left him free, fet before him a provoking object, ever almost in his eyes; herein confifted his merit, herein the right of his reward, the praife of his abftinence. Wherefore did he create paffions within us, pleafures round about us, but that these rightly tempered are the very ingredients of virtue? They are not fkilful confiderers of human things, who imagine to remove fin, by removing the matter of fin; for, befides that it is a huge heap increasing under the very act of diminishing, though fome part of it may for a time be withdrawn from fome perfons, it cannot from all, in fuch a univerfal thing as books are; and when this is done, yet the fin remains entire. Though ye take from a covetous man all his treasure, he has yet one jewel left, ye cannot bereave him. of his covetoufnefs. Banifh all objects of luft, fhut up all youth into the fevereft difcipline that can be exercised in any hermitage, ye cannot make them chafte, that came not thither fo: fuch great care and wisdom is required to the right managing of this point. Suppose we could expel fin by this means; look how much we thus expel of fin, fo much we expel of virtue: for the matter of them both is the fame: remove that, and ye remove them both alike. This juftifies the high providence of God, who, though he commands us temperance, juftice, continence, yet pours out before us even to a profufeness all defirable things, and gives us minds that can wander beyond all limit and fatiety. Why fhould we then affect a rigour contrary to the manner of God and of nature, by abridging or fcanting thofe means, which books, freely permitted, are both to the trial of virtue, and the exercife of truth? It would be better done, to learn that the law muft needs be frivolous, which goes to restrain things, uncertainly and yet equally working to good, and to evil. And were I the choofer, a dram of well doing fhould be preferred before many times as much the forcible hinderance of evil doing. For God fure efteems the growth and completing of one virtuous perfon, more than the reftraint of ten vicious. And albeit, whatever thing we hear or fee, fitting, walking, travelling, or converfing, may be fitly called our book, and is of the fame effect that writings are; yet grant the thing to be prohibited

were

were only books, it appears that this order hitherto is far infufficient to the end which it intends. Do we not fee, not once or oftener, but weekly, that continued courtlibel against the parliament and city, printed, as the wet fheets can witnefs, and difperfed among us for all that licenfing can do? Yet this is the prime fervice a man would think wherein this order fhould give proof of itfelf. If it were executed, you will fay. But certain, if execution be remifs or blindfold now, and in this particular, what will it be hereafter, and in other books? If then the order shall not be vain and frustrate, behold a new labour, lords and commons, ye muft repeal and profcribe all scandalous and unlicenfed books already printed and divulged: after ye have drawn them up into a lift, that all may know which are condemned, and which not; and ordain that no foreign books be delivered out of cuftody, till they have been read over. This office will require the whole time of not a few overfeers, and thofe no vulgar men. There be alfo books which are partly useful and excellent, partly culpable and pernicious; this work will afk as many more officials, to make expurgations and expunctions, that the commonwealth of learning be not damnified. In fine, when the multitude of books increase upon their hands, ye must be fain to catalogue all thofe printers who are found frequently offending, and forbid the importation of their whole fufpected typography. In a word, that this your order may be exact, and not deficient, ye muft reform it perfectly according to the model of Trent and Sevil, which I know ye abhor to do. Yet though ye should condefcend to this, which God forbid, the order ftill would be but fruitlefs and defective to that end whereto ye meant it. If to prevent fects and fchifms, who is fo unread or uncatechifed in ftory, that hath not heard of many fects refufing books as a hinderance, and preferving their doctrine unmixed for many ages, only by unwritten traditions? The chriftian faith, (for that was once a fchifm !) is not unknown to have spread all over Afia, ere any gospel or epiftle was feen in writing. If the amend ment of manners be aimed at, look into Italy and Spain, whether those places be one fcruple the better, the ho

nefter, the wiser, the chafter, fince all the inquifitional rigour that hath been executed upon books.

Another reason, whereby to make it plain that this order will miss the end it feeks, confider by the quality which ought to be in every licenfer. It cannot be denied, but that he who is made judge to fit upon the birth or death of books, whether they may be wafted into this world or not, had need to be a man above the common measure, both ftudious, learned, and judicious; there may be else no mean mistakes in the cenfure of what is paffable or not; which is also no mean injury. If he be of fuch worth as behoves him, there cannot be a more tedious and unpleafing journeywork, a greater lofs of time levied upon his head, than to be made the perpetual reader of unchofen books and pamphlets, ofttimes huge volumes. There is no book that is acceptable, unless at certain feafons; but to be enjoined the reading of that at all times, and in a hand scarce legible, whereof three pages would not down at any time in the faireft print, is an impofition which I cannot believe how he that values time, and his own ftudies, or is but of a fenfible noftril, should be able to endure. In this one thing I crave leave of the prefent licensers to be pardoned for fo thinking; who doubtlefs took this office up, looking on it through their obedience to the parliament, whose command perhaps made all things feem easy and unlaborious to them; but that this short trial hath wea. ried them out already, their own expreffions and excuses to them, who make fo many journeys to folicit their licence, are teftimony enough. Seeing therefore thofe, who now poffefs the employment, by all evident figns with themselves well rid of it, and that no man of worth, none that is not a plain unthrift of his own hours, is ever likely to fucceed them, except he mean to put himself to the falary of a prefs corrector, we may easily foresee what kind of licenfers we are to expect hereafter, either ignorant, imperious, and remifs, or bafely pecuniary. This is what I had to fhow, wherein this order cannot conduce to that end, whereof it bears the intention.

I laftly proceed from the no good it can do, to the manifeft hurt it caufes, in being firft the greateft difcourage

ment

ment and affront that can be offered to learning, and to learned men. It was the complaint and lamentation of prelates, upon every leaft breath of a motion to remove pluralities, and diftribute more equally church revenues, that then all learning would be for ever dashed and difcouraged. But as for that opinion, I never found cause to think, that the tenth part of learning ftood or fell with the clergy nor could I ever but hold it for a fordid and unworthy fpeech of any churchman, who had a competency left him. If therefore ye be loth to difhearten utterly and discontent, not the mercenary crew of false pretenders to learning, but the free and ingenuous fort of fuch as evidently were born to ftudy and love learning for itself, not for lucre, or any other end, but the service of God and of truth, and perhaps that lafting fame and perpetuity of praife, which God and good men have confented fhall be the reward of those, whofe published labours advance the good of mankind: then know, that so far to diftruft the judgment and the honefty of one who hath but a common repute in learning, and never yet offended, as not to count him fit to print his mind without a tutor and examiner, left he should drop a fchifm, or fomething of corruption, is the greateft difpleasure and indignity to a free and knowing spirit, that can be put upon him. What advantage is it to be a man, over it is to be a boy at school, if we have only escaped the ferula, to come under the fefcue of an Imprimatur? If ferious and elaborate writings, as if they were no more than the theme of a grammar-lad under his pedagogue, muft not be uttered without the curfory eyes of a temporizing and extemporizing licen fer? He who is not trufted with his own actions, his drift not being known to be evil, and standing to the hazard of law and penalty, has no great argument to think himself reputed in the commonwealth wherein he was born for other than a fool or a foreigner. When a man writes to the world, he fummons up all his reafon and deliberation to affift him; he fearches, meditates, is induftrious, and likely confults and confers with his judicious friends; after all which done, he takes himself to be informed in what he writes, as well as any that writ before him; if in this the most confummate

X 3

confummate act of his fidelity and ripeness, no years, no induftry, no former proof of his abilities can bring him to that ftate of maturity, as not to be ftill miftrufted and fufpected, unless he carry all his confiderate diligence, all his midnight watchings, and expenfe of Palladian oil, to the hafty view of an unleifured licenfer, perhaps much his younger, perhaps far his inferior in judgment, perhaps one who never knew the labour of book writing; and if he be not repulfed, or flighted, muft appear in print like a puny with his guardian, and his cenfor's hand on the back of his title to be his bail and furety, that he is no ideot or feducer; it cannot be but a difhonour and derogation to the author, to the book, to the privilege and dignity of learning. And what if the author fhall be one fo copious of fancy, as to have many things well worth the adding, come into his mind. after licenfing, while the book is yet under the press, which not feldom happens to the beft and diligenteft writers; and that perhaps a dozen times in one book. The printer dares not go beyond his licenfed copy; fo often then muft the author trudge to his leave-giver, that thofe his new infertions may be viewed; and many a jaunt will be made, ere that licenfer, for it must be the fame man, can either be found, or found at leifure; mean while either the press must stand still, which is no small damage, or the author lofe his accurateft thoughts, and fend the book forth worse than he had made it, which to a diligent writer is the greatest melancholy and vexation that can befal. And how can a man teach with authority, which is the life of teaching; how can he be a doctor in his book as he ought to be, or else had better be filent, whenas all he teaches, all he delivers, is but under the tuition, under the correction of his patriarchal licenfer, to blot or alter what precifely accords not with the hide-bound humour which he calls his judgment? When every acute reader upon the first fight of a pedantic licence, will be ready with these like words to ding the book a coit's diftance from him, I hate a pupil teacher, I endure not an inftructor that comes to me under the wardship of an overfeeing fift. I know nothing of the licenfer, but that I have his own hand here for his arrogance;