Dire[tiom for yom!g Stttdeuts about the Ord<r of their Studies.. ~· 1 T. Direct. 7· Wirh rhe knowledge of your {rlvu joyn the Knowledge..of the rcH of the wmks of God; but according to the u[cfulndS of each put to your moral dury; and as all are Related to God and You. o. J 2· Din:lt. 8. Be flue in all your progrefs that you keep a dillinct knowltdgc of thing_c; ctrlain anJ thi11gs mtccrtain,{tarcb.JUe and un{carchab!t, revealed and :mrcvcalrd; And lay the tidt as your found.Hi; n, yea ra1hcr keep the knowledge of rhem as your Scie-nce of Phytlck by it [elf, and ltc no obkurity in the rcll caufe you to quefiion cc:rtain things; nor ever be {Q pcrvcrfe as ro tfy thing'> l(.nown, by rh.ings :mkJrotl?Jt) and ro argue (/: min;!J notU. L:ty no Hrefs on [mall or doubrful thil1gs·. 9. 13· DireCt. 9· Mdaphylicks as now taken is a mixture of Organical and 1Zut KnowlidgC ;'And put of it bdongerh ro ~ogic]{ (the Organical parr), and the rdl is 1hc~.~t1Jgie, aud Pneuniato!ogie, and the hi~hclt puts of Q;uologie, or ]{ral SciCI1CI· . §. , 4. DireCt. to. In Uudying Philofophy, J. S::c that you neirhcr negld} tny helps of thofC that have g,onc btfore )'OU, under pretence of taking nothing upon u ull, and of fiudying the n~ked Thmvs rhunfdvts: (for if every n1an mu{l begin alia new, as if he had been the firfl Philofophct, know!cdte will make but (null proticiency) 2· Nnr yet flick nor in the bare Btlicf of ar:y Author whatfoevtr, hut Hudy all things in rhtir n..Jkfd natures and propt:r evidmces though by the h'clps that ar~ dfmd;.d you by other~. For it is not fcience bur hHm:tne be!iif, clfe, whoever you rake it from. ~· 15. DireGt. JC. So certain are the numerous crrours of Philofophtrs, fo uncertain a multitude of rhcir aff~rrions, fo various their fcds, and fo eafie is it for any to .pull down much which the 1r!l h.1vc built, and fo hard ro fct up any comely firuClure that others in like manner miy not call down, rhar lcJnnot pufw.ade vou to fall in with any one fort or fdl:, who yet h1vc publifhed their fen– riments to the World. The l)!aronilts made very noble attempts in their cnq~iri~·s 4ftcr fpirirual be– ings : Bur they run into many unproved fanaticifms, and into divers errours, and want rhc defirable hups of true nH.th(•d. The wit of Arijiot!e w:1s wm~d..:rful for fubti!iry and fo!idity. His knowledge vJ.h ; His method (oft) accurJ.rc; Bur mat~y precarious, yea erroneous con~eptions and aifcrrions, <trc fo p!Jced. by him, as w have a troubling and corrupting influence into all the refl : The Epicu– •·eans 01 D.mocr:uills, were tlill and juflly the contempt of all the fobcr ftcts; And our late Som_ari!ls th1t follow rhe.::m, yea and GajJn:dus, and many char call themfdves ClrtdiJns, yea Carttfius himfClf, much more Berif{ard:t.J, Rt>gius and HobbcJ, do gi~c fo. much more to rneer M1tter and Motion, than is truly duf', and know or fJy fa much too lirde ofSpirits, ACtive N.ttur.es, Viral Pow.ers, which are the tr~c principles of motion, that they differ as much from true Philofophers, as a Carkafs or a C!ock from a living man. The Scoicks h:!.d noble Ethical principles, and they ( and the Plato– flifis with the Cyniclis) were of the bell lives: But their writings are moH: lofi, and little of their Phyficks fUlly known to us, and tlut alfo hath its errours. Patrici:u is but a Platoni!l fo raken with the nature of Light, as infiftirl-£ on that in Phanatical terms, to leave out a great deal more chat mutl be conjoyned. 1elefius dorh the like by Heat andCold, HttJvcn a;zd E.Jrtb, and among· many obferva– ble things, hath much chat is unfound and of ill confcqucnce, CampancL'a hath improved him, an4 harh many hints of better P1inciplcs ( efpecial!y in his Prima!ities) than all the refi: Bu~ he phl– mtica!ly runsthem up into fo many unproved and vain, yea and milhkcn fupcrfiruClnres, as that no true Body of Phyfitk<; can be gathered out of all his works. The attempt thlt pious Commeniur hath made in his {mJ.ll MJnual hath much that is of worrh; but far fhort of accuratenefs. The Hcrrnttical Phi!ofophcrs have no true method of Philofophy atnot1g them; And to make their rhrce or tive Principles tO be fO many Elements, or timple bodic:s, conflituting all compounds, and form up a fyt\cme of Philofophy on rhctr fuppofitions, will be but to triAe and.nor ro Cuistie judicious minds:, efpccia!ly confidcring how defective their Philofophy is made by their omiiTlvns. LHUi 115 and his followClS tir not their Merhod to the true ordt:rofthc Matcer. Scali.ger, Scheggi:u, TVmdelineand Scnm:rtus ( c!rccillly in his H)•ponmemata) were great men, ::md have many cxccl!c:nt things: But roo much of Ariftotlts gocth for curranc with them. My worthy, Le1rned and truly pious friend Mr. Sam. Gott in his new BooK on Gen. I· hath many (Xccllenr notions, and much that is {Carcc elfewhcre robe · met with: But the tedious paragraphs, the dcfc.Cl: of merhod, and ftveral unproveablc particulars m..k:: it l:kc all humane works imperfect. , Thcrtlore if 1 mu!\ direct you according to my judgement, I mufi advife you, 1. To fuppofe that Philofophcrs arc all Hill in very great darkncfs, and rhere is much confuGvn, dcfdtivenefs, erroyr and divilion and uncertainty among them. 2. Therefore addid not your ll·lves abfolutcly to any Sect of them. 3· Let.your firfi: ftudies of them all leave room for the changil!g of your judgement, ~tid do not too haHily fix on any of their fentiments as fure, till you have heard what orhers fay, and with ripened und~rfbndings have deeply and long fiudied the Tnings themfclves. 4· Choofe out fo much of theCcrtaintir.r and Vfoful pnrs of Phy{tck.J as you can rc:~ch to, and make them know rheir places in fu.bfcrv1ency to your holy principles and ends; and rather be well contcnr With f0 much tha:, to lolt: too much time in a vain fatigaTion 'of your brains tOr more. , I have made fornc attempt to draw our fo much, efpecially de NTHndo & deIiomi;;e, in my Mctbod: 41 'Tbc lop.i£, 'hough llxpect it 01ould no more fttistie others, than any of theirs hav.e fatisfied me. §. t6. Dire(}. 1 r. When you !uve well flared your Onrologie, or Real Science, rhep review your l~r,gi~lt,_ and Otganical part of A1'rt.'lpby{1ck,.J; an£~ fee Verb,; rtbm aptrntue ; fetch then your JVord 1 and O:gtmicJt notion! from rhe Nature of the 1hin;.s. Abundance arc; confOunded by taking up Logicill N.mons titH which arc uduitable to true Phytical beings. · j. '7·
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