rected afterwards, either by Learning or Age. And
as Souls that are made little and incapacious cannot
enlarge their thoughts to take in any great compass
of Times or Things; so what is beyond their compass, or above their reach, they are apt to look upon
as Fantastical, or at least would willingly have it pass
for such in the World. Now as there is nothing so
great, so large, so immense, as the works of Nature,
and the methods of Providence, men of this complexion must needs be very unfit for the contemplation of them. Who would set a purblind man at the
top of the Mast to discover Land? or upon an high
Tower to draw a Landskip of the Country round
about? for the same reason, short-sighted minds are
unfit to make Philosophers, whose proper busincss it
is to discover and describe in comprehensive Theories the Phcenomena of the World, and the Causes of
them.
This original disease of the Mind is seldom cur'd
by Learning, which cures many others; 'Tis like a
fault in the first Stamina of the Body, which cannot
easily be rectified afterwards. 'Tis a great mistake
to think that every sort of Learning makes a man a
compctent Judge of Natural Speculations; We see
unhappy examples to the contrary amongst the Christian Fathers, and particularly in S. Aus [gap in text] in, who was
unquestionably a man of Parts and Learning, but interposing in a controversie where his Talent did not
lie, show'd his zeal against the Antipodes to very ill
purpose, though he drew his Reasons partly from
Scripture, And if within a few Years, or in the next
Generation, it should prove as certain and demonstrable, that the Earth is mov'd, as it is now, that
there are Antipodes; those that have been zealous
against it, and ingag'd the Scripture in the Controversie, would have the same reason to repent of their
forwardncss, that S. Austin would have now, if he
was alive. 'Tis a dangerous thing to ingage the authority of Scripture in disputes about the Natural
World, in opposition to Reason; lest Time, which
brings all things to light, should discover that to be
evidently false which we had made Scripture to assert:
