Commentary on the Epistles and Revelation of John, Part 9
Arts.
DANIEL 1.17.
As for theſe four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wiſdome, and Daniel had understanding in all viſions and dreams.
THe perfection even of humane arts both liberall and mechanick, is to be found in the Church: For, Iſa 28.10. Exodus 313. Inventus eſt artiſex. qui & campanulam & indicem & libramen…a omnia in Carolls annulo digiti collocarit. Sphinx p. 90. Iſa.50.4.his Ged doth inſtruct him to diſcretion (ſaith the Prophet of the very plow-man) and this alſo (that is his skill in matters of husbandry) cometh forth from the Lord of hoſts, which is Wonderfull in counſel, and excellent in working. He it was that filled Bezaleel and Aholiab with the ſpirit of wiſdome for the work of the Tabernacle; and that gave to the prophet Iſaiah, the tongue of the learned, that he ſhould know how to time a word to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth my ear to hear as the learned, who are ever liſtning after more, even to the laſt breath. As it is reported of David Chytraeus, a Dutch Divine, that when he lay upon his death-bed, and heard ſome that ſate by him, diſputing with a low voice (leſt they ſhould diſturb him) he lifted up his head, as well as he could, and deſired them to ſpeak out,Tucundiorem ſibl deceſſum fore ſi maribuadis etiam aliquid Aidiciſſet. Meſch. Adam in vita. Epiſt. 1.9. for he ſhould die the more chearfully, if he died learning ſomewhat. Labentèr omnibus omnes opes conceſſerim, ut mihi liceat, vi nulla interpellante, isto modo in literis vivere, ſaith Tully. I would give all the good in the world, that I might but ſit quietly at my ſtudy, and not be called off by any other buſineſſe.Quidam equis, bi avibus, nonnulli ſer is defectantur: egoverò, inde uſ que , a pueritta, … …upiditate arſi, piſt ad … Some delight in horſes, ſome in birds, others in beaſts (ſaith Julian the Apoſtate) but I, from my youth up, have ever burned with the love of books. A learned and witty man he was, but learnd and lend, wittily wicked, ingeniosè nequam, as Ca…us Curio. He perſecuted, more by perſwading, then enforcing men to idolatry; and prevailed more by enticements then by torments: abu…ing his eloquence to the diſhonour of God that gave it him, and fighting againſt God with his own gifts, as David did againſt Goliah with his own ſword, or as John againſt Jehoram with his own men.N…zianz orat. 1 cont. Iulian. He forbad all Chriſtians the uſe of learned Authors: And one of his boſomebirds, Porphyry, ſaid, It was pitty that ever ſo good a ſcholar as Paul was caſt away upon our religion. St Paul was firſt brought up at the feet of Gamalial, a grave Doctour: and after that,foreign, verburn Platonicum, Paulo non ignota ejus ſcripta. S…lter. Mat. 83.45. at the Univerſity of Tarſus. That he had read Aratus, Menander, Epimenides, &c. is clear by what he cites out of them: and Scultetus gathers out of 2 Tim. 1.6. that he was well verſed in Plato's writings. He was that wiſe Merchant, that beſides the pearl of price, in compariſon of whom be counted all but dung and dogs-meat, ſought alſo other goodly pearls, which in their proper place have their uſe and excellency. How bravely doth he play the oratour, when he liſteth, as at Athens, and before Agrippa, in ſetting forth his ſufferings, 2 Cor. 11.23? and exhorting to unity, Eph. 44. All the rowlings of Demoſthenes are dell ſtuff to his elegancies?Domeſt benis in … contra. Aeſch…rem, ſanta eſt elo. quent…a quanta. in anim le bominam inchedipoſſ…. …cero. 1 Cor, 2.1, foreign ſignificat oſtentationem borum donoium …ut ſupra amos …, Par…us. foreign Pin. As oft as I hear him Speak, ſaith Hierom, me thinks I bear not words but thunder-claps. His very enemies could not but acknowledge his worth. His letters, ſaid they, are weighty and powerfull: but his bodily preſence is weak, and his ſpeech contemptible, 2 Cor. 10.10. And why contemptible, but becauſe he came not with excellency of ſpeech or of wiſdome (which he could have done better then the beſt of them) but in demonſtration of the ſpirit, and of power? Humane learning (ſaith one) is to be uſed in eccleſiasticall exerciſes, non ut eſculenta fed ut condimenta, not as meat but ſauce. It were a madneſſe, becauſe lace ſets out a garment, therefore to make a garment of lace only. Sub finem caenae, dulcis eſt placenta. St Austin bewailed it as a vanity of his youth, That he had framed-his diſcourſes, Ʋt placeret magis quam ut doceret, more to pleaſe then to profit. And when I first began to preach (ſaith S. Chryſostome) I was a childe, and delighted in rattles, in the applauſe of the people: but when I grew a man, I began to diſpiſe them. A golden-mouth'd Preacher he was (according to his name) a maſter of ſpeech, as Paul was ſaid to be,foreign Act. 14.12. an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, as Apollos, Act. 1.24. His eloquence (whereby he ſo drew men in to admiration of him, that it was grown to a common proverb,Satius eſſe ſolē non lucere, quā chriſoſtomum non dorere. De …: Graes ſub … De dect Chriſt cap. 22. To uſe Heathē Authouis for oſtentation, of to make a calt of the treaſure gotten out of Aegypt. Better the Sun ſhould not ſhine, then that Chryſoſtome ſhould not teach) he is ſaid to have drawn out of Ariſtophanes his 28 Comedies, wch he laid uſually under his pillow, when he went to ſleep. This was (as Theodoret hath it) to gather roſes off the thorns, ſweet honey out of bitter flowers, wholſome medicines out of venemous beaſts and ſerpents. This was to ſpoil the Egyptians of the jewels they unjuſty deteined from the Church, as Auſtin hath it. See we not, ſaith he, with what a deal of gold, ſilver, costly garments Cyprian (that ſweet Doctour and bleſſed Martyr) went laden out of Aegypt? With what a deal Lactantius, Victorinus, Optatus, Hilarius, beſides innumerable Greek Fathers? And this was firſt done by that faithfull ſervant of God Moſes, of whom it is written, That he was learned in all the wiſdom of the Aegyptians, and ſo became mighty in word and deed. Now the learning of the Aegyptians (ſaith Pererius) was fore-told Mathematicks, Phyſicks, Ethicks and Divinity, a chief part wherof was Hieroglyphicks. In all theſe Moſes was thorowly inſtructed, Acts 7 27. Com in Exod.ſaith Philo; and in ſhort space excelled not only all his fellows, but his teachers too. So did Daniel and his three companions, all the wiſe-men of Babylon, whoſe books they read, and whoſe learning they looked into, which (had they held it unlawfull) they would as little have medled with, as with the meats that came from the Kings table, Epiſt. 84. 1 Sam. 71.51.ſaith S. Hierome: But this was (as he elſwhere that it) to wring the ſword out of Goliahs hand, and to out off his head therewith: this was to ſhave the captive womans head, and pare her nails, and ſo to take her to wiſe. Deut. 21.12, 13Humanity may be fitly uſed as a hand-maid to Divinity, or as Diers colour the cloth with ſome inferiour colour firſt, that they may make it a perfect purple.Prov 9.3. wiſdome ſendeth forth the Aris as her maides, to call them into the City,2 Pet. 3 16. to help hem to the better underſtanding of the holy Scriptures: which elſe, they that are unlearned and unſtable, wreſt unto their own deſtruction. Theodoret mentioneth S. Baſils ſharp reply to one Demosthenes, who being but an officer of the Emperours kitchin, durſt encounter that Doctour of the whole world with wreſted Scriptures,foreign It belongs to the (an unlettered perſon) to look to the pottage-pot. Our Saviour (I grant) choſe unlearned men for his diſciples; but he made them learned before he made uſe of them, he gifted them before he ſent them abroad. Inſomuch as Act. 4.13. the Prieſts and Scribes (whom for their learning S. Paul called, The Princes of this world, Aſinos elegit chriſtus & idiotas, ſed oculavit in pru. len…s: … dona d…it, & miniſteria D. Beddingſ Cone. ad Cler. Oxon I han de Turre erem. 1 Cor 9.1.2 Cor. 2.8.) wondered at their boldneſſe and abilities; as knowing that they were unlearned and ignorant men: they marvelled (as the Nazarens alſo did at Chriſt) how they came by that new learning. But beſides that, it is well obſerved, That our Saviour excluded not from his diſcipline learned Nathaneel and Nicodemus a maſter in Iſrael, leſt if he ſhould have called ſimple ones only, it might have been thought they had been deceived out of their ſimplicity. True it is (and pitty it is) that the greateſt Clarks are not alwaies the wileſt men in the things of God; becauſe knowledge puffeth up: as it did the Athenians, where no Church was founded, they were ſo ſelf-conceited: Paul the babbler was no body with them, the reſurrection they derided as impoſſible in nature, and took it to have been ſome ſtrange goddeſſe, that Paul ſought to bring in amongſt them. So when thoſe three famous Biſhops Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley were priſoners at Oxford (where alſo they ſuffered) one of them complains, That not one ſchollar come at them, or ſhew'd them any countenance. Many for the tree of knowledge, Aſulti propter arborem ſcienti… … Indoct… rap…unt extum &c Aug. … …e ſap…entes bujus ſae…uli alta …ap entes, & …am lingantes … deſcend…r… in … Bern. … eſſe … Baron An…al, a … 44. … Deortan ab cecleſia Romt rela…us eſi … Venota.utterly loſe the tree of life, ſaith a Father. The unlearned carry away heaven, when we with all our Arts and Sciences are tumbled into bell. And ſuffer ye the wiſe of this world, ſaith another, that ſearch into natures ſecrets, and aſcend no higher, to deſcend with all their wiſdome into bell: where none are ſo filed with the wrath of God, as your knowing men and Philoſophers, that detained or impriſoned the truth in unrighteouſneſſe, Rom 1.18. and were therefore delivered up to a reprobate fenſe, or an injudicious minde, ver. 28. ſo that they became the heretikes Patriarchs, as Tertullian ſt…eth them: For it is no hard thing to ſhew, That divers ancient heretikes drew their erroneous opinions out of the writings of the philoſophers. The Papiſts alſo tell us, That we may finde their holy water, and ſprinkling of ſepulch…es, in Juvenals ſixth Satyr: their lights in ſepulchres in Su…touius his Octavius; lamps lighted on Saturday in Seneca's 96. Epiſtle: diſtribution of tapers among the people, in Macrobius his Saturnals: Purgator) in Virgils Aeneads, &c. Bembus the Cardinal tels ns of his S. Francis, That he was reckoned by the Romiſh Church in the number of the gods. He means, he was canonized for a Saint. But the Cardinal affected to deliver himſelf in Heathen language. So did Pomponius. Laetus that antiquary.Anno 1442. His name was Petrus, but he changed it for Pomponius a Roman name: he called himſelf alſo Dictator, and worſhipped Romulus, ſaith Ludo: Vives. Such another alate was Castalie the Ciceronian Tranſlatour of the Bible: And before them all, Averroes the Arabian Phyſitian, who ſo madly admires his Maſter Ariſtotle, Alſted. Ch…on p 460.as that he doubts not to ſay, that there is no errour to be found in his works, that his learning was the chief truth, and that his underſtanding was the utmoſt bound of humane underſtanding: that he was the rule and patern that nature invented, wherein to ſet forth the utmoſt perfection of a man, &c. And when he died, cried out, Sit anima meacum Philoſophis. Let my ſoul be where the Philoſophers ſouls are, The Colonienſes indeed ſet forth a book,D Prideaux ex Agy…ppa & Balao. De ſalute Aristotelis, of the ſalvation of Ariſtotle, and affirm, That he was Chriſts fore-runner in naturals, as John Baptiſt was in ſupernaturals. And whether Eraſmus was in earneſt or in jeſt,V…x poſſum me continere quin dicam, ſancte Socrates ora pro nobis Joh. M…l. lo…. com. p. 126. I know not; but in his Preface to Tullies Tuſculan Queſtions, he hath this piece of Letany, I can hardly forbear ſaying, Saint Socrates pray for us. When he was ready to die, he often repeated this ſpeech, Domine, fac finem, fac finem. Make an end. Lord, make an end: but what he meant by thoſe words, I wot not, ſaith Melancthon. Sure it is, his Saint Socrates could then doe him no good. Juſtin Martyr tels us, That he left his Gentiliſme upon reading a piece of Plato: and holds (but groundleſly) that thoſe that lived foreign (that is, according to the rule of reaſon) before Chriſt came in the fleſh, were to be counted good Chriſtians, although they had no hope, underſtanding, not taſte of the future reſtauration by Chriſt. This Paradox was ſtifly defended in the Councel of Trent by Androdius, Soto Vega and Victoria. Venator alſo the Arminian rageth and ſaith, I deny this propoſition, No man can be ſaved that is not knit to Chriſt by a true faitb. Sleldan. Com. Greg de Valen. tom… D. Prid…aux Lect. de ſalute Ethnic. Act 4. Lib 3. confeſſ. cap 4.But the Scripture affirmeth, That there is no other name under heaven whereby to be ſaved, but only by the name of Jeſus. And S. Austin (though he yeeldeth that by the reading of Cicero's Hortenſius, he was taken off from the hope of vain things, and the deſire of earthly cares, & perſwaded to the love of wiſdom, and contemplation of the things above) yet the cannot but ſay, that nothing more cooled his affection toward that book then this, that he found not in it the name of Jeſus. this to a true Chriſtian is mel in ore, melos in aure, jubilum in corde; honey in his mouth, muſick in his ear,1 Cor 1.1. to 124 jubilee in his heart. S Paul cannot come off it, but names it nine ſeverall times in tem verſes. All the learning that he cared for was to know Jeſus Chriſt, and him crucified. Phil. 3.10.To know him, I ſay, not notionally only, and out of the book (for ſo every Catechiſme teacheth him) but experimentally: to know the power of his death, and the vertue of his reſurrection: to have a Bible ſtampt in his head, and the counterpane of the Covenant graven in his heart. This, this, is the only learning, without the which all other learning doth but light men into utter darkneſſe,foreign Suidus foreign Suidus Nihil exc plebat de guo non prof…ebatur. Acad. queſt 1.6. Cic. 3 de orat. Of Monius a certain Poet it is recorded, that he was for learning every way ſo abſolute and accompliſhed, that he gave place to no man then alive. Eratoſthenes was ſir-named foreign, becauſe he could diſpute excellently in any art whatſoever. Democritus was skilfull in all ſciences, ſaith Suidas: there was nothing wherein he could not publikely profeſſe, ſaith Cicero. Hippias Eleus was wont to boaſt, That there was nothing in any art which he knew not of, whether liberall or illiberall: for with his own hands he made the ring he wore upon his finger, the coat upon his back, the ſhoes upon his feet, &c. as Tully tels us. Aristotle was a magazine of learning, and is therefore (as afore-ſaid) over-admired by Averroes, and was abundantly rewarded by Alexander the Great, who gave him for his book, Denatura animalium, Hou malè nune artes miſeras baecſaecu a tractant. Juven. Ludit qui ſterile ſemina punit bumo Prop l. 2. Job Manſ log. com p. 572. Aſino quidam narravit ſabulā. at ille movebat aures.eight hundred talents. Gaza, who tranſlated that work of Ariſtotle into latine, and dedicated it to Pope Sixtus, met not with ſo good a match, For when he had brought and preſented the book very richly bound up in velvet, and boſſed with gold, the Pope (that Aſſe) asked him what the out-ſide ſtood him in: Gaza made anſwer fourty crowns. The Pope allowed him ſo much money, and ſo diſmiſſed that learned man without any further rewards, who deſerved a great honourary for ſo profitable a piece of work. But to return to his Authour Aristotle, whom all worthily extoll for his learning, not fo for his honeſty. In the Town of Siuckard in Germany, a certain Doctour of divinity preached, That the Church might be ruled and taught concerning God,Ibid. 478. and the things of God out of Ariſtotles Philoſophy (his Ethicks eſpecially) though the Bible were loft out of the world.Ariſtor.Eibic. 1.7 cap. 3. & 4 Ramus in theo. Praeſat. Whereas he himſelf confeſſeth the diſability of morall knowledge to rectifie the intemperance of nature: and made it good in his practice: for he uſed a common ſtrumpet to ſatisfie his luſt. He was alſo accuſed at Athens, and baniſhed into Chal…, becauſe he had evil opinions of the Deity, ſay divers Authours. As for his Divinity, which he cals his Metaphyſicks, whereof he writes 14 books: It is, ſaith Ramus, the moſt fooliſh and impious piece of ſophiſtry that ever was written. Tully was a great ſchollar, no doubt, and he knew it. Two things, ſaith he,Optimaram artium ſcientiam. & maximarun rerun gloriam, Lib …. op. familiar. Quòd Pompcio confiſus, ejuſ que partes ſecutus fucrim Ioh Manl loc. com 481, 496 Ciceronis linguā omnes ſere mirantur, pectus nō ita l 3. c 4 co…f Neſcio qnamono imb…ll or eſt medicina quam morbus. Nullus mibi per otium dies exit partens noctium ſtudijs vendico non vaco ſomne, ſed ſu…umbe, &c. Sen ep…ſt. Epiſt. 15. Delectabatur exoletis, id que Neronom ſacere docuer at; etſi anted … fuit morun ſeveri …ate, ut ab eo …eteret, ue ſo oſcularetur, nevè una ſeeum caenandi cauſa diſcumberet. Dio. in Nero. I have to glory in, my knowledge of good arts, and my waging of great acts: the firſt whereof ſhall never be taken from me, while alive, the ſecond no not when I am dead There was one that wrote an Apology for Tully (ſaith Melancthon) and commended him for a holy man, and a good Chriſtian: becauſe he ſaith ſomewhere R…prehende peceam men &c. I condemn mine own errours, for that I truſted to Pompey, and took his part. And Lotamus Lovanionſis writes, That there was no other faith found in Abrabam then what was found in Cicero. Whereas Abraham ſaw my day, ſaith Chriſt, and rejoyced: he walked with God, and was upright: Not ſo Cicero. His tongue we all admire, ſaith Augustine, not ſo his practice: And how little his learning could dot for him (for lack of faith) when he came to die, that ſpeech of his ſufficiently witneſſeth, I know not how, but ſo it is, the medicine is weaker then the diſeaſe. It is nothing but true faith, that can fortifie the heart againſt the fear of death. Seneca and ſuch like have ſet, forth what a mercy mortality is, what a happineſſe that we can loſe our lives when we laſt, how contented a man ſhould be with life, how couragious in death, &c. A great Philoſopher he was, and a cloſe ſtudent, as himſelf teſtifieth. A mighty man he was ſurely, ſaith Lipſins, and a mighty ſpirit works in them that reade him. But yet (by your leave) he that ſhall read Dio Caſſius his teſtimony of him, will ſcarce take him for an honeſt man. He ſalutes his friend Lucilius thus, Si Philoſopharis beneè est, ego quidem Philoſophor But his practice was moſt unphiloſophicall. He enveighed againſt Court-paraſites, yet was ever himſelf at Court: he deteſted flatterers, when none flattered more then he: He taught chaſtity, but was too in ward with Agrippina the mother of Nero, and taught him by his practice that abhorred trade of unnaturall filthineſſe. He reproved rich men, but gat a vaſt eſtate; and condemned luxury, when himſelf had five hundred ſtools of Cedar, with feet of ivory, and every thing elſe anſwerable. Thus Abanah and Pharphar may ſerve to ſcour and rinſe, but Jordan only can cure the leper. Learning and Philoſophy may barb and curb corruption: but it is the Scripture only that giveth more grace, as St James hath it,Iam 9.6 and doth a perfect cure upon the conſcience. And that is only too, when it is ſeconded and ſet on by the ſpirit: who moves upon the face of theſe waters, ſtirs them,foreign 2 Tim. 1.13. Heb 4.2. Tu benè caviſti ne te ulla occidere poſſit: Litero, nam nota eſt … nullo …ibi. S Tho Moore, —quis neſſet Eraſmun Culls as aelernum ſi latuiſſet opus? Minoris arbitror Hieronymo ſuos conſt it eſſe libres conduos quam nobis reſtitutes Eraſm. Annol in Ro. 1. Plus ſanctimotie conipici in ipſo libello, quā in libelli authere. Iob. a Woovers in Polymatbia. D. Pridea lect. Nihil unquam eum ignoraſſe. Neand. Chron. p 91. Ita in ſingulis doctus …afit, ut carum uniod tantùm tote vilae ſuae decurſu operam dediſſe videretur. Bonoſius in vita Toſtari. Caſaub. exere. in Baron. and makes them medicinable, Wholſome words ſuch as have a healing property in them, as the word ſignifies. For elſe the word profiteth not, unleſſe it be mixt with faith: yea the Bare letter killeth (I ſay not, learning killeth, as that Ignoramus once miſtook the matter) but the ſpirit giveth life. Eraſmus was as well ſeen in the text as another, and did a great deal of good by his latine tranſlation, gave much light to it by his annotations and Paraphraſes. Beſides his other worthy works, he took inſinite pains in furbiſhing the Fathers. This one thing (ſaith he) I dare boldly affirm, That S. Hieroms books never coſt him ſo much pains in making them, as they have coſt me in restoring them, And yet for all this we cannot tell what to make of him, for matter of religion. Eraſmus in religione ſuit foreign, ſaith Bucholcerus. He was as ſoon with Proteſtants, and as ſoon with Papiſts, and ſo was well thought of on neither ſide, loſt his good eſteem with all. Beza thinks he was not ſound in the doctrine of the Trinity. And it was a witty truth put upon him by one of his friends (as he himſelf relates it) concerning his Enchiridion of a Chriſtian ſouldier, That there was more holineſſe to be found in his book, then in the Authour of his book, Raram facit virtus cum ſcientia mixturam, ſaith one. Learning and grace meet not but in a few. Galen the chief Phyſitian derided the Bible. Paracelſus was an Atheiſt, and (if Eractus belie him not) a Magician. Ʋlpian the chief Lawyer was a bloudy perſecutour. Baldus an Arch-patron of the Popes ſupremacy; and yet they were wont to ſay of him, That he knew all that was knowable. Tostatus (otherwiſe called Abulenſis) was omnium ſcientiarum, doctrinarum que arca & emporium, A magazine or mart of all ſciences: ſo skilfull in each, that one would have thought he had ſtudied noting elſe but that, all his life long. Beſides, of he had had all his works, he is thought to have written as many ſheers, as he lived daies: and yet carried down the ſtream of the times with the errour of the wicked, as S. Peter hath it, 2 Pet. 3.17. And as Calderinus his contemporary was wont to ſay, when he went to Maſſe, Eamus ad communem errorem, he ſtickled …iti…ly for Antichriſt. Laudo acumen viri ſi in meliora incidiſſet te…ora longè maximi, ſaith Caſaubon. It was his unhappineſſe that he fall upon ſuch bad times, elſe he might, likely, have been better. I was an obſtinate Papiſt (ſaith Latimer of himſelf) as any was in England; Inſomuch that when I ſhould be made Bachelour in Divinity, my whole argument went. againſt Philip Melancthon and his opinions. Bilney heard me at that time,Act. and Mon. fol 910. and perceived that I was zealous without knowledge, and came to me afterwards in my ſtudy, and deſired me, for gods fake to hear his confeſſion. I did ſo▪ and, to ſay the truth, by his confeſſion I learned more then afore in many years. So from that time forward I began to ſmell the Word of God, and forſake the ſchool-Doctours, and ſuch like fooleries. Horrible barbariſme had overſpread the eye of whole Chriſtendome. To be a Grecian was grown ſuſpicious,Ioh. Manl loe. com p. 972. but to be an hebrician, little leſſe then hereticall. Rodulphus Agricola, and Joannes Capuio lived together at Heydelberg. Rodulphus interpreted Greek Authours to the young ſtudents: Capuio read them an Hebrew lecture, but privately, and to a few only, for fear of the Monks, who were mad at that generall reſurrection of all good learning and language, a little before the receiving of the Goſpel. For as in the firſt plantation there of in Europe, God ſhipped the arts before into Greece, that they might be as harbingers unto it,Siccanes linguntuſceri La zare. as Tertullian ſpeaketh: So in theſe later ages, the Lord intending a reformation of religion, ſet up the Turk to overrun Greece, and by that means ſent over into theſe Weſtern parts divers learned exiles,Paul Iovius in clogijs vircrum literis illuſtriū. L…ll Girald. Dialog Volater. Anthropolog l. 21. Parei medulla hiſt e…ol p. 311. as Chryſoloras, Trapezuntius, Gaza (who tranſlated Tully de ſenectute into Greek) Argyrophylus, Chalcondylas, Cydonius (who tranſlated like wiſe Thomas Aquinas his works) Marcus Muſurus (with whom Eraſmus lived familiarly) Hermotimus Spartiata, whom Capuio heard in France, as he had done Argyropylus in Italy. Theſe were Gods firſt inſtruments to reſtore humane learning, that was almoſt loſt out of the world. At which time alſo he vouchſafed to mankinde the knowledge of the Art of Printing, which is ſaid to have been firſt invented at Straſborow in Germany, by John Guttenberg a Monk, where like wiſe John Mentelius printed the firſt book, and that was Tullies Offices: the copy whereof is kept in the publike library at Frankford to this day for a monument. After this, the Preſſe was tranſtated firſt to Mentz, and then to Rome by Joannes Gallinaccus. And ſhortly after, there were printed at Paris, Antwerp, Venice, and divers other places, the works of ſundry learned men, ſtirred up by God to fetch the Arts back out of …aniſhment. Such as were in Italy, Bembus, Sadoletus, Victorius; in Germany, Eraſmus, Melancthon, Camerarius, Sturmius: In France, Budaeus, Silvius, Turnebus, Lambinus: here in England, Ludovicus Vives, Sr Thomas Moor, Lilly, Linaker (my near kinſman by the mothers ſide) and many others. Buchanan indeed the Scot complains, that he was born, nec coelo, nec ſolo, nec ſaeculo erudite, Life of Edw. 6 by Sir Iohn Hayw p. 3. Sic Archelaw, magis ex Euripidu, quam Euripides ex Archelai familiaritate innotuit. Eraſ Adag.in neither, learned air, foil, nor age. But as the Hiſtorian ſaith of Dr Cox, … M. Iohn Cheek (Tutours to K Edw 6) that though they were men of mean birth, yet were they ſo well eſteemed for vertue and learning, that they might well be ſaid to be born of themſelves. So may it be ſaid of that Prince of Poets Buchanan, He was an honour to his countrey, better known by him, perhaps abroad, then he by it, as little Hippo was by great S. Auſtin.
But to proceed: After that humane learning began thus to reflouriſh and lift up the head, Divinity alſo, that had been ſhamefully obſcured and flurried with needleſſe and endleſſe doubts and diſputes, was vindicated and illuſtrated by the knowledge of latine, Greek and Hebrew (the dignity and ſtudy whereof the holy Ghoſt ſeems to intimate that he would have ever kept afoot in theChurch by the inſcription of our Saviours title on the croſſe in thoſe three tongues) and all frivolous and fruitleſſe ſchool-quirks taken out of the way, young ſtudents were put upon the reading of the Scriptures, in ſtead whereof, till then, little was heard in the Church, but the dotages of Monks, and legendary fables, Then grew up that foelix proventus, that golden age of glorious Divines famous and matchleſſe for depth of learning and height of holines.Imperium literarum eſt penes Ieſuitas. Eudae, Joh. I ſpeak not here of Jeſuites, who brag that the Empire of learning is within their dominion, and that we have not a ſchollar on our ſide. The Cardinal (ſuch is his candour) in his book of eccleſiaſticall writers,Truſſels contin. of Daniels hiſt. of England, fol. 2.2. Erud…tis ſtuiti videntur que ſtultis eruditi videre veline. Quint. in Iuſti. Leguleiorum foeces decem. dracb. mariae: qui inter opiliones ſe jactitant Iurisperites, ne opiltonam qutdem aeſtamatione babentur. Rex Platomcus. p. 135. doth not vouchſafe to name any one of ours: under whoſe table (nevertheleſſe) it is evident that he ſcraped together moſt of the crums, that he maketh uſe of, Great ſchollars, we grant, they are many of them. And yet we doubt not to ſay of them, as the Chronicler doth of D. Shaw and frier Pinket) that were Richard the 3. factours to obtrude baſtardy on K. Edw. 4. and ſo to diſable his children for ſucceſſion) That they were of greater learning then honesty, and yet of more repute then learning: being ſuch, that more regarded by the ignorans to be accounted learned, then by the learned to be judged ignorant. Inter indoctos etiam Corydus ſonat. To learned men thoſe ſeem fools, that to fools ſeem learned, faith Quintilian. Atturneys (ſaith another) among ſwains are taken for lawyers, among lawyers they hardly have the eſteem of ſwains. Jeſuites have a notable faculty of ſetting the beſt ſide outward (as is noted before of Stephen Gardner) and of boaſting themſelves for ſome great thing, as Simon Magus. The Jebuſites boaſted and inſulted over David, 2 Sam. 5 6. Briſſt Mot. 48.that he ſhould not enter their tower of Sion, though there were but ſome few blinde and lame to defend it. The Jeſuites crack as faſt of their power and proweſſe, could they but get us … our paper-caſtle of Scripture-teſtimonies into the open field of Fathers and Councels (as Briſtow phraſeth it) what they would do to us, what babies they would make of us. But how well they have done it, let all the world ſee in their concertations and controverſies with our Whitakers and Rainolds (to go no further) many of whoſe works remain yet unanſwered, indeed becauſe they are unanſwerable.D Hall epiſſ. decad. 1. ep. 5. & ep…st. 7. for D. Whitakers: one that knew him well, and knew as well what he ſaid of him, gives him this teſtimony, That never man ſaw him without reverence, nor beard him without wonder. And for D. Rainolds, He was (ſaith the ſame Authour) a well furniſht library, full of all faculties, of all ſtudies, of all learning: whoſe reading, whoſe memory was near to a miracle. He was (ſaith another forraign writer) a living library a third Ʋniverſity. Gentil…s (who yet loved him not) could not but confeſſe, That he knew the civil law as well as himſelf,Johnſton; de Naturae Conſtan…a 66. who yet was the Kings profeſſour for the laws in the Univerſity of Oxford. Theſe came not to the Divinity ſchools foreign, half-dipped, as Lucian phraſeth it, but thorowly died,Diog Laert. and well provided of humane learning. Spenſippus was wont to ſay to ſuch as came to his philoſophy-ſchool without muſick and Geometry, Get you hence: for you want the handles and handmaids to Philoſophy. Plato in his Common-wealth, calleth thoſe bastard Philoſophers, who think they can attain to other arts without the help of Logick.Ʋt catuli pannicalos. Ʋnskilfull Logicians, ſaith he, tear truths in pieces as curs do clouts. Out Lord Chriſt (the Arch-prophet and great Doctour of his Church) though he be not tied to ſchools or means, but can make an Aſſe confute his maſter, and doth oft chuſe the ſimple to confound the learned (when it was ſcornfully demanded,1 Sam. 10.11, 12. Is Saul alſo among the Prophets? one of the ſame place anſwered, But who is their father? As who ſhould ſay, Prophecy comes not ſo much by mans teaching as Gods; therefore wonder not that Saul propheſies, though not bred a ſchollar) yet himſelf honoured ſchools, when be fate among the Doctours, both bearing them (for learning fake,) and asking them queſtions: when he pitcht upon Paul, ſchollar to Gamalie…, for an elect veſſel to bear his name to the Gentiles, and to be able at Athens to diſpute philoſophically with thoſe Philoſopher: when he commanded Timothy to give attendance to reading: when he gave Solomon wiſdome to ſet in order ſo many Proverbs, and to diſcourſe of ſo many particulars, from the Cedar to the ſhrub: when he gave his people a Kiriath-ſophe…, Joſh. 15.15. foreign quaſi, medeta publica ſive popuſi Becman. de Or ginib. Bu…ho Chron, Neand Chron.a City of letters or books (ſuch as our Univerſities are) to be unto them, as the library of Alexandria is ſaid to be, phyſick for the ſoul. Divers of the Patriarchs are held to have been skilfull in phyſick, and therefore fo welcome to Kings, as Abraham and Iſaac to Pharaoh and Abimelech. From the mouth of Adam, ſaith one, as from a fountain iſſued all the profitable doctrine, diſcipline, Wiſdome and knowledge that is in the world. The longevity of the Fathers before the ſloud was a work of Gods providence, for the perfecting of the ſciences, ſaith another. Iaphet diſperſed abroad his Europe the doctrine of the premiſed ſeed, ſaith a third, which was afterward collected and conſerved by the Sibylls, when it began to be forgotten. Hence the ancient Sages fetcht whatſoever found thing they held concerning God, the immortality of the ſoul,Euſeb de prepar…cap ult loſe … Antiq, 41. c 1. Delrius in diſq. Mag l, 1. c 5. q. 1 ſect 1. Alchymia eſt ars fine arte, …ujus ſcire eſt pars cum partes medium eſt ſtrenue mentiri, Finis eſt mendicatum ire Rythmum hunc à plebe decanta…ll recitat Libanius Lib. ae myſter. Aegyp. Ioanem illam & uſarpatorlā Philoſophiae do…inam veritatis ratieni poſt habuit, & ea deſcripſit, &c. 6. Hexam: c. 2. the duration of Empires, &c. Abrahams philoſophy is thus deſcribed by Philo the Jew, who might have it by tradition. He reduced all the eff…cts of the ſecond cauſes to the firſt cauſe immediate. He did not attribute to the Sun the light of the day, nor to the clouds rain, nor to the eyes ſight, nor to the ears hearing, nor to the other next inſtruments of ſenſe the cauſe of their faculty, but referred all to the Soveraign head, the Creator of ſubſtances, the give of forms, the cauſe of canſes, &c. Ioſephus and Euſebius tell us, That Abraham taught the Mathematiks in Egypt. Neither want there thoſe that ſhew a book that was made, as they ſay, by Moſes and his ſiſter Miriam, concerning Alchymy; which is an Art without art, ſaith one, A multiplying of ſomething by nothing, ſaith another. An omne, aliquid, nihil, that Moſes, I believe never dreamt of: nor was it any part of the wiſdom of Egypt, wherein he was ſo well inſtructed and excelled, Act 7 22. And although he were mighty in word and deed, yet he hath left us nothing in writing of his Egyptian learning, nothing of the true rationall philoſophy, which he both learned and taught long before Mercurius Triſmegistus was born (whom yet Iamblicus makes the firſt authour of Egyptian Arts) S. Ambroſe gives the reaſon: becauſe he received Gods Spirit, as the ſervant of God, faithfull in all his houſe, he preferred the heavenly truth before that vain earthly philoſophy; and ſet down ſuch things only, as he judged fit for the furtherance of our faith. Arts are a rich bleſſing of the Lord, and it was then, and is ever to be wiſhed, that all Gods faithfull meſſengers were endued with ſuch excellent parts of humane learning,Maſohil of David Prov. 501. as Moſes was. But, what is the chaff to the wheat? ſaith the Lord, to thoſe that preached mens devices, and fought out vain things in ſtead of Gods word, Ier. 23.28. ſtriving to pleaſe the people, and to ſet up themſelves, by oſtentation of their own gifts and learning. The 32. Pſalm is entituled, Davids learning; and was penned to teach the unlearned how to get true happineſſe. And Solomon calleth this knowledge Wiſdoms or Knowledges. And Iſa calleth that a learned tongue, that ſtudieth out caſes of conſcience, and ſpeaketh a word in due ſeaſon: Iob cals him an Interpreter, one of a thouſand, Iſa. 50.4. Iob 33.23.that declareth unto man his righteouſneſſe, &c. How vain then are thoſe that count nothing worthy to be known, but theſe earthly learnings, and ſpend all their time and ſtudies in them? as the Heathen did, till they become almoſt as heatheniſh. Their ſpare-hours indeed, and as it were for recreation ſake, many of the ancient Fathers ſpent, and not unprofitably, in Heathen Authours: partly for the bettering of their ſtile, as Chryſoſtome: and partly for confutation of heatheniſh opinions and ſuperſtitions, as Clemens Alexandrinus, &c. which made Iulian the apoſtate cry out, Proprys pennis configimur, we are beaten with our own weapons. Thus S. Paul beat the Athenians: thus Arnobius in a lofty and lively ſtile beats the Gentiles, Act. 17.after that himſelf had written ſome things againſt the Chriſtians, before he was converted from Gentiliſme. He, for this ſtile,Ʋtinam tom no…a potu…ſſ… confirmare quiā facile aliena deſtruxit. Ora. pro… Plac. foreign Plato in Tim, Iſſum quaſi paren…em hujus Ʋniverſitatis inven…re d…ſſicile eſt; & cum jam inveneris, …nd care in vul gus…n…fas Cic. was called the Christian Caeſar, as Lactanitius (his ſcholar) was called the Chriſtian Cicero. S. Hierom paſſeth this cenſure upon his writings: Lactantius was, as it were, a certain floud of Tullian eloquence: I would he had been as happy at confirming of our religion, as he was at the confuting of the contrary ſuperſtition. Sed, non omnia poſſumus omnes. Tully wiſhed, Would he could as eaſily finde out the true God, as deſcry the falſe, And had he conſulted the Jews, whom for their calamities he ſo much ſleighted, he might haply have heard of him. Something he had read of him, and thereby groped after him in the dark, Act. 17.27. in Plato; who ſpeaketh thus, and is tranſlated word for word by Tully: To finde out the maker and Father of all, is a hard task: to tell what he is, when thou haſt found him out, is impoſſible. Hence the Athenians had their alter dedicated to the unknown god, that is, to the true and only God: Of whom they had learned (out of the ancient philoſophers and Sibylles oracles) that he was but one inviſible, ineffable eſſence, whoſe name cannot be uttered, as the Jews held, from whom the beſt of the philoſophers drew their beſt Divinity. Hence Lucan a Heathen Poet, calleth the Jews God, an uncertain God: Iuvenal jeareth, That they worſhip nothing but the clouds,—dedita ſacris incerti ludea Dei, In pharſal. 1.2. Nil praeter nubas & aeli numen adorant. …ct 17. foreign and an unknown God within them. And Ariſtophanes brings in Socrates worſhipping the clouds, becauſe he worſhipped not the ſame Gods, as the vulgar did, but fought to bring in new ones, as Laertius relates it. For which cauſe alſo, he was condemned to death in the ſame court of Areopagus, whither S. Paul was hurried, but by a ſpeciall providence of God eſcaped: not being ſo much as called to his anſwer, which would have been to the hazard of his life. Athens is called by Euripides, the Greece of Greece: by Demoſthenes, the eye, ſoul and Sun of Greece: by Thucydides, the common ſchool of mankinde. There were the fineſt and moſt mercuriall wits of the world: and they had the braveſt preacher in the world, who took his text oft one of their alters, and expounded it out of their own Authours. But with what ſucceſſe? Some doubted, ſome derided, a very few only were converted & no Church planted. For the natural man (though never ſo learned) perceiveth not the things of God, as little as Nicodemus (though a Doctour) did the doctrine of regeneration.
What then? ſhall learning be the leſſe valued, becauſe by ſome abuſed, perverted, and made a hinderance from heaven? The Anabaptists indeed condemned the arts, and other ornaments of grace and nature, for the unworthineſſe of the perſons or ſubjects, wherein they were found. Luther retorted upon them, Then, belike, matrimony, authority, liberty, &c. are to be deſpiſed and avoided. Are not the works of God good, becauſe the men, who uſe them are,Gel. l. 15.0.11. ſome of them wicked? The Romans, I know not upon what diſlike, baniſhed one time, all Philoſophers out of their City; but that was not the wiſeſt act that ever they did. Licinius the Emperour was ſuch an enemy to learning, that he called it the plague and poiſon of the Common. wealth. But that was the braying of an aſſe rather then the ſpeech of a man.Hamanitatis ſtudioſo… uno nomine hereti…us appellaret Ioh. M…nl loc, com p 246. Pope Paul the ſecond pronounced all ſchollars heretikes; and ſeriouſly exhorted the Romans not to breed up their children at ſchool; it was enough if they could write and reade. It is cautionated by the Duke of Ruſſia, That there be no ſchools, leſt there ſhould be any ſchollars but himſelf. The people ſay in a difficult queſtion, God and our great Duke know all this. The Turks Janizaries upbraided their Emperour with his learning.Heyl Geog. 343. for when Bajazet the ſecond had caſt Achmetes Baſſa into priſon, thoſe martial men, amongſt many other opprobrious words wherewith they ſhamefully loaded him,Turk hiſt fol. 414. Plats. as drunkard, beaſt, raſcall, &c. they called him oftentimes by the name of Bengi, Bengi, that is, Schollar. ſchollar, which amongſt them is accounted in a Prince to be no ſmall diſgrace. But what ſaid a far wiſer man? Happy is that Common-wealth where either Philoſophers bear rule, or the Ruler ſtudy philoſophy. The Doctours and Judges amongſt us (to intimate ſome ſuch thing ſurely) have one and the ſame habit (ſquare caps and ſcarlet gowns) preſcribed them. Nebuchadnezzar ſeems to have been a ſchollar, Dan. 1.19. for he was able to poſe the young ſtudents, and to pronounce after he had communed with them, which were the beſt learned. Yea, it is ſaid, v. 20. That in all matters of wiſdome and underſtanding, that the King enquired of Daniel and his fellows, be found them ten times better then all the Magicians (ſo they called their Philoſophers and interpreters of divine and humane laws) and wiſe men (the learned of all Nations were called ſo,foreign contemplative perſons. Mat. 23.34. till Pythagoras firſt in modeſty named himſelf Philoſopher, or a wel-willer to wiſdome) that were in all his realm. Ahaſhueroſh alſo, when he could not ſleep, called for a book; fo did Tamberlane the night before the mortall battle between him and Bajazet, he called for a book (care would not ſuffer him to ſleep) wherein was contained the lives of his fathers and Anceſtours, and other valiant worthies: the which he uſed ordinarily to reade, as he then did, not as therewith vainly to deceive the time, but to make uſe there of by the imitation of that which was by them worthily done, and declining of ſuch dangers, as they by there raſhneſſe or over-fight fell into. Alphonſus King of Sicily called his books his beſt Councellours: for they wound tell him truth,Turk. Hiſt 218. Et hoc ipſo laudem veram merait quòd falſam contempſit, Lipſius Gabriel Simeo… in Symbolis. when none elſe durſt. Iulius Caeſar wrote his own acts, and modeſtly called them, not Hiſtories, but Commentaries. He would be carved ſtanding upon a globe of the world, and having in his left hand a book, in his right hand a ſword, with this title or motto, Ex utro que , Caeſar. Q. Elizabeth, who was wont to qual…fie the tediouſneſſe of her ſerious affairs with the ſweet recreation of letters, either read or wrote ſome what every day,Camd Eliſab. 412, 500. ſaith M. Camden: who alto teſtifieth, that ſhe tranſlated Boetius his books, De conſolatione. handſomely into the Engliſh tongue; that the took very all that Anagram, Veritas a…mata, according to the queen of Scots name Maria Stuarta: that being perplexed whether or no to put the Queen of Scots to death, the ſate many …mes melancholly, and often ſighing muttered to her ſelf, Aut for aut ſeri, and Ne feriare feri, &c. She anſwered ſeverall Embaſſadours in their ſeverall languages: being herein like Cleopatra, who gave anſwers by her ſelf to the Ethiopians, Arabians, Hebrews, Syrians, Medes and Parthians, foreign Plutarch.and could tune her tongue like an inſtrument of many ſtrings (ſaith Plutarch) to whatſoever dialect ſhe liſted. But beſides the vulgar tongues (wherein ſhe was ready) Queen Elizabeth underſtood the learned tongues: as did alſo, not long before her, the Lady Jane Gray, and that famous Olympia Fulva Morata, of Ferrara in Italy; who publikely and with great commendation profeſſed the Greek and Latine tongue at Heidelberg, anno dom. 1554. I conclude with K. Iames, whoſe golden pen (ſaith a reverend Divine,M Boltons Gen. direct. for wal. with God, p. 15. in whoſe words I relate if) hath given ſuch a blow to that beaſt of Rome, that be will never be able to ſtand upon his four legs again: He hath ſhot out of his royal bow ſuch keen arrows taken out of the quiver of Gods book, which will bang in the ſides of that ſcarlet whore, and make her lams as long as ſhe lives, &c, This learned King after he had moderated as Doctour of the Chair at Oxford in all faculties, when, in the publike library there, he beheld the little chains where with the leverall books are faſtned to their places,Eruidem fi unauan m…bt in fvis fit, ut capav…s ducar, hoc ca…erem cancere com …, &c. Rex Platon. per D Iſaa… Wake. p. 113 Bonarum arti… expers & igna, … cet vere caque ad virū doctum tertmðilde;t, intelligere ac ſacere videretur D… F…runt cum non, cru…u…ſſe, cum eſse… … perator, …ec puduiſſe unquam ad do…torem proſiciſ… D… in vite Bu…chius in, a… I could wiſh, ſaid he (is ever it be my lot to be carried captive) to be ſhut up in this priſon, to be bound with theſe chains, and to spend my life with theſe fellow captives that ſtand here chained. Few Princes have the happineſſe that Trojan had, who though he were no ſchollar, yet he truly underſtood, and accordingly did thoſe things that pertain to a ſchollar. But he highly eſteemed learning in Pliny, and others whom he prized and preferred, no leſſe then did Antoninus the Philoſopher; who was not aſhamed after that he was Emperour, to reſort dally to his Doctour. And after he came to Athens, and was admitted to be of that Univerſity, he granted them large priviledges, did them great honours, and founded many Lectures with a liberall allowance of maintenance. Aeneas Sylvius (afterwards pope) was wo…t to ſay of learning, That popular men ſhould esteem is as ſilver, Noblemen as gold, princes as pearls. His …u…e…ff…ou… N…c…las th… fifth, when it was told him, that there were ſuch and ſuch in Rome that made good verſes Nay not good verſes, ſaid he, for if they can do ſo, why come they not, and make themſelves known to me, Qui Poetis etiam malis pateo, who am a favourer and rewarder of any Poets be they never ſo bad? Divers learned men flouriſhed in the times of our Henry 1. (ſirnamed Beauclark) becauſe he had in his youth ſome taſte of learning,Dan hiſt fol. 68. which put many of his ſubjects into the faſhion of the book: like as all the Court of Sicily was ſet upon the ſtudy of Philoſophy, when Dionyſius looked that way, and had got the company of Aristippus and Plato: the former of whom,Iohnſton de natur…e conſtantia, p 69 Neand Chron. ſaid he, is ever craving money of me, the later defires nothing but books. And indeed how much Plato preferred books before money well appeared, when he gave (as he is reported to doe) for three books thirty thouſand florens. As of Renchlin it is ſtoried, that he gave the Jew a crown an hour that read Hebrew to him at Rome. Of S. Hierome, That he went by night and by ſtealth to the Jew that taught him Hebrew: for if it had been known, the Jews would have been the death of them both. This he did, when he was now an old man: as Cato, though old, ſet himſelf to learn Greek, and Sigiſmund the Emperour Latine. The Emperour much bewailed the matter at the Councel of Conſtance, That neither he, nor any of his great Courtiers and Councellours were able to anſwer a forraign Embaſſadour in the Latine tongue. He began therefore to learn, though it were late firſt. And when ſome of his Nobles that had no learning, and therefore hated it,An… Dom 1437. Bucholc. Chron took it in great diſdain and dudgin, that he preferred before them ſome that were of mean degree, meerly for their learning, he anſwered, That be had good reaſon to honour ſchollars above all, as thoſe that were ſingularly graced and gifted by God. Knights and Lords, ſaid he, I can make in a day as many as I list; but ſchollars God only can make, from whom comes every good gift and perfect giving: which in the originall Greek is an Hexameter verſe,Iam. 17. foreign 2 Pet 2.22. foreign as that of S. Peter is an Iambick, Et poeticum quid ſpirat. The ſow that was waſhed to her wallowing in the mire, &c.