mine fairly instead of prefuming, and nobody will be at a loss or in danger, for want of embracing those truths which are neceflary in his station and circumstances. In any other way but this, all the world are born to orthodoxy; they imbibe at first the allowed opinions of their country and party, and fo never queftioning their truth, not one of an hundred ever examines; they are applauded for prefuming they are in the right. He that confiders, is a foe to orthodoxy, becaufe poffibly he may deviate from fome of the received doctrines there; and thus men, without any induftry or acquifition of their own, inherit local truths (for it is not the fame every where), and are inured to affent without evidence. This influences farther than is thought; for what one of an hundred of the zealous bigots in all parties ever examined the tenets he is fo ftiff in, or ever thought it his bufinefs or duty fo to do? It is fufpected of lukewarmnefs to fuppofe it neceffary, and a tendency to apoftacy to go about it; and if a man can bring his mind once to be pofitive and fierce for pofitions, whofe evidence he has never once examined, and that in matters of greatest concernment to him, what fhall keep him from this fhort and eafy way of being in the right, in cafes of lefs moment? Thus we are taught to clothe our minds, as we do our bodies, after the fashion in vogue, and it is accounted fantasticalnefs, or fomething worse, not to do fo. This cuftom (which who dares oppofe) makes the fhort-fighted bigots, and the warier fceptics, as far as it prevails; and thole that break from it are in danger of herefy; for taking the whole world, how much of it doth truth and orthodoxy poffefs together though it is by the laft alone (which has the good luck to be every where) that error and herefy are judged of; for argument and evidence fignify nothing in the case, and excufe no where, but are fure to be borne down in all focieties by the infallible orthodoxy of the place. Whether this be the way to truth and right affent, let the opinions that take place and preforibe in the several habitable parts of the earth, declare. I never faw any reafon yet why truth might not be trufted to its own evidence: I am fure if that be not able to fup

port it, there is no fence againft error, and then truth and falfehood are but names that ftand for the fame things. Evidence, therefore, is that by which alone every man is (and should be) taught to regulate his affent, who is then, and then only, in the right way when he follows it.

Men deficient in knowledge are ufually in one of thefe three ftates; either wholly ignorant, or as doubting of fome propofition they have either embraced formerly, or at prefent are inclined to; or, laftly, they do with affurance hold and profefs without ever having examined, and being convinced by well-grounded arguments.

The first of these are in the best state of the three, by having their minds yet in their perfect freedom and indifferency, the likelier to purfue truth the better, having no bias yet clapped on to mislead them.

$35.

FOR ignorance, with an indifferency for truth, is nearer to it than opinion with ungrounded inclination, which is the great fource of error; and they are more in danger to go out of the way, who are marching under the conduct of a guide, that it is an hundred to one will mislead them, than he that has not yet taken a step, and is likelier to be prevailed on to inquire after the right way. The laft of the three forts are in the worst condition of all; for if a man can be perfuaded and fully affured of any thing for a truth, without having examined what is there that he may not embrace for truth, and if he has given himself up to believe a lie, what means is there left to recover one who can be affured without examining? To the other two this I crave leave to fay, that as he that is ignorant is in the beft ftate of the two, fo he fhould purfue truth in a method fuitable to that ftate, i. e. by inquiring directly into the nature of the thing itself, without minding the opinions of others, or troubling himfelf with their queftions, or difputes about it, but to fee what he himfelf can, fincerely fearching after truth, find out. He that proceeds upon other principles in his inquiry into any fciences, though he be refolved to examine them,

and judge of them freely, does yet at leaft put him-. felf on that fide, and poft himself in a party which he will not quit till he be beaten out; by which the mind is infenfibly engaged to make what defence it can, and fo is unawares biaffed. I do not fay but a man should embrace fome opinion when he has examined, elfe he examines to no purpofe; but the surest and safest way is to have no opinion at all till he has examined, and that without any the leaft regard to the opinions or fyftems of other men about it. For example, were it my bufinefs to understand phyfic, would not the fafer and readier way be to confult nature herfelf, and inform myself in the history of difeafes and their cures, than, efpoufing the principles of the dogmatists, methodists or chemifts, engage in all the difputes concerning either of those systems, and fuppofe it to be true, till I have tried what they can fay to beat me out of it? Or, fuppofing that Hippocrates, or any other book, infallibly contains the whole art of phyfic, would not the direct way be tofftudy, read, and confider that book, weigh and compare the parts of it to find the truth, rather than efpoufe the doctrines of any party, who, though they acknowledge his authority, have already interpreted and wire-drawn all his text to their own fenfe, the tincture thereof when I have imbibed, I am more in danger to misunderstand his true meaning, than if I had come to him with a mind unprepoffeffed by doctors. and commentators of my fect, whofe reafonings, in: terpretation and language which I have been used to, will of course make all chime that way, and make' another, and perhaps the genuine meaning of the author feem harsh, ftrained and uncouth to me? For words having naturally none of their own, carry that, fignification to the hearer, that he is ufed to put upon them, whatever be the fenfe of him that ufes them. This, I think, is vifibly fo; and if it be, he that begins to have any doubt of any of his tenets, which he received without examination, ought, as much as he can, to put himself wholly into this state of igno

rance, in reference to that question, and throwing wholly by all his former notions, and the opinions of others, examine with a perfect indifferency the question in its fource, without any inclination to either fide, or any regard to his or others unexamined opinions. This, I own, is no easy thing to do; but I am not inquiring the eafy way to opinion, but the right way to truth, which they muft follow who will deal fairly with their own underftandings and their own fouls.

$35. Question.

THE indifferency that I here propofe, will alfo enable them to state the question right which they are in doubt about, without which they can never come to a fair and clear decifion of it.

36. Perfeverance.

ANOTHER fruit from this indifferency, and the confidering things in themselves abstract from our own opinions and other mens notions and difcourfes on them, will be, that each man will pursue his thoughts in that method which will be most agreeable to the nature of the thing, and to his apprehenfion of what it fuggefts to him; in which he ought to proceed with regularity and conftancy, until he come to a well grounded refolution wherein he may acquiefce. If it be objected that this will require every man to be a fcholar, and quit all his other business, and betake himself wholly to ftudy, I anfwer, I propofe no more to any one than he has time for. Some mens state and condition requires no great extent of knowledge, the neceffary provifion for life fwallows the greatest part of their time; but one man's want of leifure is no excufe for the ofcitancy and ignorance of those who have time to fpare; and every one has enough to get as much knowledge as is required and expected of him; and he that does not that, is in love with ignorance, and is accountable for it.

$37. Prefumption.

THE variety of diftempers in mens minds is as great as of those in their bodies; fome are epidemic, few

escape them, and every one too, if he would look into himself, would find fome defect of his particular genius. There is fcarce any one without fome idio fyncrafy that he fuffers by. This man prefumes upon his parts, that they will not fail him at time of need, and fo thinks it fuperfluous labour to make any provifion before-hand. His understanding is to him like Fortunatus's purse, which is always to furnish him without ever putting any thing into it before-hand; and fo he fits still fatisfied, without endeavouring to ftore his understanding with knowledge. It is the fpontaneous product of the country, and what need of labour in tillage? Such men may spread their native riches before the ignorant, but they were belt not come to trefs and trial with the fkilful. We are born ignorant of every thing: The fuperfices of things that furround them, make impreffions on the negligent, but nobody penetrates into the infide without labour, attention and induftry. Stones and timber grow of themselves, but yet there is no uniform pile. with fymmetry and convenience to lodge in, without toil and pains. God has made the intellectual world harmonious and beautiful without us; but it will never come into our heads all at once, we must bring it home piece-meal, and there fet it up by our own induftry, or else we shall have nothing but darkness and a chaos within, whatever order and light there be in things without us.

$38. Defpordency.

On the other fide, there are others that deprefs their own minds, defpond at the firft difficulty, and conclude that the getting an infight in any of the fciences, or making any progrefs in knowledge farther than ferves their ordinary bufinefs, is above their capacities. These fit itill, because they think they have not legs to go, as the others I laft mentioned do, becaufe they think they have wings to fly, and can foar on high when they pleafe. To thefe latter one may for anfwer apply the proverb, ufe legs and have legs. Nobody knows what ftrength of parts he has, tul he has tried