IT hath been deservedly Questioned by some, whether they were not as much obliged to those, that gave them Education, as to those that gave them Being? for if, as the Philosopher saith, we are born meer Animals, afterwards made men; we are so much the more indebted to those, who thus improve and exalt our nature, as arriving to the Excellency of our own Species, is a Prerogative above that of being meer Creatures; and there being not onely Infirmities of Body, but of Soul; It is as great Charity to apparel the Nakedness of the Soul, as to Cloth the Body: It is an Honourable Object to see the Reasons of other men wear our Liveries; and their borrow­ed Understandings doe Homage to the Bounty of Ours: and therefore those young branches of the tree of knowledge, that thrive and grow in fruit­ful Nurseries of Learning and Education, cannot but Present the hand that first planted them with their best fruits. Upon such Considerations, se­veral of the most eminent Persons in the world have loaded their Tutors and Governours, with [Page 4]the greatest Favours, and Honours imaginable; He, who hath read that Alexander the Great (the Universal Monarch of that Age) paid a large portion of honour and Veneration, to his Tutor Aristotle; and made ampler acknowledgements of his Obligations to him, than to Philip his fa­ther. He, who hath heard of that Decree of the Senate, for a Publick Statue for Junius Rusticus, procured by his Royal Pupil, Marcus Antonius; and what Honours the Emperor Trajan heaped up­on Plutarch, for those good Lectures he read to him, and that the Emperour Gratian made his Tu­tour Ausonius Consul; will be easily convinced, that the most Heroick and noble Spirits, have set a value upon those, who were the Instructors and Guides of their first years; to which (I conceive) they had no greater inducement, than the consi­deration of the great unhappiness of those, who are left in the dark Chaos of their original Ig­norance, which Learned and wise Solomon de­scribes to us, in these words of the Text, That the Soul be without knowledge it is not good.

In which words there are these two General Parts.

First, An Hypothesis, or Supposition, that the Soul may be without knowledge.

2dly. A Thesis, or Positive Assertion of the [Page 5]great inconvenience and evil thereof, exprest by a figure called [...] in these words, [It is not good.] First on the first, namely the Hypothesis, or Suppo­sition, that the Soul may be without knowledge, and that in these two Cases.

• 1. When it dwells in an Unfit Body.
• 2. When it wants fit Instruction, And

First, The Soul may be without knowledge, when it dwels in an unfit Body. The Organs of the Body, which the Soul imploys, being as nece­sary in this state to produce its Operations, as the Soul it self: hence it is that, in Children, the Or­gans, either from an excess of moisture, or their smalness, are indisposed for the vigorous exercise of the mind; some strictures onely of Reason appear­ing, as Presaging signs of what will be, though mixt with much Obscurity: but when the Organs are come to their just proportion and Temperament, the Soul displays its strength and activity. Both the Apprehension, that fair Portal, at which knowledge makes its Entry; and the Memory, that rich Treasury, where 'tis lockt up, depend wholly upon the Disposition of the Brain, and the Animal Spirits, for the performance of their several Offices; and (as that Oxford Esculapius, the learned Dr.De ani­ma bruto­rum. Willis hath well observed) mens parts and abilities, are according to the number, [Page 6]the activity, and orderly motion of the Spirits: it is from their different Mechanism or frame, that men are dull or quick, heavy or ingenious: and we find by experience, that when the Organs of our Bodies have been Untuned, and our spirits wa­sted and discomposed by sickness, our Souls can­not Act with their wonted vivacity: but then our before teeming Invention becomes barren: our Phansie, which before soared aloft, droops and hangs down the Wing; then our memory looses its Retentive Faculty, and our Notices of things run through, as Water through a Sieve: Thus Thucydides tells us in his Second Book, that in the great Plague at Athens, which happened in the second year of the Peloponnesian War, many persons, after their recovery, were seized with such an [...] such an Oblivion of all things, as that they neither knew themselves, nor their Ac­quaintance; their ransackt memory having lost its whole Treasury of knowledge:

But then Secondly,

A Second Case, wherein the Soul may be with­out knowledge, is when it hath wanted fit instru­ction: The Natural Ornaments of the Under­standing, Quickness of Wit, Excellency of me­mory, and Solidity of Judgment, are seen only in the Acquisitions made by Study and Art; for [Page 7]they, who Trade not with that Patrimony of Nature, loose most of it, and differ little from Beasts: and we see many Children fairly planted, whose Parts of Nature were never drest by Art; nor called from the Furrows of their first Possibi­lities, by Discipline and Institution; who dwell for ever in Ignorance, and converse with Beasts; and yet if they had been drest and exercised, might have stood at the Chairs of Princes. And as ma­ny great Defects and Indigencies of Nature, in some men, have been wonderfully corrected and repaired, by Industry, Education, and (above all) by Conversation; so on the contrary, some early Blossoms in others, which raised a great expecta­tion of rare perfection, have suddenly decayed, and insensibly withered away, by not being che­risht and improved by Diligence, or rather by be­ing blasted by Vice, or Supine Lazyness: A sense whereof caused the Persians, of what Rank or Quality soever, to send their Children to the Schools of Learning, to improve them in Know­ledg, although they had Estates great enough to maintain them in Idleness, as [...], lib. 1. Xenophon tells us. And the Turks themselves, who are generally re­puted barbarously ignorant, yet (as the ingenious Author of the History of the present State of the Ottoman Empire hath informed us) they are well [Page 8]instructed by their Kalfa's of the Seraglio in the Arabian tongue; wherein all the Secrets and Treasure of their Religion and Laws are contain­ed; and are made acquainted also with the Per­sian Tongue, which sits them with quaint words and Eloquence, becoming the Court of their Prince; and corrects the Grossness, and enriches the Barrenness of the Turkish Language, which in it self is void both of Expression, and Sweetness of accent. Learning is to be courted, and made choice of by men, either as a Wife, or a Mistress; the meaner and poorer sort must choose Sciences, as they do their Wives, to get a Fortune by them, to live constantly with them, and help them to subsist and thrive in the World. Others, that have more Wealth and Leisure, must choose Sciences as they do their Mistresses, to recreate and divert them: such Misses as these, may be allowed to all our Gallants; and these, if frequently conversed with, will take off the edge of their Appetite for others: if they would spend more of their time with these, they would find that they were (as they are called) Liberal Sciences to them, and did reward them largely.

And thus having finisht the Hypothesis or Sup­position, that the Soul may be without Know­ledg; I should now proceed to the Thesis, and [Page 9]shew, how Ill it is. In order whereunto I shall, by way of Introduction, enquire, what know­ledge it is which is here commended to us; for the better discovery whereof, I shall rank ail kinds of knowledge under these two Heads,

• 1. Humane: or,
• 2. Divine Knowledge.

1. I shall offer at something in commendation of Humane Learning, which is not altogether forreign to the Text: for though when Solomon speaks of Knowledge, it is to be primarily under­stood of Divine and Spiritual, yet is it not whol­ly Exclusive of Humane Knowledg: He, that hath this, though but Humane, knowledg, is to be prized as much above the richest, and greatest, of those unprofitable Animals, who understand no other Language, but that of their Dogs, and know only how to Act the Town Fop, Swear and Rant, Hector and Debosh, Wast and Riot, as an Ant, or a Bee, above a Caterpillar, Grass­hopper, or Butterfly.

The boundless and inquisitive Researches of the Soul after-knowledg, is not the least Argu­ment of its Spiritual and Incorporeal Nature; and that it is Acted by a higher Principle, than meer Matter and Motion: Our Minds naturally grasp at a kind of Omnisciency; and not content with the Speculations, of this or that particular Science, [Page 10]hunt over the whole Course of Nature; nor are they satisfied with the present State of things, but pursue the Notices of former Ages, and are desir­ous to Comprehend whatever transactions have been, since time it self had a Being: we endea­vour to make up the shortness of our Lives by the extent of our Knowledg; and because we can­not see forward, and spy what lyes concealed in the Womb of Futurity, we look back, and ea­gerly trace the Footsteps of those times, that went before us: indeed to be ignorant of what hap­pened, before we our selves came into the World, is (asde O­ratore Cicero truly observes) to be always Chil­dren, and to deprive our selves of what would at once entertain our Minds with the highest pleasure, and add the greatest authority and ad­vantage to us.

It is the Nature of all knowledg, to give a kind of Strength and Presence of Mind, to the Owner and Possessor; this will secure us, as from the Rocks of Atheism, by leading us to the Notice of some first Cause, to which all Second Causes gradually ascend, so also from the Shelves of Su­perstition, by acquainting us with Second Causes: For Phansie is apt to suggest many monstrous and superstitious Notions of those things, of whose [Page 11]causes and Natures we are unresolved; all which fly (like Shadows) before the approaching Beams of Knowledg; which leads us, as men do Horses, close up to the things we Start at, and gives us a thorough View, of what frighted us before: One of the best remedies against Prophaneness, is a knowledg and Skill in Nature, which will be apt to beget in men a Veneration of the God of Na­ture: and therefore to those Nations, who have been destitute of Revelation, the same Persons have been, both their Philosophers and their Priests; those, who had most skill in one kind of knowledg, being thought most fit to instruct and direct men in the other: and if we consult the Stories of other places, and times, we shall constantly find those Nations, most solemn and devout in their Worship, who have been most learned, most knowing: And that, on the contrary, those other Nations in America and Africa, whom Travellers report to be most destitute of Religion, are withall most bru­tish and ignorant. Nay, if we will believe St.lib. 18. de Civ. Dei. Augustin, De prae­paratione Evangel. lib. 10. Eusebius, In Pro­treptic. [...]. Clemens Alexandri­nus, and some other Writers of good Repute, Gods own People (the ancient Patriarchs) were famous and eminent for their Learning and Knowledge; and that Moses appointed [...], Masters [Page 12]among the Tribes, which initiated and instruct­ed the youth of Israel, in all kind of Secular Learn­ing: and Abraham (for whichDe pre­par. Evan­gelicâ, lib. 9. p. 244. Eusebius quotes Nicolas Damascenus) was well skilled▪ in the Ma­thematicks, which he communicated and dispers­ed in Chaldea; from whence the Egyptians, and from them the Grecians did afterwards receive it; and Enoch ibidem, pag. 245. was probably judg'd by Polyhistor to be that Atlas, to whom the Heathens did ascribe the beginning of Astronomy: in short, all Learning was thought by them, to have been Originally among the Hebrews; and that, from them by stealth and filching, some seeds of it were sown in Phaenicia, Egypt, and at last in Greece; for they make it plain by Computation, that Moses (who yet was long after Enoch, Sem, Heber, and Abra­ham, all great Scholars) was fifteen hundred years ancienter than any of the Greek Philosophers; that all Learning, that is found, or bragged of, among the Grecians, was but a Babe of a day old, in respect of that of Gods own people; and that all their Philosophy was but some [...], some fragments, or Scraps, which fell from the Ta­bles of the Jews; and it were easie to demonstrate that No small part of the Heathenish Mythology, and Divinity, was fetcht from the Hebrew Sto­ries and Practices: As the Greek Poet saith of the [Page 13] Cretians, that they were always [...], Calli­mach. lyars; so I may say of the Greeks themselves, that they were al­wayes Thieves: though they bragged that all Learning came from them, yet in truth (as Ta­tianus tells us) they were but like the Crow, not [...]. adorned with their own Feathers, but with those they had stol'n from their Neighbours; and drew their Dogmata or Assertions, from the Foun­tain of holy Writings; and having busie and in­quisitive Minds, whatsoever they found in Moses, or other Divine Philosophers, they endeavored [...], to set another Stamp upon it, and make it pass for their own: and if we consult the New Testament, we shall find, that St. Paul was so great a Scholar, as to dispute with the Stoicks, Epicureans, and other Philosophers, according to their own Notions, which he had learnt at the feet of Gamaliel; being as conversant in the Lear­ning of the Greeks, as Moses had been before in that of the Egyptians; and the rest of the Apostles were made great Linguists, and endued from a­bove with Tongues, and all Knowledg; so that they were reputed at first among the Gentiles as a new Sect of Philosophers; and in succeeding Ages, the Prime Fathers of the Church were of the Converted Rhetoricians, and Philosophers, as Ignatius, Clemens, Ireneus, Justin Martyr, Athenago­ras, [Page 14]Tertullian, Origen, Lactantius, and divers o­thers. And this shall suffice for the first kind of Knowledg I was to commend to you; namely, Humane Knowledg: I now ascend to a Know­ledg of a higher nature, and that is

2. Divine Knowledg, or the Knowledg of God, and of those things, that conduce to our eternal Happiness. There are many indeed in the World, that pretend to knowledg; and the Sons of Adam are now as busie, as ever himself was about the Tree of Knowledg; shaking the Boughs of it, and scrambling for the fruit; whilst, I fear, many are too unmindful of the Tree of Life; and though there be now no Che­rubims, with their flaming Swords to keep men from it, yet the way, that leads to it, seems to be solitary and untrodden; as if there were but few that had any Mind to taste of the fruit of it. All mens Care and Study is for Knowledg; ne­ver prizing or cheapning so poor a Commodity as Life: All Sin is [...]. from the Tree of Know­ledg, saith Clemens of Alexandria; it grows upon that tree; men for most part having Brains to understand, eyes to see, and tongues to pro­fess, but neither hearts to apply, nor hands to practise, nor Feet to walk in the ways of Gods Commandements: there was never any age, [Page 15]that boasted more of knowledg than this, and the men thereof seem to abound with it; but yet, if we may judge of the Tree by its fruits; if we observe the actions and practices of these men, and take notice how faintly the Light of their knowledg shines before men in a virtuous and holy Conversation, we may safely conclude, that their Science is falsely so called; and that they are like the Gnosticks of old, who boasted much of their Knowledg, from whence they had their name; yet because they did not direct their know­ledg to a Right End, and it did not beget in them a due Reverence of God and his Laws, but taught them rather to make their Braines a Mint, for the Coining new Errors and Heresies, it did not de­serve the name of Knowledg. If a man were Master of all the Knowledg of Nature and Art, intimately acquainted with all Sciences, if he could attain to a Command of all Languages, and could give an exact account of the Order and Motion of all the Stars, discourse of the Intrigues of all States, and the History of all Ages, and yet should be destitute of the knowledg of God, and of Christ, all this would be but a more Splen­did and Glorious kind of Ignorance. The Con­templations of those things, that do not contri­bute to the promoting our Eternal Happiness are [Page 16]but a more Venial and Reputable Kind of Igno­rance, and will onely Qualify us to Commence Infernal Fiends, and take our Degrees in Satans University; and make us Members of his Hellish Society.

What doth it profit a Man to know all the Motions of the Celestial Bodies, and the Influ­ences of the Stars, if he does not know Christ, the BrightRev. 22.16. Morning Star? is any desirous to know some new thing? the best Novelty is the New Creature. What great Folly is it in some men, to be curiously inquisitive how their Souls were conveyed into their Bodies, but wretched­ly careless how they go out? or to Dispute who is Anti-Christ, when they themselves are no Chri­stians? or contend that Christ died for all, when they will not reconcile their Practices to their O­pinions, but Reprobate and Damn themselves? Disputation is no proper Antidote against any one Vice, but an Introduction to very many; and sometimes makes Passion evaporate into sin; the best Disputant being often the worst Practitioner. When Eudamidas the Son of Archidamas heard old Xenocrates disputing about Wisdom, he asked ve­ry soberly, if the old man he yet disputing concerning Wisdom, what time will he have to make use of it? Christianity is all for Practice, and men enquire [Page 17]so long what it is, that they have but little time left to be Christians. And this shall suffice for those two sorts of Knowledg, the Soul of man should be instructed in, namely Humane and Di­vine Knowledg; I proceed now to the

Second General part of my Text, namely the Thesis, or positive Assertion, that it is not good that the Soul should be without Knowledg; the want of Knowledg is a great Prejudice and Dammage to the Soul; of which, that I may the better con­vince you, I will shew you

• 1. The great Pleasure and delight that is to be found in Knowledg.
• 2. Its many Excellencies and Advantages. And,
• 3. The great Usefulness and Necessity of it in all States and Conditions of Life.

1. The great Pleasure and Delight, that is to be found in Knowledg: those who are possest with a Noble Passion for knowledg, how do they despise all lower pleasures in companion of it? how do they forget themselves, neglect the body, and retire into the mind, the highest part of man, and nearest to God? As the appearance of light, though not attended with any other visible Beau­ties, refreshes the Eye after long darkness; so the clear knowledg and discovery of Truths, how [Page 18]abstract soever, is grateful to the Intellectual Fa­culty: thus some men have been strangely trans­ported with the pleasure of a Mathematical De­monstration, when the Evidence only, not the Importance, of the thing, was ravishing and de­lightful. Solon, when near his End, and some of his Friends were whispering softly about a Point of Philosophy, on the sudden opened his eyes, and raised his head to give attention; where­of being asked the reason, he replied, that Ut cum istud, quicquid est, de quo disputatis percepero moriar. Valer. Maxim. when I understand, what you are discoursing of, I may dye; such was his delight in knowledg, that a little of it made his Agony insensible; and Tully, whilst he was reading a Treatise of Philosophy, breaks out into this kind of Ecstasie, O philosophia, unus dies ex praeceptis tuis actus peccanti immortalitati est an­teponendus! and Socrates (so real a pleasure did he find in Philosophical Knowledg) was said to have given thanks to God among other things, that (by his Providence) he was a Philosopher.

To be reviewing the Recesses of Nature, and the beautiful inside of the Universe, is a more manly, yea Angelical Felicity, than the highest gratification of the Senses, which is such a low de­gree of Happiness, as is common to the youthful Epicure with his Hounds and Horses. And as Knowledg is Pleasant and Delightful, so

2. Hath it in it many Excellencies and Advan­tages; [Page 19]What is it in this World, on which men put the greatest value? Silver, Gold, Jewels, yet even these must give the pre-eminence, and strike Sail to Knowledg, whichJob 28.15, 16, 18 cannot he gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof; it cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious Onyx, or the Saphire; no mention shall be made of Coral, or of pearles, for the price of it is above Rubies: Could the excellency and beauty of Knowledg be presented to the eye of man; the finest Gold would loose its Shine and Lustre, the fairest Pearls would soon grow Pale, and the richest Rubies would blush for shame, to see themselves so much outvied and excelled by it; Knowledg communicates an unspeakable excel­lency to the persons of men; and we may say the same of it, that the Preacher does of Wisdom,Eccl. 8.1. it makes a mans face to shine. Knowing and in­telligent men on earth are like the stars in heaven, say the Hebrew Doctors: Knowledg undoubt­edly transcends Ignorance, as far as Light excels Darkness: there is not more difference betwixt a Man and a Beast, than betwixt a knowing and an Ignorant Person; a wise, knowing man, though without Wealth, as much excelling a Rich man without Knowledg, as an Angel does an Ass laden With Gold; Riches are but Appen­dages [Page 20]and Accessions to the outward Grandeur, Knowledg is an Imbellishment and Ennoblement of the mind of man: it being an Error worse than Heresie, to adore the Complemental and Circumstantial pieces of Felicity, such as are the Gifts of Fortune; and undervalue those perfecti­ons, and essential parts of Happiness, wherein we resemble our Maker: to which I may also add, that

3. Knowledg is useful and necessary in all States and Conditions of Life; which we shall the more easily discover, if we consider the great inconveniences, that attend those Persons, who want Knowledg; and they are two

• 1. The Want of Knowledg is attended with great Sins, and
• 2. With great Miseries.

1. The Want of Knowledg is attended with great Sins; and therefore it was not without good Reason, that Cebes in his Table, quotes these words of Plato, [...]. Learning is as it were the Bridle of youth, and keeps it from worse employments: and a­gain he tells us, that the attainment of Learning cures the Soul of all Diseases: and Plotinus most truly af­firms, that it is from [...]. false Opinions, that men are so fond of their Vices; that it is for want of right No­tions, and Apprehensions, of things: and there­fore [Page 21]the Right Honourable and Learned, the late Earl of Clarendon, in the Epistle Dedicatory to his Survey of Hobs his Leviathan, truly charges all the Errors of that Book, upon the Author's con­sulting, and making use of too few Books. When men are without knowledg, they will be apt not onely to Commit, but also to Consecrate their wickedness; and because such ignorant Zelots, as these, have not Light proportionable to their Heat, they become Schismatical: St. Paul indeed tells us,Gal. 4.8 it is good to be zelously affected, but it must be in a good thing; and not onely so; for he speaks of some who had a godly Zele, and yet in them too there was something wanting, theyRom. 10.2. had it not according to knowledg; and there­fore St. Augustin commends Zele, as good in David, who was a knowing, and a wise King, when he said, the zele of thy house hath eaten me up; but on the other side condemns it as bad, and unbeseem­ing the ignorant Multitude, when 'tis said of themZelus occupavit plebem in­eruditam. lib. 20. de Civitate Dei cap. 12. Zele hath possessed an ignorant Multitude: For Zele in Religion without knowledg will flame so furiously, that it will not so much Kindle, as Burn up Devotion; and consume the Sacrifice, the Altar, and the Priest himself too. An ig­norant Zelot (being overheated with a Calen­ture of Zele) like his brother Fanatick Eunus (in [Page 22] Lucius Florus) who, that he might be thought in­spired, put a Nut-shell into his Mouth filled with Fire and Brimstone, He spits Fire, and breaths forth Flames, with his words:

This Burning Zeal it is, that makes him often assault Christianity with its own weapons, fight against our Saviour under his own Banner; and whilst he thinks to Win heaven by Storm, he makes the Kingdom (where he lives) suffer Mat. 11.12. Vio­lence, and endeavours to Force it without a Meta­phor. The Ignorant Zelot, who, wanting suf­ficient Authority to warrant his actions, takes a groundless Opinion for his Foundation, and makes not Reason his Judge in the Consult, can receive no assistance from it in the heat of action; he hath then lost all Command of himself; and, as his Ignorance continues, so his vehemence, and consequently his danger, does increase; He will still follow the same blind guide, that first misled his devotion; not knowing either how to stop his Carreer, or direct his Course; like one that puts out to Sea, without the assistance of either Sailes, Compass, or Anchors, he lyes at the Mercy of every Wind and Tide, and is in danger of being foundred upon every Shallow, and split upon e­very Rock: and this brings me to the second in­convenience, that accompanies the Want of know­ledg; and that is

2. That it is attended with great miseries; we are told Eccl. 7.11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance: Wisdom and an inheritance are best indeed when in Conjunction; they thrive best when they are Meet Helps, and Married together; but if they must be Divorced, as sometimes they are; Know­ledg will prove a better Support to us without an Inheritance, than the largest treasures of wealth can without Knowledg: and hence it was that Cra­tes, that noble Theban, put 200 Talents of Silver in­to the Common Bank, upon condition that if his Sons were Fools and Idiots, they should have them again; but that if they were Philosophers, and men of Learning, they should be given to the people; for he thought that then his Sons would not need them; He looked upon the Furniture and Accom­plishments of the mind, as better Riches than the largest Doles of Fortune, and the Wealth and Revenues of an ample Inheritance: And the Philosopher Aristippus was wont to say, that 'tis far better to be a Beggar than unlearned; for he only wants Wealth, whereas the illiterate Person of­tentimes wants Humanity it self: that Sore Evil under the Sun Solomon declaimes against, name­ly, Riches laid up for the Owners thereof to their Hurt, is never so visible and apparent, as when Riches are in the Possession of ignorant and weak men, who are made a Laughing-stock and Prey [Page 24]to others, and a Snare to themselves: what gol­den Asses are they (as Caesar called rich but unlear­ned Syllanus) to bear those Burdens of Jeers and Scoffs, which more ingenious and witty men do load them with? For there is an ignorant Rabble among the Rich, a Sort of Plebeian heads, whose Phansie moves in the same Wheel, men in the same Level with Mechanicks, though their For­tunes guild over their Infirmities, and their Purses Compound for their Folly; and 'tis often found that they, who have Midas his Wealth, have also his Asses ears entailed upon them;

Juvenal Satyr. 8. ver. 73. Rarus enim ferme sensus communis in illa Fortuna, saith the Satyrist. He that is Rich in wealth is usually Poor in Wisdom and Knowledg, and his head is as empty as his Purse is full: Knowledg is the Fortress and Security of every State and Condition of Life: Wealth without Knowledg is an unsafe injoyment, and certain to be abused or wasted; and the same may be said of a Rich man without Knowledg, that Solomon does of a fair Woman without discretionProv. 11 22. as a jewel of Gold in a Swines snout so is a Rich man without Knowledg. Power also, unless directed by Knowledg, (like the dreadful thunder) breaks all in pieces: or it is but as the strength of a beast, dangerous and destructive; or as a Sword in a [Page 25]mad mans hand, which becomes the instrument of rage and Folly: It is indeed a very dangerous Station, as being the fittest Stage to expose a Man's weakness upon, and will at last either be lessen'd or quite lost; and that person, who wants knowledg to Steer his Power; will either run himself upon Rocks, or stick fast in the Shallows of his own Ignorance, till all men give him a Broadside of Scoffs and Abuses, and thereby at last Sink his Reputation: for He, that is look­ed upon to be of no other Quorum, but that of the Ignorantes, is esteemed by knowing and discern­ing men, but as a Worshipful Idol, or Image, in a piece of Arras; or rather as the meer picture of Justice, which exactly represents his Worship's Blind Ignorance by her being pictur'd Blind. And as Magistrates, so also ought Ministers to be en­dued with Knowledg, least they render their Calling cheap and contemptible: for,Mal. 2.7. the Priests lips should keep Knowledg: and God himself declares, that those are not fit for Holy Orders, that reject Knowledg;Hos. 4.6. Because thou hast rejected knowledg, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no Priest to me.

A Business of so great importance, as Under­standing, and Expounding the Scriptures (which requires, multiplicity of Authors) is a matter of [Page 26]great Learning, which cannot in a short time and with small pains be attained; For if, in the A­postles times, when much of the Scripture was scarcely written, and God was pleased to teach men by Miracles, St. Paul required diligent Read­ing; much more is it necessary in our times wherein God does not supply our natural defects by Miracles, and yet the Burden of our Professi­on is infinitely encreased: For if we add to the growth of Christian Learning (as it was in the Apostles times) but this one Circumstance, which is highly requisite in our times, but was not so in theirs, namely the Knowledg of the State and Succession of Doctrine in the Church from time to time, a thing very necessary for the determin­ing the Controversies of these our dayes, how great a Stock of Learning will this require? so that you plainly see, that the most insignificant and worthless Chip of the whole Block is not fit to make Timber for the Pulpit: ex quovis ligno non fit Mercurius; and so these Mercuries, these Messen­gers, of the great God of Heaven and Earth, must not be hew'd out of every Block; least their more acute Auditors serve them, as the Frogs in the Fable did the Log, insult over, slight, and trample upon them; these are the fruits of the want of Knowledg as to particular Persons; [Page 27]let us next consider the great inconveniences, that attend

2. Those Places or Kingdoms, where these Persons that want Knowledg live and reside; and we shall find their want of Knowledg a great Enemy

• 1. To their Prosperity.
• 2. To their Peace. And
• 3. To their Religion.

1. We shall find the Want of Knowledg an Enemy to the Prosperity of those Places or King­doms, where Persons, that want Knowledg, live and reside. If a Kingdom would grow great and prosperous, its Prosperity must be built upon one of these two Pillars, either Trade or War; Now Learning is a great Advancer of Trade in times of Peace; and a Bulwark to a Nation in time of War. As for Trade, how can that be propagat­ed, how can we export our Wares and Merchan­dises, without Cosmography to bring us acquain­ted with other Countries? without Navigation to waft and transport us thither? how can we have a free and Universal Trade, without forrein Languages, to converse with the Natives of the several Places, where the Scene of our Traffick lyes? Nor is Learning less advantagious and use­ful in time of War; As contrary as the Goddess [Page 28]of War, Bellona, seems to Minerva, the Goddess of all Arts and Wisdom, yet war cannot be suc­cessfully managed without her Assistance: it is not a fierce and brutish Courage onely that proves Victorious; there must be wise Heads, as well as couragious Hearts, to obtain a complete and Absolute Conquest.

It is by the help of Mathematicks that the Sol­dier draws his Lines of Circumvallation; Astro­nomy is necessary for Navigation; History must acquaint us with Warlike Stratagems and State In­trigues: Some of the greatest Commanders in the World have been men of great learning; what Julius Caesar was, his Commentaries sufficiently declare; and by that book of his, called Anti-Ca­to, 'tis easie to be seen, that he did aspire as well after a Victory in Wit and Learning, as in a War; by engaging with one of the greatest Masters of Wit and Eloquence that then lived, the Orator of Rome, Marcus Cicero. That famous Comman­der Epaminondas was educated under Lysias the Py­thagorean; and Xenophon, that great Soldier as well as Scholar, gained as much credit by his Pen, as his Sword; his pure strains of Attick Greek have procured him the glorious Appellation of Atheni­an Bee; so necessary is it for the Prosperity of a Place or Kingdom, that the Soul should not be [Page 29]without Knowledg; which is also necessary for the Peace of it; and this brings me to the

2. Thing I was to shew you, namely that the Want of Knowledg is an Enemy to the Peace of a Kingdom. Ignorance makes men Stubborn and Mutinous; the most Barbarous and unlearn­ed times having been most subject to tumults and Seditions, when the times of Learning have been times of Peace and Quietness: and (if we consult the Histories of those times) we shall find that the Romans never ascended to the height of their Empire, till they arrived to a Considerable Height in Arts and Sci­ences; for in the time of the two first Caesars, Juli­us and Augustus, when their Government was at its highest Zenith, lived Virgil the Prince of Poets, the best Historiographer Titus Livius, the best Antiquary Marcus Varro; and the best of Orators Marcus Cicero: and in the Records of time it ap­pears, that the Government of Princes in Mino­rity have exceeded the Governments of those of mature and full Age, because they were under the Tuition of some learned man; For so was the State of Rome for the first five years of Nero's Minority, so much commended, in the hands of Seneca, Nero's Tutor: So was it again for ten years space or more, during the Minority of Gor­dianus [Page 30]the younger, with great applause in the hands of his Tutor Misitheus. And as the want of Knowledg is an Enemy to a Kingdoms Peace, so is it

3. To the Established Constitution of its Re­ligion; Were not our Church furnished with learned and able men, the Church of Rome would soon come in upon us, on our ignorant Blind side, and make her advantage, as she hath already done in the Eastern Churches, which in little more than Age are almost over-run by her; and though they had a settled and ancient Constituti­on, and were generally sufficiently prejudic'd a­gainst the Romish Usurpation; yet through their ignorance the Supremacy of the Pope is now their avowed Principle.

I shall conclude all in a Short Address to you by way of Application, and Exhort you to the Purchase of Knowledg, in the same words that Solomon, does to that ofProv. 4.7, 8, 9. Wisdom. Knowledg is the Principal thing, therefore get knowledg, and with all thy getting get understanding; Exalt her, and she shall promote thee, she shall bring thee to Honour, when thou dost imbrace her, she shall give to thine Head an Orna­ment of grace, A Crown of glory shall she deliver to thee; this Crown of Glory will very well become their [Page 31]Heads, who have relation to Royal Such as are King's Queen's and Tri­nity Col­ledge. Foundations, and that have had Kings for their nursing Fathers, and Queens for their nursing Mothers; this will place our Academic Youth above the reach of that re­prochful Character, which Menedemus gave of the Youth of Athens; namely, that the first year they went to Athens they were wise men, the second year Philosophers, the third Orators, and the fourth but meer Plebeians, and understood nothing but their own Ignorance; that is (according to our Modern Language) they were Golden Fresh­men, silver Sophisters, leaden Butchelors, and woo­den Masters of Art. O then make earnest pursuits after Knowledg, and (above all Knowledg) be in Quest of that, which is of most use to you in the practice of Virtue and Goodness. We read that when the Gods and Goddesses were choosing those trees they would have Sacred to them, after Apollo had chosen the Lawrel, Venus the Myr­tle, Pluto the Cypress, Hercules the Poplar, and Minerva the Olive; Minerva was commended a­bove all for her wise Choice; for that when the other Deities elected such Trees as were fruitless, having respect onely to their straightness, shade, of strength; she made choice of such a one, as was useful and beneficial to men; So that, which denominates men truly knowing, is, when they [Page 32]know those things that are material, and really useful; for (as [...] Aeschylus hath well told us) Not he, that knows much, but he, that knows what is most useful, is the Wisest man. Sciences are multi­plied and grown to a great Perfection in these parts of the World; but because it is Impossible to attain them all, our Apprentiship to them be­ing long, and our life short; those especially should be followed, which teach men both to live and dye well; this is the Learning so much recommended by Solomon; Prov. 4.13. take fast hold of instruction, let her not go; keep her for she is thy life: this Knowledg; this Learning, God grant us all, for his dear Son Jesus Christ his sake, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be Honour, Glory, and Praise.