ing to us things ufeful to be known And though a linguift fhould pride himfelfe to have all the tongues that Babel cleft the world into, yet, if he have not ftudied the folid things in them as well as the words and lexicons, he were nothing fo much to be esteemed a learned man, as any yeoman or tradefman competently wife in his mother dialect only. Hence appear the many mistakes which have made learning generally fo unpleafing and fo unfuccefsfull; firft we do amiffe to spend feven or eight ycers meerly in fcraping together fo much miferable Latin, and Greek, as, might be learnt otherwife cafily and delightfully in one yeer. And that which cafts our proficiency therein fo much behinde, is our time loft partly in too oft idle vacan-cies given both to fchools and univerfities, partly in a preposterous exaction, forcing the empty wits of children to compofe Theams, verfes, and Orations, which are the acts of ripeft judgement and the final work of a head fill'd by long reading, and obferving, with elegant maxims, and copious invention. These are not matters to be wrung from poor ftriplings, like blood out of the nofe, or the plucking of untimely fruit: befides the ill habit which they get of wretched barbarizing against the Latin and Greek idiom, with their untutor'd Anglicifms, odious to be read, yet not to be avoided without a well continu'd and judicious converfing among pure Authors thors digefted, which they fcarce tafte, whereas, if after fome preparatory grounds of fpeech by their certain forms got into memory, they were led to the praxis thereof in fome chofen short book leffon'd throughly to them, they might then forthwith proceed to learn the fubftance of good things, and Arts in due order, which would bring the whole language quickly into their power. This I take to be the most rationall and most profitable way of learning languages, and whereby we may best hope to give account to GoD of our youth fpent herein and for the ufual method of teaching Arts, I deem it to be an old errour of univerfities not yet well recover'd from the Scholaftick grofneffe of barbarous 3 barbarous ages, that inftead of beginning with Arts moft eafie, and those be fuch as are most obvious to the fence, they present their young unmatriculated novices at first coming with the most intellective abstractions of Logick and metaphyficks: So that they having but newly left thofe grammatick flats and fhallows where they ftuck unreasonably to learn a few words with lamentable conftruction, and now on the fudden tranfported under another climat to be toft and turmoild with their unballafted wits in fadomles and unquiet deeps of controverfie, do for the most part grow into hatred and contempt of learning, mockt and deluded all this while with ragged notions and babblements, while they they expected worthy and delightful knowledge; till poverty or youthfull yeers call them importunately their feverallwayes, and haften them with chefway of friends either to an ambitious and mercenary, or ignorantly zealous Divinity; Some allur'd to the trade of Law grounding their purposes not on the prudent, and heavenly contemplation of juftice and equity which was never taught them, but on the promifing and pleafing: thoughts. of litigious terms, fat contentions, and flowing fees; others betake them to State affairs, with fouls fo unprincipl'd in vertue, and true generous breeding, that flattery and court fhifts and tyrannous aphorifines appear to them the highest points of wifdom; in ftilling |