The Parts of Humane Learning; History Naturall

The parts of humane learning have reference to the three partes of Mans understanding, which is the seate of Learning: History to his Memory, Poesie to his Imagination, and Philosophie to his Reason: Divine learning receiveth the same distribution, for the Spirit of Man is the same: though the Revelation of Oracle and Sense be diverse: So as Theologie consisteth also of Historie of the Church; of Parables, which is Divine Poesie: and of holie Doctrine or Precept. For as for that part, which seemeth supernumerarie, which is Prophecie: it is but Divine Historie: which hath that prerogative over humane, as the Narration may bee before the fact, aswell as after.

History is Naturall, Civile, Ecclesiasticall & Literary, wherof the three first I allow as extant, the fourth I note as deficient.11Historia Literarum. For no man hath propounded to himselfe the generall state of learning to bee described and represented from age to age, as many have done the works of Nature, & the State civile and Ecclesiastical; without which the History of the world seemeth to me, to be as the Statua of Polyphemus with his eye out, that part being wanting, which doth most shew the spirit, and life of the person: And yet I am not ignorant that in divers particular sciences, as of the Jurisconsults, the Mathematicians, the Rhetoricians the Philosophers, there are set down some smal memorials of the Schooles, Authors, and Bookes: and so like wise some barren relations touching the Invention of Arts, or usages. But a just story of learning, containing the Antiquities & Originalls of Knowledges, & their Sects; their Inventions, their Traditions; their diverse Administrations, and Managings; their Flourishings, their Oppositions, Decayes, Depressions, Oblivions, Removes; with the causes, and occasions of them, and all other events concerning learning, throughout the ages of the world; I may truly affirme to be wanting. The use and end of which worke, I doe not so much designe for curiositie, or satisfaction of those that are the lovers of learning, but chiefely for a more serious, & grave purpose, which is this in fewe wordes, that it will make learned men wise, in the use and administration of learning. For it is not Saint Augustines nor Saint Ambrose workes that will make so wise a Divine, as Ecclesiasticall Historie, throughly read and observed: and the same reason is of Learning.

History of Nature is of three sorts: of Nature in Course; of Nature Erring, or Varying; and of Nature Altered or wroght, that is History of Creatures, History of Marvailes, and History of Arts. The first of these, no doubt is extant, and that in good perfection: The two later are handled so weakely and unprofitably, as I am moved to note them as deficient. For I find no sufficient, or competent Collection of the Workes22Historia Naturæ Errantis. of Nature, which have a Digression, and Deflexion, from the ordinary course of Generations, Productions, & Motions, whether they be singularities of place and region, or the strange events of time and chance, or the effects of yet unknowne proprieties, or the instances of exception to generall kindes: It is true, I finde a number of bookes of fabulous Experiments, & Secrets, and frivolous Impostures for pleasure and strangenesse. But a substantiall and severe Collection of the Heteroclites , or Irregulars of Nature, well examined & described I find not specially not with due rejection of fables, and popular Errors: For, as things now are, if an untruth in Nature bee once on foote, what by reason of the neglect of examination, and countenance of Antiquitie, and what by reason of the use of the opinion in similitudes, and ornaments of speeche, it is never called downe.

The use of this worke, honoured with a president in Aristotle, is nothing lesse, then to give contentment to the appetite of Curious and vaine wittes, as the manner of Mirabilaries is to doe: But for twoo Reasons, both of greate waight: The one to correct the parcialitie of Axiomes, and Opinions: which are commonly framed onely uppon common and familiar examples: The other, because from the Wonders of Nature, is the neerest Intelligence and passage towardes the Wonders of Arte: For it is no more, but by following, and as it were, hounding Nature in her wandrings, to bee able to leade her afterwardes to the same place againe. Neyther am I of opinion in this History of Marvailes, that superstitious Narrations of Sorceries, Witchecraftes, Dreames, Divinations, and the like, where there is an assurance, and cleere evidence of the fact, be altogether excluded. For it is not yet knowne in what cases, and how farre, effectes attributed to superstition, do participate of Naturall causes: and therefore how-soever the practise of such things is to bee condemned, yet from the Speculation and consideration of them, light may be taken, not onely for the discerning of the offences, but for the further disclosing of Nature: Neither ought a Man to make scruple of entring into these things for inquisition of truth, as your Majestie hath shewed in your owne example: who with the two cleere eyes of Religion and naturall Philosophy, have looked deepely and wisely into these shadowes, and yet proved your selfe to be of the Nature of the Sunne, which passeth through pollutions, and it selfe remaines as pure as before. But this I hold fit, that these Narrations, which have mixture with superstition, be sorted by themselves, and not to be mingled with the Narrations, which are meerely and sincerely naturall. But as for the Narrations touching the Prodigies and Miracles of Religions, they are either not true, or not Naturall; and therefore impertinent for the Storie of Nature.

For HISTORY of NATURE33Historia Mechanica. WROUGHT, or MECHANICALL, I finde some Collections Made of Agriculture, and likewise of Manuall Arts, but commonly with a rejection of experiments familiar and vulgar. For it is esteemed a kinde of dishonour unto Learning, to descend to enquirie or Meditation uppon Matters Mechanicall; except they bee such as may bee thought secrets, rarities, and speciall subtilties: which humour of vaine, and supercilious Arrogancie, is justly derided in Plato: where hee brings in Hippias a vanting Sophist, disputing with Socrates a true and unfained inquisitor of truth; where the subject beeing touching beautie, Socrates, after his wandring manner of Inductions, put first an example of a faire Virgine, and then of a faire Horse, and then of a faire pot well glazed, whereat Hippias was offended, and said; More then for curtesies sake, hee did thinke much to dispute with any, that did alledge such base and Sordide instances, whereunto Socrates answereth; you have reason, and it becomes you well, beeing a man so trimme in your vestiments, &c. and so goeth on in an Ironie. But the truth is, they bee not the highest instances, that give the securest information; as may bee well expressed in the tale so common of the Philosopher, that while he gazed upwardes to the Starres, fell into the water: for if hee had looked downe hee might have seene the Starres in the water, but looking aloft hee coulde not see the water in the Starres: So it commeth often to passe, that meane and small things discover great, better then great can discover the small: and therefore Aristotle noteth well, that the nature of every thing is best seene in his smallest portions, and for that cause hee enquireth the nature of a Common-wealth, first in a Family, and the Simple Conjugations of Man and Wife; Parent, and Child, Maister and Servant, which are in every Cottage; Even so likewise the nature of this great Citie of the world and the policie thereof, must bee first sought in meane concordances, and small portions: So we see how that secret of Nature, of the turning of Iron, touched with the Loadestone, towardes the North, was found out in needels of Iron, not in barres of Iron.

But if my judgement bee of any waight, the use of HISTORIE MECHANICAL, is of all others the most radicall, and fundamentall towardes Naturall Philosophie, such Naturall Philosophie, as shall not vanish in the fume of subtile, sublime, or delectable speculation, but such as shall bee operative to the endowment, and benefit of Mans life: for it will not onely minister and suggest for the present, Many ingenious practizes in all trades, by a connexion and transferring of the observations of one Arte, to the use of another, when the experiences of severall misteries shall fall under the consideration of one mans minde: But surder, it will give a more true, and reall illumination concerning Causes and Axiomes, then is hetherto attained. For like as a Mans disposition is never well knowen, till hee be crossed, nor Proteus ever chaunged shapes, till hee was straightened and held fast: so the passages and variations of Nature cannot appeare so fully in the libertie of Nature, as in the trialls and vexations of Art.