clothed by invention; it would be an eafy task to fill up volumes upon particular occafions, without farther expatiating from the fubject, than by moderate excurfions, helping to advance or clear the main defign. But with knowledge it has fared as with a numerous army, encamped in a fruitful country; which for a few days maintains itself by the product of the foil it is on; till, provifions being spent, they are fent to forage many a mile, among friends or enemies, it matters not. Mean while, the neighbouring fields, trampled and beaten down, become barren and dry, affording no fuftenance but clouds of duft.

The whole courfe of things being thus entirely changed between us and the ancients, and the moderns wifely fenfible of it; we of this age have discovered a fhorter, and more prudent method, to become scholars and wits, without the fatigue of reading or of thinking. The most accomplished way of ufing books at prefent, is twofold: either, first, to ferve them as fome men do lords, learn their titles exactly, and then brag of their acquaintance; or, fecondly, which is indeed the choicer, the profounder, and politer method, to get a thorough infight into the index, by which the whole book is governed and turned, like fifies by the tail. For to enter the palace of learning at the great gate, requires an expence of time and forms; therefore men of much halte and little ceremony are content to get in by the back-door. For the arts are all in a flying march, and therefore more easily fubdued by attacking them in the rear. Thus phyficians difcover the ftate of the whole body, by confulting only what comes from behind. Thus men catch knowledge by throwing their wit on the pofteriors of a book, as boys. do fparrows with flinging falt upon their tails. Thus human life is beft understood by the wife man's rule of regarding the end. Thus are the sciences found, like Hercules's oxen, by tracing them backwards. Thus are old fciences unravelled like old stockings, by beginning at the foot.

Befides all this, the army of the sciences hath been of late, with a world of martial difcipline, drawn into its clofe order, fo that a view, or a mufter may be taken of it with abundance of expedition. For this great bleffing

we

A digreffion in praise of digreffions.`

97

Sect. 7. we are wholly indebted to systems and abstracts, in which the modern fathers of learning, like prudent usurers, spent their sweat for the ease of us their children. For labour is the feed of idleness, and it is the peculiar happiness of Our noble age to gather the fruit.

Now, the method of growing wife, learned, and sublime, having become fo regular an affair, and fo established in all its forms; the number of writers must needs have increafed accordingly, and to a pitch that has made it of abfolute neceffity for them to interfere continually with each other. Befides, it is reckoned, that there is not, at this prefent, a fufficient quantity of new matter deft in nature, to furnish and adorn any one particular fubject to the extent of a volume. This I am told by a very fkilful computer, who hath given a full demonstration of it from rules of arithmetic.

This, perhaps, may be objected against by thofe who maintain the infinity of matter, and therefore will not allow that any Species of it can be exhausted. For anfwer to which, let us examine the nobleft branch of modern wit or invention, planted and cultivated by the prefent age, and which, of all others, hath born the moft and the fairest fruit. For though fome remains of it were left us by the ancients, yet have not any of thofe, as I remember, been tranflated, or compiled into fyltems for modern use. Therefore we may affirm, to our own honour, that it hath, in fome fort, been both invented, and brought to a perfection by the fame hands. What I mean, is that highly-celebrated talent among the modern wits, of deducing fimilitudes, allufions, and applications, very furprifing, agreeable, and appofite, from the pudenda of either fex, together with their proper ufes. And truly, having obferved how little invention bears any vogue, befides what is derived into these chan nels, I have fometimes had a thought, that the happy genius of our age and country was prophetically held forth by that ancient typical description of the Indian pygmies; whofe ftature did not exceed above two foot: sed quorum pudenda craffa, et ad talos ufque pertingentia*. Now, I have been very curious to infpect the late productions,

Ctefia fragm. apud Photium,

wherein

་

wherein the beauties of this kind have moft prominently appeared. And although this vein hath bled fo freely, and all endeavours have been used in the power of human breath to dilate, extend, and keep it open; like the Scythians, who had a cuftom, and an inftrument, to blow up the privities of their mares, that they might yield the more milk; yet I am under an apprehenfion, it is near growing dry, and paft all recovery; and that either fome new fonde of wit fhould, if poffible, be provided, or elfe that we must e'en be content with repetition here, as well as upon all other occafions.

This will ftand as an incontestable argument, that our modern wits are not to reckon upon the infinity of matter, for a conftant fupply. What remains therefore, but that our laft recourse must be had to large indexes, and little compendiums? Quotations must be plentifully gathered, and booked in alphabet. To this end, though authors need be little confulted, yet critics, and commentators, and lexicons, carefully muft. But above all, thofe judicious collectors of bright parts, and flowers, and obfervanda's, are to be nicely dwelt on, by fome called the fieves and boulters of learning; though it is left undetermined, whether they dealt in pearls or meal; and confequently, whether we are more to value that which paled through, or what ftaid behind.

By thefe methods, in a few weeks, there starts up many a writer, capable of managing the profoundeft, and most universal fubjects. For what though his head be empty, provided his common-place book be full? And if you will bate him but the circumftances of method, and Style, and grammar, and invention; allow him but the common privileges of tranfcribing from others, and digreffing from himself, as often as he fhall fee occafion; he will defire no more ingredients towards fitting up a treatise, that shall make a very comely figure on a bookfeller's fhelf, there to be preserved neat and clean for a long eternity, adorned with the heraldry of its title fairly infcribed on a label; never to be thumbed or greafed by students, nor bound to everlasting chains of darkness in a library; but when the fulness of time is

* Herodot, 1. 4.

come,

come, fhall happily undergo the trial of purgatory, in order to afcend the sky.

Without these allowances, how is it poffible we modern wits fhould ever have an opportunity to introduce our collections, lifted under so many thousand heads of a different nature? for want of which, the learned world would be deprived of infinite delight, as well as inftruction, and we ourselves buried beyond redrefs in an inglorious and undiftinguifhed oblivion.

From fuch elements as these, I am alive to behold the day, wherein the corporation of authors can outvie all its brethren in the guild: A happiness derived to us with a great many others, from our Scythian ancestors; among whom the number of pens was fo infinite, that the Grecian eloquence had no other way of expreffing it, than by saying, that in the regions far to the north, it was hardly poffible for a man to travel, the very air was fo replete with feathers *

The neceffity of this digreffion will eafily excufe the length; and I have chofen for it as proper a place as I could readily find. If the judicious reader can affign a fitter, I do here impower him to remove it into any other corner, he pleases. And so I return, with great alacrity, to purfue a more important concern.

SECT. VIII.

A TALE OF A TU B.

HE learned Eolifts † maintain the original caufe

TH of all things to be wind, from which principle

this whole universe was at first produced, and into which it must at last be refolved; that the fame breath which had kindled, and blew up the flame of nature, fhould one day blow it out.

Quod procul a nobis flectat fortuna gubernans.

This is what the adepti understand by their anima

Herodot. 1. 4.

All pretenders to inspiration whatsoever.

VOL. I.

I

mundi

mundi; that is to fay, the Spirit, or breath, or wind of the world. For examine the whole fyftem by the parti culars of nature, and you will find it not to be difputed. For whether you pleafe to call the forma informans of man, by the name of Spiritus, animus, afflatus, or anima; what are all thefe but feveral appellations for wind? which is the ruling element in every compound, and into which they all refolve upon their corruption. Farther, what is life itfelf, but, as it is commonly called, the. breath of our noftrils? Whence it is very juftly obferved by naturalifts, that wind till continues of great emolument in certain myfteries not to be named, giving occafion for thofe happy epithets of turgidus, and inflatus, applied either to the emittent, or recipient organs.

By what I have gathered out of ancient records, I find the compass of their doctrine took in two and thirty points, wherein it would be tedious to be very particular. However, a few of their most important precepts, deducible from it, are by no means to be omitted; among which the following maxim was of much weight, That fince wind had the mafter-fhare, as well as operation in every compound, by confequence, thofe beings must be of chief excellence, wherein that primordium appears molt prominently to abound; and therefore man is in highest perfection of all created things, as having, by the great bounty of philofophers, been endued with three distinct anima's or winds, to which the fage Eolifts, with much liberality, have added a fourth, of equal neceffity, as well as ornament, with the other three; by this quartum principium, taking in our four corners of the world; which gave occafion to that renowned cabalift, Bombastus of placing the body of man in due pofition to the four cardinal points.

*

In confequence of this, their next principle was, That man brings with him into the world a peculiar portion or grain of wind, which may be called a quinta effentia, extracted from the other four. This quinteffence is of a catholic ufe upon all emergencies of life, is improvable into all arts and fciences, and may be wonderfully refin

This is one of the names of Paracelfus. He was called Chriftophorus Theophraftus, Paracelfus Bombaftus.

ed,