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Show .Abu(e of W.ordr. Book III: . . ~- 6. 1biully, Another abufe of Language is; an offeEled 0/;Tcuritj b eLthcr applymg old Words, to new and unufual Significations; or i~trJ ducmg new and amb1guous Terms, wuhout defining either l or el(e put• ung them fo togeth~r, as may confound the1r ortlinary meaning. TjJOu I\ the Penpatenck Plulofophy has been m_ofi emjnent in this way , yet~ ther Sects have not been wholly clear of 1t. Th,er' is fcarce any of them, that are not cum bred Wlthfome Dilllculnes, (fuc!l is, t[1e imperfection of l-fumane !\now ledge,) wluch they have been fa~il to cov~r with Obf< . i'ltybf Terms, and to confound the Signification ofWoi-&i which t1u a null before Peoples Eyes, might hind~r their weak par;s from . bet'n'e. d1fc?vered. That Body and Extention, m common ufe, fiand· for tw~ di!l:mct Ideas, _IS plam to any• one tha~ will but reflect a little: For were the1r Sigmlicanon prec1fely the fame, 1t would be as proper,and as intelli~ gtble to far, the Body of an Extenlion, as the Extenlion of a Body . and yet there are thofe who find it necelfary to confound their Signifi~tion. To th1s abufe, and the mtfcl11efs of confounding the Significat' f Wor?s, Logick, and_ the liberal Sciences , as they have been handfe~ fn the Schools, have g1ven Reputatmn; and the admired Art of D'fi t' hath added much to tbe natural imperfection of Languages, whi:~~t~h~; l;een made ufe of, and fitted to perplex the lignification of Word than to difcover the Knowledge a~d Truth of Things; And he t~~t~~m look mto thot fort ort~rned Wnrwgs, will lind the Words there much more obfcure, uncertow, ~nd undetermined in their Meaning than h are tn ordmary Converfatwn. • t ey §. 7· This is unav_oidably to be fo, where Mens Ports and Learning, ore elhmated by their Skill m Dijputi•g. And if Reputation and Reward ih.a l,l .a ttenfd W th efde C'o n· qdefis, w htc.h depend mofily on th e li nene1'S an d fl!Cct!es ·o. or s, tiS nQ\\(~ndertf the WitofMah fo employ'd, fi10u)d perp]el<, mvolve, and f~btthze't.!Je lignification of Sounds, fo as never to want fo':"ethmg to fay, m oppofing or defending any ~ellion ; the Vi' dory bemg ad~ufied not to lum who had Truth on his fide but the )aft word m the D1fpute. ' §. 8. This, though a very ufelefs Skill, and that which I think the di· rect oppolite to the ways cf Knowledge, hath yet pnifed hitherto under the laudable and efieemed Names of Sub!ility and Acutenefs, and has had the applaufe of the Schools, and encouragement of one part of the lear· ned Men of the World; and no wonder, Iince the Philofophers of old, (the dtfpunng and wrangling Philofophers I mean, fuch as Lucia• wittily, and With Reafon_ taxes,) and the Schoolmen Iince aiming at Glory and Elleem, for theJt great and univerfal Knowledge 'ealier a great deal to be pretended to, than _really a~quired, found this; good Expedient to cover theJr Ignorance, wuh a cunous and unexplicable Web of perplexed Words, and procure to themfdves the admiration of others by unintel· l1gtble terms, the apter to pr?duce wonder, becaufe they ~ould not be underllood: wlulfi It appears m alll-:'illory, thot thefe profound Doctors1 ~vere no WJfer, nor more ufeful~ than their Neighbours; and brought but mall advantage to humane Life, or the Societies, wherein they li1'ed: Unlefs the commg ot new Words,_ where they produced no new Things to appl)' them to, or the perplex,_ng or obfcuring the lignification of old onef,, and lo brtn~mg all Thmgs Into quell ion and difpute, were a thing pro !table to the Ltfe of Man, or Worthy Commendation and Reward. 0 §. 9· For, norwu:hftand1r.g thefe learned Difputants thefe all knowing tl~~rs, tt was to the unfcholallick Statefman, that ·tl;e Govemments of orld owed theJr Pence, Defence, and Liberties; and from the illite· rate Chap. X. .dbufe of Words. 2A --~--------~-----------------2I-J'iltC and contemned Mechanick, (a Name of Difgrace,) that they received the 1mprovemnts of ufeful Arts. Neverthelefs, this artificial Jgno~ nce, ond Le.Jrned Gd;/;erz(h , prevailed mightily in thefc lafi Ages, by dte lntere~ and Arufice of thofe, who found no eafler way to that pitch of Authonty and Dommton they _fiave attained, than by amufing the Men of Bu linefs '· and Ignorant, W1th hard Words, or employing the Jngemous and Idle m mtncate Dtfjmtes,about unintelligible Terms, and hoi· dmg them perpetually entangled m thot endlefs Labyrinth. Bclidcs there is no fu~h way to gain admittance, or give defence to flrange and abfurd Doctnnes, as to guard them round about with Legions of obfcure doubtful, and undefined Words. Which yet make thefe Retreats mor~ like the Dens of Robbers, or Boles of Foxes, thao the Fortrclfes ~f fair Warriours: which if it be hard to get them out of, it is not lor the firength that is in them, but the Briars and Thorns, and the Obfcurity of the Thickets they are befet with. For Untruth being unacceptable to the Mind of Man, there is no other defence left for Abfurdity, but Obfcumy. ~- ro. Thus learned Ignorance, and this Art of keeping, even inquili· rive Men , from true 1\nowledge, hath been propagated in the World and hath much perplexed, whilfi it pretended to intorm the lJnderllan~ ding. For we fee, that other well-meaning and wife Men, whofe Education and Parts had not attained that accutenefs,could intelligibly exprefs themfelves to one another ; and in its plain ufe, make a benefit of Language. But though unlearned Men well enough underfiood the Words Wbite and Black, I§ c. and had conllant Notions of the Ideas lignified by thole Words; yet there were Philofophers found, who hod learning and fubtilty enough to prove, that SnoJV was black; ( i. e .. to prove, that White was Black; ) whereby they had the advantage to dellroy the Jnllrumenrs and Means of Difcourfe, Converfation, lnllruction, and Society ; whilfi with great Art and Subtility, they did no more but perplex and confound the Signification of Words, · and thereby render Language lefs ufeful, than the real Defects of it had made it , a Gift, which the illiterate had not attained to. '· §. rr. Thefe learned Men did equally infiruct Mens Underfiandings, and profit their Lives, as he who 01ould airel the.fignification of known Characters, and, by a fubtile Device of Learning, · far furpamng the Ca· paeity of the !II iterate, Dull, and Vulgar, lhould,· in his Writing, fl1ew, that he could put A. for B. and D. lor E: f!fc. tO the no fiuall ad~iration and benefit c:Jfhis Reader; it betng as fenllefs to put Black, wluch IS a Word agreed on to fiand lor one fenlible Jdea,to. put it, I fay, for another, or ~he contrary Idea, i. e. to call Snow :Black , as to put dus mark A. whtch is a Character agreed on to !land for one mod1ficatton of Sound, made by a certain motion of the Organs of Speech,for B. wluch ·,s agreed 011 to fiand for another ,.,edification ot Sound, made by another certain motion of the Organs of Speech. · J §. 12. Nor hath this mifchief flopped in logical Niceties, or curjous empty Speculations; it hath invaded the grea~ Concer~mentsof J-Iumane Ltfe and Society; obfcured and perplexed the matenal Truths of Law and Divinity; brought Confufion, Difonjer, and Uncertainty into the AtfaJrs of Mankind ; and il not defiroyed , yet m great meafure ren· dted ufelefs, thofe two great Rules, Religion and Jufiiee. What have the greateft part of the Comments and Difptites, upon' the-Laws of G 0 D and Man ferved for, but to make t11e meaning more doubtful, and per· plex the fenfe? What have been the effect of thofe.mult1phed cuoous I i 2 Difiinction•, |