are not unappliable to occafions of evill. Bad meats will scarce breed good nourishment in the healthiest concoction; but herein the difference is of bad books, that they to a difcreet and judicious Reader ferve in many refpects to difcover, to confute, to forewarn, and to illuftrate. Whereof what better witnes can ye expect I should produce, then one of your own now fitting in Parlament, the chief of learned men reputed in this Land, Mr. Selden, whofe volume of naturall and national laws proves, not only by great autorities brought together, but by exquifite reafons and theorems almost mathematically demonftrative, that all opinions, yea errors, known, read, and collated, are of main fervice and affistance toward the speedy attainment of what is trueft. I conceive therefore, that when God did enlarge the univerfall diet of mans body, fsaving ever the rules of temperance, he then also, as before, left arbitrary the dyeting and repafting of our minds; as wherein every mature man might have to exercise his owne leading capacity. How great a vertue is temperance, how much of moment through the whole life of man? yet God committs the managing fo great a truft, without particular Law or prescription, wholly to the demeanour of every grown man. And therefore when he himself tabl'd the Jews from heaven, that Omer which was every mans daily portion of Manna, is computed to have bin more then might have well fuffic'd the heartiest feeder thrice as many meals. For those actions which enter into a man, rather then issue out of him, and therefore defile not, God ufes not to captivat under a perpetuall childhood of prescription, but trusts him with the gift of reason to be his own chooser; there were but little work left for preaching, if law and compulsion show grow fo faft upon those things which hertofore were govern'd only by exhortation. Salomon informs us that much reading is a wearines to the flesh; but neither he, nor other inspir'd author tells us that such, or such reading is unlawfull: yet certainly had God thought good to limit us herein, it had bin much

more expedient to have told us what was unlawfull, then what was wearifome. As for the burning of those Ephefian books by St. Pauls converts, tis reply'd the books were magick, the Syriack fo renders them. It was a privat act, a voluntary act, and leaves us to a voluntary imitation: the men in remorse burnt those books which were their own; the Magistrat by this example is not appointed: these men practiz'd the books, another might perhaps have read them in fome fort usefully. Good and evill we know in the field of this World grow up together almost infeparably; and the knowledge of good is fo involv'd and interwoven with the knowledge of evill, and in fo many cunning resemblances hardly to be difcern'd, that thofe confused feeds which were impos'd on Pfyche as an incessant labour to cull out, and fort asunder, were not more intermixt. It was from out the rinde of one apple tasted, that the knowledge of good and evill as two twins cleaving together leapt forth into the World. And perhaps this is that doom which Adam fell into of knowing good and evill, that is to say of knowing good by evill. As therefore the state of man now is; what wisdome can there be to choose, what continence to forbeare without the knowledge of evill? He that can apprehend and confider vice with all her baits and seeming pleafures, and yet abstain, and yet distinguish, and yet prefer that which is truly better, he is the true warfaring Chriftian. I cannot praise a fugitive and cloister'd vertue, unexercis'd and unbreath'd, that never fallies out and fees her adversary, but flinks out of the race, where that immortall garland is to be run for, not without duft and heat. Affuredly we bring not innocence into the world, we bring impurity much rather: that which purifies us is triall, and triall is by what is contrary. That vertue therefore which is but a youngling in the contemplation of evill, and knows not the utmost that vice promises to her followers, and rejects it, is but a blank vertue, not a pure; her whitenesse is but an excrementall whiteneffe; Which was the reason

why our fage and serious Poet Spencer, whom I dare be known to think a better teacher then Scotus or Aquinas, defcribing true temperance under the perfon of Guion, brings him in with his palmer through the cave of Mammon, and the bowr of earthly blisse that he might fee and know, and yet abftain. Since therefore the knowledge and furvay of vice is in this world fo neceffary to the conftituting of human vertue, and the scanning of error to the confirmation of truth, how can we more fafely, and with leffe danger scout into the regions of fin and falsity then by reading all manner of tractats, and hearing all manner of reafon? And this is the benefit which may be had of books promifcuously read. But of the harm that may result hence three kinds are usually reckn'd. Firft, is fear'd the infection that may spread; but then all human learning and controverfie in religious points must remove out of the world, yea the Bible it felfe; for that oftimes relates blafphemy not nicely, it defcribes the carnall fenfe of wicked men not unelegantly, it brings in holiest men passionately murmuring against providence through all the arguments of Epicurus: in other great disputes it answers dubiously and darkly to the common reader: And afk a Talmudeft what ails the modefty of his marginall Keri, that Mofes and all the Prophets cannot perfwade him to pronounce the textuall Chetiv. For these causes we all know the Bible it felfe put by the Papist into the first rank of prohibited books. The ancienteft Fathers must be next remov'd, as Clement of Alexandria, and that Eufebian book of Evangelick preparation, transmitting our ears through a hoard of heathenish obfcenities to receive the Gospel. Who finds not that Irenæus, Epiphanius, Jerom, and others discover more herefies then they well confute, and that oft for herefie which is the truer opinion. Nor boots it to fay for thefe, and all the heathen Writers of greatest infection, if it must be thought fo, with whom is bound up the life of human learning, that they writ in an unknown tongue, so long

as we are fure those languages are known as well to the worst of men, who are both most able, and moft diligent to inftill the poison they fuck, first into the Courts of Princes, acquainting them with the choiceft delights, and criticisms of fin. As perhaps did that Petronius whom Nero call'd his Arbiter, the Master of his revels; and that notorious ribald of Arezzo, dreaded, and yet dear to the Italian Courtiers. I name not him for pofterities fake, whom Harry the 8. nam'd in merriment his Vicar of hell. By which compendious way all the contagion that foreine books can infuse, will finde a passage to the people farre easier and shorter then an Indian voyage, though it could be fail'd either by the North of Cataio Eastward, or of Canada Weftward, while our Spanish licencing gags the English preffe never so severely. But on the other fide that infection which is from books of controversie in Religion, is more doubtfull and dangerous to the learned, then to the ignorant; and yet those books must be permitted untoucht by the licencer. It will be hard to inftance where any ignorant man hath bin ever feduc't by Papisticall book in English, unlesse it were commended and expounded to him by some of that Clergy and indeed all fuch tractats whether false or true are as the Prophefie of Isaiah was to the Eunuch, not to be underflood without a guide. But of our Priests and Doctors how many have bin corrupted by studying the comments of Jefuits and Sorbonists, and how fast they could transfuse that corruption into the people, our experience is both late and fad. It is not forgot, fince the acute and distinct Arminius was perverted meerly by the perusing of a nameleffe difcours writt'n at Delf, which at first he took in hand to confute. Seeing therefore that those books, and those in great abundance which are likelieft to taint both life and doctrine, cannot be suppreft without the fall of learning, and of all ability in difputation, and that these books of either fort are most and fooneft catching to the learned, from whom to the common people

what ever is hereticall or diffolute may quickly be convey'd, and that evil manners are as perfectly learnt without books a thousand other ways which cannot be stopt, and evill doctrine not with books can propagate, except a teacher guide, which he might also doe without writing, and so beyond prohibiting, I am not able to unfold, how this cautelous enterprise of licencing can be exempted from the number of vain and imposfible attempts. And he who were pleasantly difpos'd, could not well avoid to lik'n it to the exploit of that gallant man who thought to pound up the crows by fhutting his Parkgate. Besides another inconvenience, if learned men be the first receivers out of books and difpredders both of vice and error, how fhall the licencers themselves be confided in, unleffe we can conferr upon them, or they affume to themselves above all others in the Land, the grace of infallibility, and uncorruptedneffe? And again if it be true, that a wife man like a good refiner can gather gold out of the droffiest volume, and that a fool will be a fool with the best book, yea or without book, there is no reason that we should deprive a wife man of any advantage to his wifdome, while we seek to restrain from a fool, that which being reftrain'd will be no hindrance to his folly. For if there should be so much exactnesse always us'd to keep that from him which is unfit for his reading, we should in the judgement of Aristotle not only, but of Salomon, and of our Saviour, not voutsafe him good precepts, and by confequence not willingly admit him to good books, as being certain that a wile man will make better use of an idle pamphlet, then a fool will do of facred Scripture. 'Tis next alleg'd we must not expose our selves to temptations without neceffity, and next to that, not imploy our time in vain things. To both these objections one answer will ferve, out of the grounds already laid, that to all men fuch books are not temptations, nor vanities; but usefull drugs and materialls wherewith to temper and compote effective and strong med'cins, which mans life cannot want. The