ing generally so unpleasing and so insuccessfull; first, we do amisse to spend seven or eight years, merely in scraping together so much miserable Latin and Greek, as might be learnt otherwise easily and delightfully in one yeer. And that which casts our proficiency therein so much behinde, is our time lost partly in too ofte idle vacancies, given both to schools and universities, partly in a preposterous exaction, forcing the empty wits of children to compose theams, verses, and orations, which are the acts of ripest judgement, and the finall work of a head fill'd by long reading and observing, with elegant maxims, and copious invention. These are not matters to be wrung from young striplings, like blood out of the nose, or the plucking of untimely fruit, besides the ill habit which they get of wretched barbarising against the Latin and Greek idiom, with their untutor'd Anglosisms, odious to be read, yet not to be avoided without a well continued and judicious conversing among pure authors digested, which they scarce taste; whereas, if after some preparatory grounds of speech by their certain forms got into memory, they were led to the praxis thereof in some chosen short book lesson'd throughly to them; they might then forthwith proceed to learn the substance 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 rationall and most profitable way of learning languages, and whereby we may best hope to give account to God of our youth spent herein, and for the usual method of teaching arts, I deem it to be an old errour of universities, not yet well recover'd from the Scholastick grosnesse of barbarous ages, that, instead of beginning with arts most easie, and those be such as are most obvious to the sence, they present their young unmatriculated novices at first coming with the most intellective abstractions of Logick and Metaphysicks. So that they, having but newly left those grammatick flats and shallows, where they stuck unreasonably, to learn a few words with lamentable construction, and now, on the sudden, transported under another climat to be tost and turmoiled with their unballasted wits in fadomles and unquiet deeps of controversie, do, for the most part, grow into hatred and contempt of learning, mockt and deluded all this while with ragged notions and babblements, while they expected worthy and delightful knowledge; till poverty or youthfull years call them importunately their severall wayes, and hasten them with the sway of friends either to an ambitious and mercenary, or ignorantly zealous divinity.

IV. Some allur'd to the trade of law, grounding their purposes not on the prudent and heavenly contemplation of justice and equity, which was never taught them but on the promising and

pleasing thoughts of litigious terms, fat contentions, and flowing fees; others betake them to state affairs, with souls so unprincipl❜d in vertue, and true generous breeding, that flattery and court shifts and tyrannous aphorismes appear to them the highest points of wisdom; instilling their barren hearts with concientious slavery, if, as I rather think, it be not fain'd. Others, lastly, of a more delicious and airie spirit, retire themselves, knowing no better, to the enjoyments of ease and luxury, living out their daies in feast and jollity; which indeed is the wisest and safest course of all these, unless they were with more integrity undertak'n. And these are the errours, and these are the fruits of mispending our prime youth at the schools and universities as we do, either in learning meere words or such things chiefly as were better unlearnt.

v. I shall detain you now no longer in the demonstration of what we should not do, but strait conduct you to a hill side, where I will point ye out the right path of a verteous and noble education; laborious indeed at the first ascent, but else so smooth, so green, so full of goodly prospect, and melodious sounds on every side, that the harp of Orpheus was not more charming. I doubt not but ye shall have more adoe to drive our dullest and laziest youth, our stocks and stubbs, from the infinite desire of such a happy nurture, then we have now to hale and drag our choisest and hopefullest wits to that asinine feast of sowthistles and brambles which is commonly set before them, as all the food and entertainment of their tenderest and most docible age. I call therefore a compleate and generous education that which fits a man to per-form justly, skilfully, and magnanimously all the offices both private and publike of peace and war. And how all this may be done between twelve and one and twenty, lesse time then is now bestow'd in pure trifling at Grammar and Sophistry, is to be thus order'd.

VI. First, to find out a spatious house and ground about it fit for an academy, and big enough to lodge a hundred and fifty persons, whereof twenty or thereabout may be attendants, all under the government of one, who shall be thought of desert sufficient, and ability either to doe all, or wisely to direct, and oversee it done. This place should be at once both school and university, not needing a remove to any other house of scholarship, except it be some peculiar colledge of law or physick, where they mean to be practitioners; but as for those generall studies which take up all our time from Lilly to the commencing, as they term it, master of art, it should be absolute. After this pattern, as many edifices may be converted to this use, as shall be needfull in every city throughout this land, which would tend much to the increase

of learning and civility every where. This number lesse or more thus collected, to the convenience of a foot company, or interchangeably two troops of cavalry, should divide their daies worke into three parts, as it lies orderly, their studies, their exercise, and their diet.

VII. For their studies: First, they should begin with the chief and necessary rules of some good grammar, either that now used, or any better and while this is doing, their speech is to be fashion'd to a distinct and cleer pronuntiation, as neer as may be to the Italian, especially in the vowels. For we Englishmen being farre northerly, doe not open our mouthes in the cold air, wide enough to grace a southern tongue, but are observ'd by all other nations to speak exceeding close and inward: So that to smatter Latin with an English mouth, is as ill a hearing as law French. Next to make them expert in the usefullest points of grammar, and withall to season them and win them early to the love of vertųe and true labour, ere any flattering seducement, or vain principle seise them wandering, some easie and delightfull book of education should be read to them, whereof the Greeks have store, as Cebes, Plutarch, and other Socratic discourses. But in Latin we have none of classic authoritie extant, except the two or three first books of Quintilian, and some select peeces elsewhere. But here the main skill and groundwork will be, to temper them such lectures and explanations upon every opportunity, as may lead and draw them in willing obedience, enflam'd with the study of learning, and the admiration of vertue, stirr'd up with high hopes of living to be brave men and worthy patriots, dear to God, and famous to all ages. That they may despise and scorn all their childish and ill taught qualities, to delight in manly and liberall exercises; which, he who hath the art, and proper eloquence to catch them with, what with mild and effectuall perswasions, and what with the intimation of some fear, if need be, but chiefly by his own example, might in a short space gain them to an incredible diligence and courage: infusing into their young brests such an ingenuous and noble ardour, as would not fail to make many of them renowned and matchlesse men.

VIII. At the sametime, some other hour of the day might be taught them the rules of arithmetick, and soon after the elements of geometry even playing, as the old manner was. After evening repast till bed time, their thoughts will be best taken up in the easie grounds of religion, and the story of Scripture.

IX. The next step would be to the authors of Agriculture, Cato, Varro, and Colummella, for the matter is most easie, and if the language be difficult so much the better; it is not a difficulty above their yeers. And here will be an occasion of inciting

and inabling them hereafter to improve the tillage of their country, to recover the bad soil, and to remedy the wast that is made of good; for this was one of Hercules praises. Ere halfe the authors be read, which will soon be with plying hard and dayly, they cannot choose but be masters of any ordinary prose. So that it will be then seasonable for them to learn in any modern author the use of the globes, and all the maps first with the old names, and then with the new, or they might be then capable to read any compendious method of naturall philosophy :

x. And at the same time might be entring into the Greek tongue, after the same manner as was before prescrib'd' in the Latin; whereby the difficulties of grammar being soon overcome, all the historicall physiology of Aristotle and Theophrastus are open before them, and as I may say, under contribution. The like accesse will be to Vitruvius, to Seneca's naturall questions, to Mela, Celsus, Pliny, or Solinus. And having thus past the principles of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and geography, with a general compact of physicks, they may descend in mathematicks to the instrumentall science of trigonometry, and from thence to fortification, architecture, enginry, or navigation.

XI. And in naturall philosophy they may proceed leisurely from the history of meteors, minerals, plants, and living creatures as farre as anatomy. Then also in course might be read to them out of some not tedious writer, the institution of physick; that they may know the tempers, the humours, the seasons, and how to manage a crudity; which, he who can wisely and timely doe, is not only a great physician to himselfe and to his friends, but also may at some time or other save an army by this frugall and expencelesse meanes only, and not let the healthy and stout bodies of young men rot away under him for want of this discipline, which is a great pitty, and no lesse a shame to the commander.

XII. To set forward all these proceedings in nature and mathematicks, what hinders but that they may procure, as oft as shall be needfull, the helpfull experiences of hunters, fowlers, fishermen, shepherds, gardeners, apothecaries; and in the other sciences, architects, engineers, mariners, anatomists, who, doubtless, would be ready, some for reward, and some to favour such a hopefull seminary; and this will give them such a real tincture of natural knowledge as they shall never forget, but dayly aug ment with delight. Then also those poets, which are now counted most hard, will be both facile and pleasant, Orpheus, Hesiod, Theocritus, Aratus, Necander, Oppian, Dionysius; and in Latin, Lucretius, Manilius, and the rurall part of Virgil.

XIII. By this time, yeers and good general precepts will have furnisht them more distinctly with that act of reason which in Ethics is called Proairesis, that they may with some judgement

contemplat upon moral good and evill. Then will be required a special reinforcement of constant and sound endoctrinating to set them right and firm; instructing them more amply in the knowledge of vertue and the hatred of vice, while their young and pliant affections are led through all the morall works of Plato, Xenophon, Cicero, Plutarch, Laertius, and those Locrian remnants, but still to be reduc't in their nightward studies wherewith they close the dayes work, under the determinate sentence of David or Solomon, or the Evangels and Apostolic Scriptures.

XIV. Being perfit in the knowledge of personall duty, they may then begin the study of economies. And either now or before this they may have easily learnt at any odde hour the Italian tongue. And soon after, but with warinesse and good antidote, it would be wholsome anough to let them tast some choise comedies, Greek, Latin, or Italian; those tragedies, also, that treat of household matters, as Trachiniæ, Alcestis, and the like.

xv. The next remove must be to the study of Politics. To know the beginning, end, and reasons of politicall societies; that they may not, in a dangerous fit of the commonwealth, be such poor, shaken, uncertain reeds, of such a tottering conscience as many of our great counsellors have lately shewn themselves, but stedfast pillars of the state.

XVI. After this they are to dive into the grounds of law and legall justice, deliver'd first, and with best warrant, by Moses; and, as farre as human prudence can be trusted, in those extoll'd remains of Grecian lawgivers, Lycurgus, Solon, Zaleucus, Charondus, and thence to all the Roman edicts and tables, with their Justinian, and so down to the Saxon and common laws of England, and the statutes.

XVII. Sundays, also, and every evening may be now understandingly spent in the highest matters of theology and church history, ancient and modern; and ere this time the Hebrew tongue, at a set hour, might have been gain'd, that the scriptures may be now read in their own originall, whereto it would be no impossibility to adde the Chaldey and the Syrian dialect.

XVIII. When all these employments are well conquered, then will the choice histories, heroic poems, and Attic tragedies of statliest and most regal argument, with all the famous politicall orations, offer themselves, which, if they were not only read, but some of them got by memory, and solemnly pronounc'd with right accent and grace, as might be taught, would endue them even with the spirit and vigour of Demosthenes or Cicero, Euripides or Sophocles.

XIX. And now, lastly, will be the time to read with them those organic arts, which enable men to discourse and write perspicu