RE

O F

EDUCATION.

то

Mr. SAMUEL HARTLIB.

Written about the Year 1650.

Mr. HARTLIB,

A M long fince perfuaded, that to fay, or do ought worth Memory and Imitation, no purpose or respect should fooner move us, then fimply the love of God, and of Mankind. Nevertheless to write now the reforming of Education, tho' it be one of the greatest and noblest Designs that can be thought on, and for the want whereof this Nation perishes, I had.

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not

not yet at this time been induc'd, but by your earnest En-
treaties and ferious Conjurements; as having my mind for
the prefent half diverted in the pursuance of fome other
Affertions, the knowledge and the ufe of which cannot
but be a great furtherance both to the enlargement of
Truth, and honeft Living, with much more Peace. Nor
fhould the Laws of any private Friendfhip have prevail'd
with me to divide thus, or tranfpofe my former Thoughts,
but that I fee thofe Aims, thofe Actions which have won
you with me the Efteem of a Perfon fent hither by some
good Providence from a far Country, to be the occafion
and the incitement of great good to this Ifland. And, as
I hear, you have obtain'd the fame Repute with Men of
mcit approv'd Wifdom, and fome of higheft Authority
among us.
Not to mention the learned Correspondence
which you hold in foreign Parts, and the extraordinary
Pains and Diligence which you have us'd in this Matter
both here, and beyond the Seas; either by the definite
Will of God fo ruling, or the peculiar fway of Nature,
which alfo is God's working. Neither can I think that
fo reputed, and fo valu'd as you are, you would, to the
forfeit of your own difcerning Ability, impofe upon me an
unfit and over-ponderous Argument, but that the Satif-
faction which you profefs to have receiv'd from thofe in-
cidental Difcourfes which we have wander'd into, hath
preft and almoft conftrain'd you into a Perfuafion, that
what you require from me in this Point, I neither ought,
nor can in confcience defer beyond this Time both of fo
much need at once, and fo much Opportunity to try what
God hath determin'd. I will not refift therefore, what-
ever it is, either of Divine, or human Obligement, that
you lay upon me; but will forthwith fet down in Writing,
as you request me, that voluntary Idea, which hath long
in filence prefented itself to me, of a better Education, in
Extent and Comprehenfion far more large, and yet of
Time far fhorter, and of Attainment far more certain,
than hath been yet in Practice. Brief I fhall endeavour
to be; for that which I have to say, affuredly this Nation

hath extreme need fhould be done fooner than spoken. To tell you therefore what I have benefited herein among old renowned Authors, I fhall fpare; and to fearch what many modern Januas and Didactics, more than ever I fhall read, have projected, my Inclination leads me not. But if you can accept of thefe few Obfervations which have flower'd off, and are, as it were, the burnifhing of many ftudious and contemplative Years, altogether fpent in the fearch of religious and civil Knowledge, and fuch as pleas'd you fo well in the relating, I here give you them to difpofe of.

The end then of Learning is to repair the Ruins of our firft Parents, by regaining to know God aright, and out of that Knowledge to love him, to imitate him, to be like him, as we may the nearest by poffeffing our Souls of true Virtue, which being united to the heavenly Grace of Faith makes up the higheft Perfection. But because our Understanding cannot in this Body found itfelf but on fenfible things, nor arrive fo clearly to the Knowledge of God and things invifible, as by orderly conning over the vifible and inferior Creature, the fame Method is neceffarily to be follow'd in difcreet teaching. And feeing every Nation affords not Experience and Tradition enough for all kinds of Learning, therefore we are chief ly taught the Languages of thofe People who have at any time been molt induftrious after Wisdom; so that Language is but the Inftrument conveying to us things ufeful to be known. And tho' a Linguift fhould pride himself to have all the Tongues that Babel cleft the World into, yet, if he had not ftudied the folid things in them as well as the Words and Lexicons, he were nothing fo much to be efteem'd a Learned Man, as any Yeoman or Trade finan competently wife in his Mother Dialect only. Hence appear the many Miftakes which have made Learning generally fo unpleafing and fo unfuccefsful; firft we do amifs to fpend feven or eight Years merely in fcraping together fo much miferable Latin and

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Greek, as might be learnt otherwife eafily and delightfully in one Year. And that which cafts our Proficiency therein fo much behind, is our time loft partly in too oft idle Vacancies given both to Schools and Univerfities, partly in a prepofterous Exaction, forcing the empty Wits of Children to compofe Themes, Verfes and Orations, which are the Acts of ripeft Judgment, 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 Striplings, 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 digefted, which they fcarce tafte; whereas, if after fome preparatory grounds of Speech by their certain forms got into Memory, they were led to the Praxis thereof in fome chofen fhort Book leffon'd throughly to them, they might then forthwith proceed to learn the Subftance 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 rational and moft 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 Error of Univerfities not yet well recover'd from the Scholaftick Grofsnefs of barbarous Ages, that instead of beginning with Arts most easy, (and thofe be fuch as are most obvious to the Senfe,) they prefent their young unmatriculated Novices at first coming with the intellective Abftractions of Logick and Metaphyficks: So that they having but newly left those Grammatick Flats and Shallows where they ftuck unreafonably, to learn a few words with lamentable Conftruction, and now on the fudden transported under anothe Climate to be to ftan turmoil with their unballafted Wits in fathomlefs and unqiet deeps of Controversy,

do.

do for the most part grow into hatred and contempt of Learning, mock'd and deluded all this while with ragged Notions and Babblements, while they expected worthy and delightful Knowledge; till Poverty or youthful Years call them importunately their feveral Ways, and haften them with the sway of Friends either to an ambitious and mercenary, or ignorantly zealous Divinity: Some allur'd to the Trade of Law, grounding their Purpofes 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 Souls fo unprincipled in Virtue, and true generous Breeding, that Flattery, and Court-fhifts, and tyrannous Aphorifms appear to them the highest Points of Wisdom; inftilling their barren Hearts with a confcientious Slavery, if, as I rather think, it be not feign'd: Others, laftly, of a more delicious and airy Spirit, retire themselves, knowing no better, to the Enjoyments of Eafe and Luxury, living out their Days in Feast and Jollity; which indeed is the wifeft and the fafet Course of all thefe, unless they were with more Integrity undertaken. And these are the Fruits of mifpending our prime Youth at the Schools and Univerfities as we do, either in Learning mere Words, or such things chiefly as were better Unlearnt.

I fhall detain you no longer in the Demonstration of what we should not do, but ftrait conduct you to a Hillfide, where I will point ye out the right Path of a virtuous and noble Education; laborious indeed at the first Ascent, but elfe so smooth, fo green, so full of goodly Profpect, and melodious Sounds on every fide, that the Harp of Orpheus was not, more charming. I doubt not but ye fhall have more do to drive our dullest and laziest Youth, our Stocks and Stubs, from the infinite de fire of fuck a happy Nurture, than we have now to hale and drag our choiceft and hopefulleft Wits to that afinine Feaft cof Sow.

thiftles