Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
judgement_n	according_a	judge_v	true_a	1,473	5	4.6391	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29901	Reflections upon learning wherein is shewn the insufficiency thereof, in its several particulars, in order to evince the usefulness and necessity of revelation / by a gentleman.	Baker, Thomas, 1656-1740.	1700 (1700)	Wing B520; ESTC R223491	103,451	265

REFLECTIONS UPON LEARNING Wherein is shewn the INSUFFICIENCY Thereof in its several Particulars In order to evince the Usefulness and Necessity OF REVELATION The Second Edition Corrected By a GENTLEMAN LONDON Printed for A. Bosvile at the Dial against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet MDCC PREFACE A Work of this nature that would so hardly find a Patron will stand the more in need of a Preface Men that write in commendation of Learning usually seek out some great Genius to prefix to their Book whom they make an Instance of all the Learning and Perfections that are described in it were I to chuse a Patron consistently with my design I must Compliment him with the weakness of his Parts and shortness of his Vnderstanding which is such a Compliment as I presume I shall willingly be excus'd from But th●n a Preface will be the more necessary to give an account of my undertaking which is rather to enquire into the abuses and to show the insufficiency of Humane Learning than wholly to descredit its use No Man e●er did this without disp●raging his own Vnderstanding nor decry'd Learning but for want of it it having been an old Observation that will hold perpetually That Knowledge has no Enemies except the Ignorant An attempt of this nature would be utterlly impracticabl● for either it would be well perform'd and then it must be done by reasons borrow'd from the Stores of Learning by which means by reasoning against Learning we must at the same time reason for it and all our Arguments must return upon us or if the performance were unlearned it would be to no purpose and might as well be let alone This then is no part of my design All that I intend is to take it down from its suppos'd heights by exposing the vanity of it in several particulars its Insufficiency in the rest and I believe I might say its difficulties in all And there is the more need of this in an Age in which it seems to be too much magnifi'd and where Men are fond of Learning almost to the loss of Religion Learning is our great Diana nothing will pass with our Men of Wit and Sense but what is agreeable with the nicest Reason and every Man's Reason is his own Vnderstanding For if you examine them to the bottom these mighty Pretenders ha●e no truer grounds to go upon than other Men only they affect a liberty of judging according to themselves and if they could be allow'd it of making their own judgment a Standard of others They plead for right Reason but they mean their own and talk of a reasonable Religion whilst their own false Notions are mistaken for it and while they seek the Goddess they embrace a Cloud In the mean time they take us of from our surest Guide Religion suffers by their Contentions about it and we are in danger of running into Natural Religion Where these things will end God only kmows it is to be suspected they may at last end in the thing we fear and may bring us about to that Religion for which of all others we have the most abhorrence For after Men have try'd the force of natural Reason in matters of Religion they will soon be sensible of its weakness and after they have run themselves out of breath and can centre no where they will be glad of any hold where they think they can find it and rather than be always wandring they will take up with an Infallible Guide I am unwilling to entertain such hard Thoughts of a Neighbouring Church as to think they are sowing Discord among us to that purpose but I much fear we are doing their Work for them and by our own Divisions are making way for a Blind Faith and Implicit Obedience And may it never be said That as Learning was one grea● Instrument under God to bring about a Reformation so the Abuse of it by the Divine Permission has brought us back to the same place from whence we came and that our Enemies have done that by secret Engines and Domestic Distractions which by open A●tempts they were never able to do It is the sense of such Dangers and such Abuses ●ha has drawn from me these Reflections and has inclin'd me to harder Thoughts and possibly to say harsher things of some parts of Learning than will be agreeable to the Humor of the Age and yet if any one who thinks thus of me will ●nly suspend his Censure so long till I draw my Conclusion I am willing to hope that the goodness of the End will a●one for the hardest things that shall be said in the Book I am sure I am not singular in this Design one of the first Restorers of Letters a Ple. Mirand Exam. Van. Doct. Gent. Op. vol. 2. p. 467. A Man noted for his Piety as well as Parts has writ a Book to this purpose but it having been principally levell'd against Aristotle's Philosophy which is now so much out of Credit that it rather wants an Advocate to defend it than a new Adversary to run it down the Book it self is as much out of use as the Philosophy is that it designs to decry He was follow'd in his Design by Lodovicus Vives b De Corrupt Art Op. vol. 1. p. 221. in better Latin and with greater Eloquence but Vives's main Talent having been in Philology and having been less conversant in Philosophical Matters his Book is both very defective as to the Particulars it treats of and being suited to the Ancient Literature is less agreeable to the Genius of our Age. What Cornelius Agrippa c De van Scient has writ upon this Subject is chiefly declamatory and fitter for School-Boys than of any just Moment or Consideration in a serious Enquiry And a French Book d La vanite des Sciences Ams. 88. lately publish'd upon the same Subject and with the same Title tho' well and piously Writ yet has nothing in it of what I expected and is rather a Sermon than a Treatise of Science None of these Authors nor any other I have yet met with have come up full to my purpose nor have I been able to borrow much help from them where I have I have quoted them and if in any other things we happen to agree without remembring them it is a fault of Memory and I make this acknowledgement once for all Sir W. Temple and Mr. Wotton have turn'd their Pens the other way and have been so much taken up with describing the Beauties and Excellencies of Learning as to have less occasion to discover its Faults tho' it was scarce possible whilst they cross'd one another's Opinion either to commend Ancient Learning without entring into the Defects of the Modern or to prefer the Moderns without censuring the Ancients so that by consequence tho' not professedly they have fal'n into this Controversie I have as far as possible avoided saying any thing that has been observed by them already tho'