes not only that general
 map of the world1 8,that all things are
 vanity  and vexation of spirit10 but   
many other more particular cards and    
directions3 chiefly that1 that being    

without well-being is a curse1 and  the 
greater being the greater curse2 and    
that all virtue is most rewarded  and   
all wickedness most punished in itself3 
according as the poet saith             
excellently3        8,qu vobis1 qu      
digna1 viri pro laudibus istis          
,prmia posse rear solvi8 pulcherrima    
primum      ,dii moresque dabunt        
vestri40    ,and so of the contrary4    
,and secondly they ought to look up to  
the  ,eternal ,providence and ,divine   
,judgment1 which often subverteth the   
wisdom  of evil plots and imaginations1 
according to that scripture1 8,he hath  
conceived mischief1 and shall bring     
forth a vain thing40  ,and although  men
 should refrain themselves from injury  
and evil arts1 yet this  incessant and  
,sabbathless pursuit of a man's fortune 
leaveth not tribute  which we owe to    
,god of our time2 who 7we see7 demandeth
 a tenth of our  substance1 and a       
seventh1 which is more strict1 of our   
time3 and it is to  small purpose to    

have an erected face towards heaven1 and
 a perpetual  grovelling spirit upon    
earth1 eating dust as doth the serpent1 
,atque  affigit humo divin particulam   
aur4  ,and if any man flatter himself   
that he will employ his fortune well1   
though he should obtain it ill1 as  was 
said concerning ,augustus ,csar1 and    
after of ,septimius ,severus1 8,that    
either they should never have been born1
 or else they should never have  died10 
they did so much mischief in the pursuit
 and ascent of their  greatness1 and so 
much good when they were established2   
yet these  compensations and            
satisfactions are good to be used1 but  
never good to be  purposed4  ,and       
lastly1 it is not amiss for men1 in     
their race towards  their fortune1 to   
cool themselves a little with that      
conceit which is  elegantly expressed by
 the ,emperor ,charles ,v41 in his      
instructions to the  king his son1      
8,that fortune hath somewhat of the     
nature of a woman1 that  if she he too  

much wooed she is the farther off40     
,but this last is but a  remedy for     
those whose tastes are corrupted3 let   
men rather build upon  that foundation  
which is as a corner-stone of divinity  
and philosophy1  wherein they join      
close1 namely that same ,primum qurite4 
,for divinity  saith1 ,primum qurite    
regnum ,dei1 et ista omnia adjicientur  
vobis3  and philosophy saith1 ,primum   
qurite bona animi2 ctera aut aderunt1   
aut non oberunt4  ,and although the     
human foundation hath somewhat of  the  
sands1 as we see in ,m4 ,brutus1 when he
 broke forth into that speech1          
8,te colui 7,virtus7 ut rem2 ast tu     
nomen inane es20    yet the divine      
foundation is upon the rock4  ,but this 
may serve for a  taste of that knowledge
 which ,i noted as deficient4    7#dg7  
,concerning government1 it is a part of 
knowledge secret and retired  in both   
these respects in which things are      
deemed secret2 for some things  are     
secret because they are hard to know1   

and some because they are not  fit to   
utter4  ,we see all governments are     
obscure and invisible3                  
8,totamque infusa per artus      ,mens  
agitat molem1 et magno se corpore       
miscet40    ,such is the description of 
governments4  ,we see the government of 
,god  over the world is hidden1 insomuch
 as it seemeth to participate of much   
irregularity and confusion4  ,the       
government of the soul in moving the    
body is inward and profound1 and the    
passages thereof hardly to be  reduced  
to demonstration4  ,again1 the wisdom of
 antiquity 7the shadows  whereof are in 
the poets7 in the description of        
torments and pains1 next  unto the crime
 of rebellion1 which was the giants'    
offence1 doth detest  the offence of    
futility1 as in ,sisyphus and ,tantalus4
  ,but this was meant  of particulars3  
nevertheless even unto the general rules
 and discourses  of policy and          
government there is due a reverent and  
reserved handling4    7#dh7 ,but        

contrariwise in the governors towards   
the governed1 all things  ought as far  
as the frailty of man permitteth to be  
manifest and  revealed4  ,for so it is  
expressed in the ,scriptures touching   
the  government of ,god1 that this      
globe1 which seemeth to us a dark and   
shady  body1 is in the view of ,god as  
crystal3 ,et in conspectu sedis tanquam 
mare vitreum simile crystallo4  ,so unto
 princes and states1 and  specially     
towards wise senates and councils1 the  
natures and dispositions  of the people1
 their conditions and necessities1 their
 factions and  combinations1 their      
animosities and discontents1 ought to   
be1 in regard  of the variety of their  
intelligences1 the wisdom of their      
observations1  and the height of their  
station where they keep sentinel1 in    
great part  clear and transparent4      
,wherefore1 considering that ,i write to
 a king  that is a master of this       
science1 and is so well assisted1 ,i    
think it  decent to pass over this part 

in silence1 as willing to obtain the    
certificate which one of the ancient    
philosophers aspired unto2 who being    
silent1 when others contended to make   
demonstration of their abilities by     
speech1 desired it might be certified   
for his part1 8,that there was one  that
 knew how to hold his peace40    7#di7  
,notwithstanding1 for the more public   
part of government1 which is  laws1 ,i  
think good to note only one deficiency2 
which is1 that all those  which have    
written of laws have written either as  
philosophers or as  lawyers1 and none as
 statesmen4  ,as for the philosophers1  
they make  imaginary laws for imaginary 
commonwealths1 and their discourses are 
as  the stars1 which give little light  
because they are so high4  ,for the     
lawyers1 they write according to the    
states where they live what is  received
 law1 and not what ought to be law2 for 
the wisdom of a law-maker  is one1 and  
of a lawyer is another4  ,for there are 
in nature certain  fountains of justice 

whence all civil laws are derived but as
 streams2  and like as waters do take   
tinctures and tastes from the soils     
through  which they run1 so do civil    
laws vary according to the regions and  
governments where they are planted1     
though they proceed from the same       
fountains4  ,again1 the wisdom of a     
law-maker consisteth not only in a      
platform of justice1 but in the         
application thereof2 taking into        
consideration by what means laws may be 
made certain1 and what are the  causes  
and remedies of the doubtfulness and    
uncertainty of law2 by what  means laws 
may be made apt and easy to be executed1
 and what are the  impediments and      
remedies in the execution of laws2 what 
influence laws  touching private right  
of meum and tuum have into the public   
state1  and how they may be made apt and
 agreeable2 how laws are to be penned   
and  delivered1 whether in texts or in  
,acts1 brief or large1 with preambles or
  without2 how they are to be pruned and

 reformed from time to time1 and  what  
is the best means to keep them from     
being too vast in volume1 or too  full  
of multiplicity and crossness2 how they 
are to be expounded1 when  upon causes  
emergent and judicially discussed1 and  
when upon responses  and conferences    
touching general points or questions2   
how they are to be  pressed1 rigorously 
or tenderly2 how they are to be         
mitigated by equity  and good           
conscience1 and whether discretion and  
strict law are to be  mingled in the    
same courts1 or kept apart in several   
courts2 again1 how  the practice1       
profession1 and erudition of law is to  
be censured and  governed2 and many     
other points touching the administration
 and 7as ,i may  term it7 animation of  
laws4  ,upon which ,i insist the less1  
because ,i  purpose 7if ,god give me    
leave71 having begun a work of this     
nature in  aphorisms1 to propound it    
hereafter1 noting it in the meantime for
  deficient4    7#ej7 ,and for your     

,majesty's laws of ,england1 ,i could   
say much of their  dignity1 and somewhat
 of their defect2 but they cannot but   
excel the  civil laws in fitness for the
 government1 for the civil law was      
nonhos  qusitum munus in usus2 it was   
not made for the countries which it     
governeth4  ,hereof ,i cease to speak   
because ,i will not intermingle matter  
of action with matter of general        
learning4    ,,xxiv4  ,thus have ,i     
concluded this portion of learning      
touching civil  knowledge2 and with     
civil knowledge have concluded human    
philosophy2 and  with human philosophy1 
philosophy in general4  ,and being now  
at some  pause1 looking back into that  
,i have passed through1 this writing    
seemeth  to me 7si nunquam fallit       
imago71 as far as a man can judge of his
 own  work1 not much better than that   
noise or sound which musicians make     
while  they are in tuning their         
instruments1 which is nothing pleasant  
to hear1  but yet is a cause why the    

music is sweeter afterwards4  ,so have  
,i been  content to tune the instruments
 of the ,muses1 that they may play that 
have better hands4  ,and surely1 when ,i
 set before me the condition of  these  
times1 in which learning hath made her  
third visitation or circuit  in all the 
qualities thereof2 as the excellency and
 vivacity of the wits  of this age2 the 
noble helps and lights which we have by 
the travails of  ancient writers2 the   
art of printing1 which communicateth    
books to men of  all fortunes2 the      
openness of the world by navigation1    
which hath  disclosed multitudes of     
experiments1 and a mass of natural      
history2 the  leisure wherewith these   
times abound1 not employing men so      
generally in  civil business1 as the    
states of ,grcia did1 in respect of     
their  popularity1 and the state of     
,rome1 in respect of the greatness of   
their  monarchy2 the present disposition
 of these times at this instant to      
peace2 the consumption of all that ever 

can be said in controversies of         
religion1 which have so much diverted   
men from other sciences2 the  perfection
 of your ,majesty's learning1 which as a
 phnix may call whole  volleys of wits  
to follow you2 and the inseparable      
propriety of time1  which is ever more  
and more to disclose truth2 ,i cannot   
but be raised to  this persuasion1 that 
this third period of time will far      
surpass that of  the ,grecian and ,roman
 learning2 only if men will know their  
own strength  and their own weakness    
both2 and take1 one from the other1     
light of  invention1 and not fire of    
contradiction2 and esteem of the        
inquisition  of truth as of an          
enterprise1 and not as of a quality or  
ornament2 and  employ wit and           
magnificence to things of worth and     
excellency1 and not to  things vulgar   
and of popular estimation4  ,as for my  
labours1 if any man  shall please       
himself or others in the reprehension of
 them1 they shall  make that ancient and

 patient request1 ,verbera1 sed audi3   
let men  reprehend them1 so they observe
 and weigh them4  ,for the appeal is    
lawful  7though it may be it shall not  
be needful7 from the first cogitations  
of  men to their second1 and from the   
nearer times to the times further off4  
,now let us come to that learning1 which
 both the former times were not so      
blessed as to know1 sacred and inspired 
divinity1 the ,sabbath and port of  all 
men's labours and peregrinations4       
,,xxv4 7#a7 ,the prerogative of ,god    
extendeth as well to the reason as to   
the  will of man3 so that as we are to  
obey ,his law1 though we find a         
reluctation in our will1 so we are to   
believe ,his word1 though we find a     
reluctation in our reason4  ,for if we  
believe only that which is  agreeable to
 our sense we give consent to the       
matter1 and not to the  author2 which is
 no more than we would do towards a     
suspected and  discredited witness2 but 
that faith which was accounted to       

,abraham for  righteousness was of such 
a point as whereat ,sarah laughed1 who  
therein  was an image of natural reason4
    7#b7 ,howbeit 7if we will truly     
consider of it7 more worthy it is to    
believe than to know as we now know4    
,for in knowledge man's mind  suffereth 
from sense3 but in belief it suffereth  
from spirit1 such one as  it holdeth for
 more authorised than itself and so     
suffereth from the  worthier agent4     
,otherwise it is of the state of man    
glorified2 for then  faith shall cease1 
and we shall know as we are known4      
7#c7 ,wherefore we conclude that sacred 
theology 7which in our idiom we  call   
divinity7 is grounded only upon the word
 and oracle of ,god1 and not  upon the  
light of nature3 for it is written1 ,cli
 enarrant gloriam ,dei2  but it is not  
written1 ,cli enarrant voluntatem ,dei3 
but of that it is  said1 ,ad legem et   
testimonium3 si non fecerint secundum   
verbum istud1  c4  ,this holdeth not    
only in those points of faith which     

concern the  great mysteries of the     
,deity1 of the creation1 of the         
redemption1 but  likewise those which   
concern the law moral1 truly            
interpreted3 8,love your  enemies3 do   
good to them that hate you2 be like to  
your heavenly ,father1  that suffereth  
,his rain to fall upon the just and     
unjust40  ,to this it  ought to be      
applauded1 ,nec vox hominem sonat3 it is
 a voice beyond the  light of nature4   
,so we see the heathen poets1 when they 
fall upon a  libertine passion1 do still
 expostulate with laws and moralities1  
as if  they were opposite and malignant 
to nature3 ,et quod natura remittit1    
invida jura negant4  ,so said ,dendamis 
the ,indian unto ,alexander's           
messengers1 that he had heard somewhat  
of ,pythagoras1 and some other of  the  
wise men of ,grcia1 and that he held    
them for excellent men3 but that  they  
had a fault1 which was that they had in 
too great reverence and  veneration a   
thing they called law and manners4  ,so 

it must be confessed  that a great part 
of the law moral is of that perfection  
whereunto the  light of nature cannot   
aspire3 how then is it that man is said 
to have1  by the light and law of       
nature1 some notions and conceits of    
virtue and  vice1 justice and wrong1    
good and evil8  ,thus1 because the light
 of  nature is used in two several      
senses3 the one1 that which springeth   
from  reason1 sense1 induction1         
argument1 according to the laws of      
heaven and  earth2 the other1 that which
 is imprinted upon the spirit of man by 
an  inward instinct1 according to the   
law of conscience1 which is a sparkle   
of the purity of his first estate3 in   
which latter sense only he is           
participant of some light and discerning
 touching the perfection of the  moral  
law2 but how8 sufficient to check the   
vice but not to inform the  duty4  ,so  
then the doctrine of religion1 as well  
moral as mystical1 is  not to be        
attained but by inspiration and         

revelation from ,god4    7#d7 ,the use  
notwithstanding of reason in spiritual  
things1 and the  latitude thereof1 is   
very great and general3 for it is not   
for nothing  that the apostle calleth   
religion 8our reasonable service of     
,god20  insomuch as the very ceremonies 
and figures of the old law were full of 
reason and signification1 much more than
 the ceremonies of idolatry and  magic1 
that are full of non-significants and   
surd characters4  ,but most  specially  
the ,christian faith1 as in all things  
so in this1 deserveth to  be highly     
magnified2 holding and preserving the   
golden mediocrity in this  point between
 the law of the heathen and the law of  
,mahomet1 which have  embraced the two  
extremes4  ,for the religion of the     
heathen had no  constant belief or      
confession1 but left all to the liberty 
of agent2 and  the religion of ,mahomet 
on the other side interdicteth argument 
altogether3 the one having the very face
 of error1 and the other of  imposture2 

whereas the ,faith doth both admit and  
reject disputation with  difference4    
7#e7 ,the use of human reason in        
religion is of two sorts3 the former1 in
  the conception and apprehension of the
 mysteries of ,god to us revealed2  the 
other1 in the inferring and deriving of 
doctrine and direction  thereupon4  ,the
 former extendeth to the mysteries      
themselves2 but how8 by  way of         
illustration1 and not by way of         
argument4  ,the latter consisteth       
indeed of probation and argument4  ,in  
the former we see ,god vouchsafeth  to  
descend to our capacity1 in the         
expressing of ,his mysteries in sort as 
may be sensible unto us2 and doth graft 
,his revelations and holy doctrine  upon
 the notions of our reason1 and applieth
 ,his inspirations to open our          
understanding1 as the form of the key to
 the ward of the lock4  ,for the  latter
 there is allowed us a use of reason and
 argument1 secondary and  respective1   
although not original and absolute4     

,for after the articles  and principles 
of religion are placed and exempted from
 examination of  reason1 it is then     
permitted unto us to make derivations   
and inferences  from and according to   
the analogy of them1 for our better     
direction4  ,in  nature this holdeth    
not2 for both the principles are        
examinable by  induction1 though not by 
a medium or syllogism2 and besides1     
those  principles or first positions    
have no discordance with that reason    
which  draweth down and deduceth the    
inferior positions4  ,but yet it holdeth
 not  in religion alone1 but in many    
knowledges1 both of greater and smaller 
nature1 namely1 wherein there are not   
only posita but placita2 for in  such   
there can be no use of absolute reason4 
,we see it familiarly in  games of wit1 
as chess1 or the like4  ,the draughts   
and first laws of the  game are         
positive1 but how8 merely ad placitum1  
and not examinable by  reason2 but then 
how to direct our play thereupon with   

best advantage to  win the game is      
artificial and rational4  ,so in human  
laws there be many  grounds and maxims  
which are placita juris1 positive upon  
authority1  and not upon reason1 and    
therefore not to be disputed3 but what  
is most  just1 not absolutely but       
relatively1 and according to those      
maxims1 that  affordeth a long field of 
disputation4  ,such therefore is that   
secondary  reason1 which hath place in  
divinity1 which is grounded upon the    
placets of ,god4    7#f7 ,here therefore
 ,i note this deficiency1 that there    
hath not been1 to  my understanding1    
sufficiently inquired and handled the   
true limits and  use of reason in       
spiritual things1 as a kind of divine   
dialectic3 which  for that it is not    
done1 it seemeth to me a thing usual1 by
 pretext of  true conceiving that which 
is revealed1 to search and mine into    
that  which is not revealed2 and by     
pretext of enucleating inferences and   
contradictories1 to examine that which  

is positive4  ,the one sort falling     
into the error of ,nicodemus1 demanding 
to have things made more sensible  than 
it pleaseth ,god to reveal them1        
,quomodo possit homo nasci cum sit      
senex8  ,the other sort into the error  
of the disciples1 which were            
scandalised at a show of contradiction1 
,quid est hoc quod dicit nobis8         
,modicum et non videbitis me2 et iterum1
 modicum1 et videbitis me1  c4    7#g7  
,upon this ,i have insisted the more1 in
 regard of the great and  blessed use   
thereof2 for this point well laboured   
and defined of would in  my judgment be 
an opiate to stay and bridle not only   
the vanity of  curious speculations1    
wherewith the schools labour1 but the   
fury of  controversies1 wherewith the   
,church laboureth4  ,for it cannot but  
open  men's eyes to see that many       
controversies do merely pertain to that 
which  is either not revealed or        
positive2 and that many others do grow  
upon  weak and obscure inferences or    

derivations3 which latter sort1 if men  
would revive the blessed style of that  
great doctor of the ,gentiles1  would be
 carried thus1 ego1 non dominus2 and    
again1 secundum  consilium meum1 in     
opinions and counsels1 and not in       
positions and  oppositions4  ,but men   
are now over-ready to usurp the style1  
non ego1  sed dominus2 and not so only1 
but to bind it with the thunder and     
denunciation of curses and anathemas1 to
 the terror of those which have  not    
sufficiently learned out of ,solomon    
that 8,the causeless curse shall  not   
come40    7#h7 ,divinity hath two       
principal parts3 the matter informed or 
revealed1  and the nature of the        
information or revelation2 and with the 
latter we  will begin1 because it hath  
most coherence with that which we have  
now  last handled4  ,the nature of the  
information consisteth of three         
branches3 the limits of the information1
 the sufficiency of the  information1   
and the acquiring or obtaining the      

information4  ,unto the  limits of the  
information belong these considerations3
 how far forth  particular persons      
continue to be inspired2 how far forth  
the ,church is  inspired2 and how far   
forth reason may be used2 the last point
 whereof ,i  have noted as deficient4   
,unto the sufficiency of the information
 belong  two considerations3 what points
 of religion are fundamental1 and what  
perfective1 being matter of further     
building and perfection upon one and    
the same foundation2 and again1 how the 
gradations of light according to  the   
dispensation of times are material to   
the sufficiency of belief4    7#i7 ,here
 again ,i may rather give it in advice  
than note it as deficient1  that the    
points fundamental1 and the points of   
further perfection only1  ought to be   
with piety and wisdom distinguished2 a  
subject tending to  much like end as    
that ,i noted before2 for as that other 
were likely to  abate the number of     
controversies1 so this is likely to     

abate the heat of  many of them4  ,we   
see ,moses when he saw the ,israelite   
and the ,egyptian  fight1 he did not    
say1 8,why strive you80 but drew his    
sword and slew the  ,egyptian2 but when 
he saw the two ,israelites fight1 he    
said1 8,you are  brethren1 why strive   
you80  ,if the point of doctrine be an  
,egyptian1 it  must be slain by the     
sword of the ,spirit1 and not           
reconciled2 but if it  be an ,israelite1
 though in the wrong1 then1 8,why strive
 you80  ,we see of  the fundamental     
points1 our ,saviour penneth the league 
thus1 8,he that is  not with us is      
against us20 but of points not          
fundamental1 thus1 8,he that  is not    
against us is with us40  ,so we see the 
coat of our ,saviour was  entire without
 seam1 and so is the doctrine of the    
,scriptures in itself2  but the garment 
of the ,church was of divers colours and
 yet not divided4  ,we see the chaff may
 and ought to be severed from the corn  
in the ear1  but the tares may not be   

pulled up from the corn in the field4   
,so as it  is a thing of great use well 
to define what1 and of what latitude1   
those  points are which do make men mere
 aliens and disincorporate from the     
,church of ,god4    7#aj7 ,for the      
obtaining of the information1 it resteth
 upon the true and  sound interpretation
 of the ,scriptures1 which are the      
fountains of the  water of life4  ,the  
interpretations of the ,scriptures are  
of two sorts3  methodical1 and solute or
 at large4  ,for this divine water1     
which  excelleth so much that of        
,jacob's well1 is drawn forth much in   
the same  kind as natural water useth to
 be out of wells and fountains2 either  
it  is first forced up into a cistern1  
and from thence fetched and derived  for
 use2 or else it is drawn and received  
in buckets and vessels  immediately     
where it springeth4  ,the former sort   
whereof1 though it seem  to be the more 
ready1 yet in my judgment is more       
subject to corrupt4  ,this is that      

method which hath exhibited unto us the 
scholastical  divinity2 whereby divinity
 hath been reduced into an art1 as into 
a  cistern1 and the streams of doctrine 
or positions fetched and derived  from  
thence4    7#aa7 ,in this men have      
sought three things1 a summary brevity1 
a compacted  strength1 and a complete   
perfection2 whereof the two first they  
fail to  find1 and the last they ought  
not to seek4  ,for as to brevity1 we see
 in  all summary methods1 while men     
purpose to abridge1 they give cause to  
dilate4  ,for the sum or abridgment by  
contraction becometh obscure2 the       
obscurity requireth exposition1 and the 
exposition is deduced into large        
commentaries1 or into commonplaces and  
titles1 which grow to be more vast  than
 the original writings1 whence the sum  
was at first extracted4  ,so we  see the
 volumes of the schoolmen are greater   
much than the first writings  of the    
fathers1 whence the master of the       
sentences made his sum or  collection4  

,so in like manner the volumes of the   
modern doctors of the  civil law exceed 
those of the ancient jurisconsults1 of  
which ,tribonian  compiled the digest4  
,so as this course of sums and          
commentaries is that  which doth        
infallibly make the body of sciences    
more immense in quantity1  and more base
 in substance4    7#ab7 ,and for        
strength1 it is true that knowledges    
reduced into exact  methods have a show 
of strength1 in that each part seemeth  
to support and  sustain the other2 but  
this is more satisfactory than          
substantial1 like  unto buildings which 
stand by architecture and compaction1   
which are more  subject to ruin than    
those that are built more strong in     
their several  parts1 though less       
compacted4  ,but it is plain that the   
more you recede  from your grounds1 the 
weaker do you conclude2 and as in       
nature1 the more  you remove yourself   
from particulars1 the greater peril of  
error you do  incur2 so much more in    

divinity1 the more you recede from the  
,scriptures  by inferences and          
consequences1 the more weak and dilute  
are your  positions4    7#ac7 ,and as   
for perfection or completeness in       
divinity1 it is not to be  sought1 which
 makes this course of artificial        
divinity the more suspect4  ,for he that
 will reduce a knowledge into an art    
will make it round and  uniform2 but in 
divinity many things must be left       
abrupt1 and concluded  with this3 ,o    
altitudo sapienti et scienti ,dei6 quam 
incomprehensibilia sunt juducua ejus1 et
 non investigabiles vi ejus4  ,so again 
the apostle saith1 ,ex parte scimus3 and
 to have the form of a  total1 where    
there is but matter for a part1 cannot  
be without supplies  by supposition and 
presumption4  ,and therefore ,i conclude
 that the true  use of these sums and   
methods hath place in institutions or   
introductions  preparatory unto         
knowledge2 but in them1 or by deducement
 from them1 to  handle the main body and

 substance of a knowledge is in all     
sciences  prejudicial1 and in divinity  
dangerous4    7#ad7 ,as to the          
interpretation of the ,scriptures solute
 and at large1  there have been divers  
kinds introduced and devised2 some of   
them rather  curious and unsafe than    
sober and warranted4  ,notwithstanding1 
thus much  must be confessed1 that the  
,scriptures1 being given by inspiration 
and  not by human reason1 do differ from
 all other books in the ,author1 which  
by consequence doth draw on some        
difference to be used by the expositor4 
,for the ,inditer of them did know four 
things which no man attains to  know2   
which are--the mysteries of the kingdom 
of glory1 the perfection of  the laws of
 nature1 the secrets of the heart of    
man1 and the future  succession of all  
ages4  ,for as to the first it is said1 
8,he that  presseth into the light shall
 be oppressed of the glory40  ,and      
again1 8,no  man shall see ,my face and 
live40  ,to the second1 8,when ,he      

prepared the  heavens ,i was present1   
when by law and compass ,he enclosed the
 deep40  ,to  the third1 8,neither was  
it needful that any should bear witness 
to ,him of  man1 for ,he knew well what 
was in man40  ,and to the last1 8,from  
the  beginning are known to the ,lord   
all ,his works40    7#ae7 ,from the     
former two of these have been drawn     
certain senses and  expositions of      
,scriptures1 which had need be contained
 within the bounds  of sobriety--the one
 anagogical1 and the other              
philosophical4  ,but as to  the former1 
man is not to prevent his time3 ,videmus
 nunc per speculum in  nigmate1 tunc    
autem facie ad faciem2 wherein          
nevertheless there  seemeth to be a     
liberty granted1 as far forth as the    
polishing of this  glass1 or some       
moderate explication of this enigma4    
,but to press too far  into it cannot   
but cause a dissolution and overthrow of
 the spirit of  man4  ,for in the body  
there are three degrees of that we      

receive into  it--aliment1 medicine1 and
 poison2 whereof aliment is that which  
the  nature of man can perfectly alter  
and overcome2 medicine is that which is 
partly converted by nature1 and partly  
converteth nature2 and poison is  that  
which worketh wholly upon nature1       
without that nature can in any  part    
work upon it4  ,so in the mind1         
whatsoever knowledge reason cannot at   
all work upon and convert is a mere     
intoxication1 and endangereth a         
dissolution of the mind and             
understanding4    7#af7 ,but for the    
latter1 it hath been extremely set on   
foot of late time  by the school of     
,paracelsus1 and some others1 that have 
pretended to find  the truth of all     
natural philosophy in the ,scriptures2  
scandalising and  traducing all other   
philosophy as heathenish and profane4   
,but there is  no such enmity between   
,god's ,word and ,his works2 neither do 
they give  honour to the ,scriptures1 as
 they suppose1 but much embase them4    

,for to  seek heaven and earth in the   
,word of ,god1 whereof it is said1      
8,heaven and  earth shall pass1 but ,my 
word shall not pass10 is to seek        
temporary  things amongst eternal3 and  
as to seek divinity in philosophy is to 
seek  the living amongst the dead1 so to
 seek philosophy in divinity is to seek 
the dead amongst the living3 neither are
 the pots or lavers1 whose place  was in
 the outward part of the temple1 to be  
sought in the holiest place  of all     
where the ark of the testimony was      
seated4  ,and again1 the scope  or      
purpose of the ,spirit of ,god is not to
 express matters of nature in  the      
,scriptures1 otherwise than in passage1 
and for application to man's  capacity  
and to matters moral or divine4  ,and it
 is a true rule1  ,auctoris aliud       
agentis parva auctoritas4  ,for it were 
a strange  conclusion1 if a man should  
use a similitude for ornament or        
illustration  sake1 borrowed from nature
 or history according to vulgar conceit1

 as of  a basilisk1 a unicorn1 a        
centaur1 a ,briareus1 a hydra1 or the   
like1 that  therefore he must needs be  
thought to affirm the matter thereof    
positively to be true4  ,to conclude    
therefore these two interpretations1    
the one by reduction or enigmatical1 the
 other philosophical or physical1  which
 have been received and pursued in      
imitation of the rabbins and  cabalists1
 are to be confined with a a noli akryn 
sapere1 sed time4    7#ag7 ,but the two 
latter points1 known to ,god and unknown
 to man1 touching  the secrets of the   
heart and the successions of time1 doth 
make a just  and sound difference       
between the manner of the exposition of 
the  ,scriptures and all other books4   
,for it is an excellent observation     
which  hath been made upon the answers  
of our ,saviour ,christ to many of the  
questions which were propounded to ,him1
 how that they are impertinent to  the  
state of the question demanded3 the     
reason whereof is1 because not  being   

like man1 which knows man's thoughts by 
his words1 but knowing  man's thoughts  
immediately1 ,he never answered their   
words1 but their  thoughts4  ,much in   
the like manner it is with the          
,scriptures1 which being  written to the
 thoughts of men1 and to the succession 
of all ages1 with a  foresight of all   
heresies1 contradictions1 differing     
estates of the  ,church1 yea1 and       
particularly of the elect1 are not to be
 interpreted  only according to the     
latitude of the proper sense of the     
place1 and  respectively towards that   
present occasion whereupon the words    
were  uttered1 or in precise congruity  
or contexture with the words before or  
after1 or in contemplation of the       
principal scope of the place2 but have  
in themselves1 not only totally or      
collectively1 but distributively in     
clauses and words1 infinite springs and 
streams of doctrine to water the        
,church in every part4  ,and therefore  
as the literal sense is1 as it were1    

the main stream or river1 so the moral  
sense chiefly1 and sometimes the        
allegorical or typical1 are they whereof
 the ,church hath most use2 not  that ,i
 wish men to be bold in allegories1 or  
indulgent or light in  allusions3 but   
that ,i do much condemn that            
interpretation of the  ,scripture which 
is only after the manner as men use to  
interpret a  profane book4    7#ah7 ,in 
this part touching the exposition of the
 ,scriptures1 ,i can report  no         
deficiency2 but by way of remembrance   
this ,i will add4  ,in perusing  books  
of divinity ,i find many books of       
controversies1 and many of  commonplaces
 and treatises1 a mass of positive      
divinity1 as it is made an  art3 a      
number of sermons and lectures1 and many
 prolix commentaries upon  the          
,scriptures1 with harmonies and         
concordances4  ,but that form of        
writing in divinity which in my judgment
 is of all others most rich and         
precious is positive divinity1 collected

 upon particular texts of  ,scriptures  
in brief observations2 not dilated into 
commonplaces1 not  chasing after        
controversies1 not reduced into method  
of art2 a thing  abounding in sermons1  
which will vanish1 but defective in     
books which  will remain1 and a thing   
wherein this age excelleth4  ,for ,i am 
persuaded1  and ,i may speak it with an 
absit invidia verbo1 and nowise in      
derogation of antiquity1 but as in a    
good emulation between the vine and  the
 olive1 that if the choice and best of  
those observations upon texts  of       
,scriptures which have been made        
dispersedly in sermons within this  your
 ,majesty's ,island of ,brittany by the 
space of these forty years and  more    
7leaving out the largeness of           
exhortations and applications           
thereupon7 had been set down in a       
continuance1 it had been the best work  
in divinity which had been written since
 the ,apostles' times4    7#ai7 ,the    
matter informed by divinity is of two   

kinds3 matter of belief  and truth of   
opinion1 and matter of service and      
adoration2 which is also  judged and    
directed by the former--the one being as
 the internal soul of  religion1 and the
 other as the external body thereof4    
,and1 therefore1  the heathen religion  
was not only a worship of idols1 but the
 whole  religion was an idol in itself2 
for it had no soul2 that is1 no         
certainty  of belief or confession3 as a
 man may well think1 considering the    
chief  doctors of their church were the 
poets2 and the reason was because the   
heathen gods were no jealous gods1 but  
were glad to be admitted into  part1 as 
they had reason4  ,neither did they     
respect the pureness of  heart1 so they 
might have external honour and rites4   
7#bj7 ,but out of these two do result   
and issue four main branches of         
divinity3 faith1 manners1 liturgy1 and  
government4  ,faith containeth the      
doctrine of the nature of ,god1 of the  
attributes of ,god1 and of the works  of

 ,god4  ,the nature of ,god consisteth  
of three persons in unity of  ,godhead4 
,the attributes of ,god are either      
common to the ,deity1 or  respective to 
the persons4  ,the works of ,god summary
 are two1 that of the  creation and that
 of the redemption2 and both these      
works1 as in total  they appertain to   
the unity of the ,godhead1 so in their  
parts they refer  to the three persons3 
that of the creation1 in the mass of the
 matter1 to  the ,father2 in the        
disposition of the form1 to the ,son2   
and in the  continuance and conservation
 of the being1 to the ,holy ,spirit4    
,so that  of the redemption1 in the     
election and counsel1 to the ,father2 in
 the  whole act and consummation1 to the
 ,son2 and in the application1 to the   
,holy ,spirit2 for by the ,holy ,ghost  
was ,christ conceived in flesh1 and by  
the ,holy ,ghost are the elect          
regenerate in spirit4  ,this work       
likewise we  consider either            
effectually1 in the elect2 or privately1

 in the  reprobate2 or according to     
appearance1 in the visible ,church4     
7#ba7 ,for manners1 the doctrine thereof
 is contained in the law1 which         
discloseth sin4  ,the law itself is     
divided1 according to the edition       
thereof1 into the law of nature1 the law
 moral1 and the law positive2 and       
according to the style1 into negative   
and affirmative1 prohibitions and       
commandments4  ,sin1 in the matter and  
subject thereof1 is divided  according  
to the commandments2 in the form thereof
 it referreth to the  three persons in  
,deity3 sins of infirmity against the   
,father1 whose more  special attribute  
is power2 sins of ignorance against the 
,son1 whose  attribute is wisdom2 and   
sins of malice against the ,holy ,ghost1
 whose  attribute is grace or love4  ,in
 the motions of it1 it either moveth to 
the right hand or to the left2 either to
 blind devotion or to profane and       
libertine transgression2 either in      
imposing restraint where ,god granteth  

liberty1 or in taking liberty where ,god
 imposeth restraint4  ,in the  degrees  
and progress of it1 it divideth itself  
into thought1 word1 or  act4  ,and in   
this part ,i commend much the deducing  
of the law of ,god to  cases of         
conscience2 for that ,i take indeed to  
be a breaking1 and not  exhibiting whole
 of the bread of life4  ,but that which 
quickeneth both  these doctrines of     
faith and manners is the elevation and  
consent of the  heart2 whereunto        
appertain books of exhortation1 holy    
meditation1  ,christian resolution1 and 
the like4    7#bb7 ,for the liturgy or  
service1 it consisteth of the reciprocal
 acts  between ,god and man2 which1 on  
the part of ,god1 are the preaching of  
the  word1 and the sacraments1 which are
 seals to the covenant1 or as the       
visible word2 and on the part of man1   
invocation of the name of ,god2 and     
under the law1 sacrifices2 which were as
 visible prayers or confessions3  but   
now the adoration being in spiritu et   

veritate1 there remaineth  only vituli  
labiorum2 although the use of holy vows 
of thankfulness and  retribution may be 
accounted also as sealed petitions4     
7#bc7 ,and for the government of the    
,church1 it consisteth of the patrimony 
of the ,church1 the franchises of the   
,church1 and the offices and            
jurisdictions of the ,church1 and the   
laws of the ,church directing the       
whole2 all which have two               
considerations1 the one in themselves1  
the  other how they stand compatible and
 agreeable to the civil estate4    7#bd7
 ,this matter of divinity is handled    
either in form of instruction of  truth1
 or in form of confutation of falsehood4
  ,the declinations from  religion1     
besides the privative1 which is atheism 
and the branches  thereof1 are          
three--heresies1 idolatry1 and          
witchcraft3 heresies1 when we  serve the
 true ,god with a false worship2        
idolatry1 when we worship false  gods1  
supposing them to be true2 and          

witchcraft1 when we adore false  gods1  
knowing them to be wicked and false4    
,for so your ,majesty doth  excellently 
well observe1 that witchcraft is the    
height of idolatry4  ,and  yet we see   
though these be true degrees1 ,samuel   
teacheth us that they are  all of a     
nature1 when there is once a receding   
from the ,word of ,god2 for  so he      
saith1 ,quasi peccatum ariolandi est    
repugnare1 et quasi scelus  idololatri  
nolle acquiescere4    7#be7 ,these      
things ,i have passed over so briefly   
because ,i can report no  deficiency    
concerning them3 for ,i can find no     
space or ground that lieth  vacant and  
unsown in the matter of divinity1 so    
diligent have men been  either in sowing
 of good seed1 or in sowing of tares4   
99 99 99 99 99    ,thus have ,i made as 
it were a small globe of the            
intellectual world1 as  truly and       
faithfully as ,i could discover2 with a 
note and description of  those parts    
which seem to me not constantly         

occupate1 or not well  converted by the 
labour of man4  ,in which1 if ,i have in
 any point receded  from that which is  
commonly received1 it hath been with a  
purpose of  proceeding in melius1 and   
not in aliud2 a mind of amendment and   
proficiency1 and not of change and      
difference4  ,for ,i could not be true  
and constant to the argument ,i handle  
if ,i were not willing to go beyond     
others2 but yet not more willing than to
 have others go beyond me again3  which 
may the better appear by this1 that ,i  
have propounded my opinions  naked and  
unarmed1 not seeking to preoccupate the 
liberty of men's  judgments by          
confutations4  ,for in anything which is
 well set down1 ,i am  in good hope that
 if the first reading move an objection1
 the second  reading will make an       
answer4  ,and in those things wherein ,i
 have erred1 ,i  am sure ,i have not    
prejudiced the right by litigious       
arguments2 which  certainly have this   
contrary effect and operation1 that they

 add  authority to error1 and destroy   
the authority of that which is well     
invented4  ,for question is an honour   
and preferment to falsehood1 as on  the 
other side it is a repulse to truth4    
,but the errors ,i claim and  challenge 
to myself as mine own4  ,the good1 it   
any be1 is due tanquam  adeps           
sacrificii1 to be incensed to the       
honour1 first of the ,divine  ,majesty1 
and next of your ,majesty1 to whom on   
earth ,i am most bounden4               
,,footnotes4      #ci  ,stoops in the   
rice and takes the speeding gold4       
,ovid4 ,metam1 x4  #ffg4