OCR Text |
Show ./1. Letter, and Difccmrfe, to Sir Henry Savill, the improvement, :md Helping, of the 11':teile&uafi1·-;;;w-er_J; _ A..:....s· -oi Conceit, l'.;femory, and Judgement, they fay nothing. Whcdu;r it were, that t.hcy thought it, to be a Matter, wherein Nature onely prevailed; Or that they intended it, as referred, to the feveralJ, and Proper, Arts, which teach, the ufe, ofR.eafon, and Speech. But for 1 he former ot thefe t wo R e~fons,how foever,i t pleafeth them, to d ifiingu1fb, of Habits, and Powers; The Expe1ience is manifdt enough) t hat the .Motions, and F acttltics, of the IVit, and Memor}, may be, not on ely governed, 2-nd guidcd,but alfo confi1 med;and enlarged, by Cuftome, and Exercife, duly appJyed: As if a JUa1z exercife Jl.woting, he !hall not onely {boot nearer the Mark, but al fo draw a firnnger Bow. And as for the Latter, of Comprehending, thcfe precepts~ within the Arts,of Logic/z)& Rbctoric/z;I f 1 ir be rightly confidered, their Office is difiinfr7 altogether, frmn this P oint: For it is no part,of the D oetrine, of the Ufe,or Handling, of an In.ftrmnent,to teach,how to Whet, or grinde,the Inflru~ mo;t, to give it a fharp edge; Or how io quench it, or otherwife, whereby t o give it a fl:rongerTemper. Wherefore/inding this I '"~art ofKnowledge, not broken, I have, but tanquam aliud agens, t c-ntred into it, and fa lute you with it; Dedicating it,af: er the an- ~ cient manner, fi rfi as to a dear Friend ; And then as to an Apt Perfon; For as much, as you have, both place, to praCtiCe it, an~ Judgement, and Ley(ure,to look deeper into it,thenl have done.tt Herein you mufi: call to mind, A ·~,n~ (JJP IIJ'"' f· T hough the Argument, be not of great Heigth, and Dignity, nevert helefie!) it is o~ great, and univer fall ufe : And yet, I do not fee, why, to confi-1 der it rightly; That fuould not be a LctJrning of Heigth, which! teacheth to raif", the H.i.ghefr, and Worthieft). Part of the Mind. l But howfoever that be, If the World take any Ltght, and Ufe .. by r .this 1Vriting, I will!) the Gratulation be, to the good Friend~fbip:;l and Acquaintance, between us two. Anc,l.fo I commend you, to . Gods Divi1te l'rotef1ion. A D I S C 0 U R S E , toztchi11g HE L P S , for theINTELL EC 1-UALL P 0 W ERS. ' I Jdid ever hold it, for an Infolent, and unlucky, Saying ; Fabe~· q1tifque For tun£ fote; except it be uttered, on ely, as an Hortative, or spurJ to correCt Sloth. For otherwife, if it be believed, as it foundeth; And that a Man, entreih into an high Imagination, that he can compafs, and fathom, all Accident~; And afcribeth, all Succeffes, to his Drifts,and Reaches; And the contrary, to touching Helps,for the lntellectuall Powerso to his Errours, and Sleepings: It is commonly feen that theEve!' ing Fortune, ~f that ~an , is not fo profperous j as ~fhim, a hat wtthout ~acknwg, ofh~s Indufrry, attributeth much to Felicity , and Provzdence above htm. But if the Sentence w-c:re turned to this; Faber quifque_Ingenii foi, it were fomewhat more True, and much more Profitable : Becaufe it would teach Men, to bend themfelves, to Reform, thofe Imperfd1ions, in themfelves, which now they feek but to Cover: And to attain thofe Vertues, and Good Partr, wh~ch now they f~tk , bu~ to h~ve=> onely) in jhen', and Dcmonflratw". ~ et notwtthfiandmg) every M2n attempteth to be, of the fir!t I rade, ofCapenters; And Few bind them( elves to the_ Second: whereas, nevenhcld1e, t he Rijing'in For tune, fel?ome, amendeth the Mind; But J on the other fide, the Removmg of the Stonds1 and Impediments, of the Mind, doth ofcen • clear, the pafiage , a ~1 d Cur rent to a Mans Fortune. But certain it is, whether it b!:! believed 'or no rhat; as the mofi excellent of.Mettalls, Gold, is, · of all other, the'mofi Pliant~ and mofl: Endurmg to be wrought; So, of all Living, anq Breathing Subltances, the Perfecteit, (Man,) is the mofl: fu fceptible of Help, lmpr~ven:cnt, !ntpreffion, an.d_Alteration; And ~ot only in his. Body, but 1~ hts 11//Jnd, and Sp1rlt ; And_ there again, not only, tn his Appl t1te, and .Ajfeaion0 but in his Powers of Wit, and Ii.ea}on. For as to the Body. of !dan, we fi~d many, and firange, E xperieqces, how Nature IS overwrought by cujtome, even in Actions, that {eem of mofi: difilculty, and leafl: po{hble.. As firft in Vobmtar;' Motion; ~hich though it be t ermed Vo!tmtary, yet the highe~ ·Degr,ses of lt3 are not Volunt4ry; For it is , in my Powet, and WzU, to R.un; ~ut to R1m ~afier '· then accord ing to my Lightneffe, or Dtf pofitton of Body> ts ·not m my Power nor Vf ill. We fee the lndufl:ry, an4 Practife :> of T1tmblen ;J and'F1mambu!o's what Fjfe{]s, of great Wonder, it bringetb, the Body of Man, unt~. So for fi1fering of Pain, and Dolour, which is thought fo contrary to the Nature of .Il-l an, there is much Exarn ple of Penances, in jiri{] Ord~rs, of fuperftition, what they do endure; Such as may well venfie, the Report, of the Spartan Boyes, which were wont to be ~courged, upon the Altar fo bitterly , ~s fometimes they dyed of lt; A?d yet ~ere never heard to complain. And to pafs to thofe F aculttes, .wh1ch are reckoned more Involuntary ; As Long F ajting, and . .Abflznenee; and the contrary Extream, (Voracity;) The Lea'Vm_g, and Forbearing, the Vje, of Drink.., for altogether; The Endurmg vehement Cold, and the like; There have not wanted) neithe~ do want, divers Examples, offrrange Victories, over the Body, In every ofthefe. Nay in Refpiration, the proof hath been of fome, who by continuall ufe of Divittg, and Worf,Jng, under the Water, have brought themfelves, to be able, to hold their B~eath, an incredible time; And others, that have been able, Without Suffocation, to endure, the Stifling Breath, 'of an Oven, Gg 2 or ---- ~ 'J 27 . I |