CHAPTER XIV: 07 families, to a whole church, a town, a country, or akingdom. Upon this account, persons who are called to instruct others, who are raised to any eminence either in church or state, ought tobe careful in settling their principles in matters relating to the civil, the moral or the religious life ; lest a mistake of theirs should diffuse wide mischief, should draw along with it most pernicious consequences, and perhaps extend to following generations. These are some of the advantages which arise from the eighth rule, viz. pursue every enquiry and study in proportion to its real value and importance. IX. Have a care lest some beloved notion, or some darling science sofar prevail over your mind, as to give a soverezgn tincture to all your other studies, and discolour all your ideas", like a person in the jaundice, who spreads a yellow scene with his eyes over all the objects which he meets. I have known a man of peculiar skill in music, and much devoted to that science, who found out a great resemblance of the Athanasian doctrine of the Trinity in every single note, and he thought it carried something of argument in it to prove that doctrine. I have read ofanother who accommodated the seven days of the first week of creation to seven notes of music, and thus the whole creation became harmonious. Under this influence, derived from mathematical studies, sotne have been tempted to cast all their logical, their metaphy- sical, and their theological and moral learning into the method of mathematicians, and bring every thing relating to those ab- strcted, or those practical sciences under theorems, problems, postulates, scholiums, corollaries, &.c. whereas the matter ought always to direct the method ; for all subjects or matters of thought, cannot be moulded or subdued to One form. Neither the rules for the conduct of the understanding, nor the doctrines nor duties of religion and virtue can be exhibited naturally in figures and diagrams. Things are to be considered as they are in themselves ; their natures are inflexible, and their natural re- lations unalterable ; and therefore in order to conceive them aright, we must bring our understandings to things, and not pretend to bend and strain things to comport with our fancies and forms. X. " Suffer not any beloved study to prejudice your mind . so far in favour of it as to despise all other learning. This is a fault of some little souls who have got a smattering of astrono- my, clzemistzy, metaphysics, history, 4c. and for want of a due acquaintance with other sciences, make a scoff at them all in comparison of their favourite science. Their understandings are hereby cooped up in narrow bounds, so that they never look abroad into other provinces of the intellectual world, which are more beautiful perhaps, and more fruitful than their own: if VOL. viii. G
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