As life through simplicitie becommmeth more pleasant, so (as I erewhile began to say) becommeth it more innocent and better. The simple and the ignorant (saith St. Paul) raise themselves up to heaven, and take possession of it; whereas we, with all the knowledge we have plunge ourselves downe to the pit of hell. I rely neither upon Valentian (a professed enemy to knowledge and learning), nor upon Licinius (both-Roman Emperours), who named them the venime and plague of all politike estates: Nor on Mahomet, who, as I have heard, doth utterly interdict all manner of learning to his subjects. But the example of that great Lycurgus and his authority, ought to beare chiefe sway and the revernce of that divine Lacedemonian policy, so great, so admirable, and so long time flourishing in all vertue and felicity without any institution or exercise at all of letters. Those who returne from that new world which of late hath been discovered by the Spaniards, can witnesse unto us how those nations, being without Magistrates or law, live much more regularly and formally than we, who have amongst us more officers and lawes than men of other professions or actions.
Di citatorie piene e di libelli,
Dessamine, e di carte, di procure
Hanno mani e il seno, e gran fastelli
Di chiose, di consioli e di letture,
Per cui le faculta de' poverelli
Non sono mai ne le citta sicure,
Hanno dietro e dinanzi e d'ambi i lati,
Notai, procuratori, e advocate.
Their hands and bosoms with writs and citations,
With papers, libels, proxies, full they beare,
And bundels great of strict examiunations,
Of glosses, counsels, readings here and there.
Whereby in townes poore men of occupations
Possesse not their small goods secure from feare,
Before, behind, on each sides Advocates,
Proctors, and Notaries hold up debates.
Ariosto, cant. xiv. stan. 84.
It was that which a Roman Senator said, that 'their predecessors had their breath stinking of garlike, and their stomacke perfumed with a good, conscience:' and contrary, the men of his time outwardly smelt of nothing but sweet odours, but inwardly they stunke of all vices: which, in mine opinion, is as much to say they had much knowledge and sufficiency, but great want of honesty. Incivility, ignorance, simplicity, and rudenesse are commonly joyned with innocency. Curiosity, subtility, and knowledge are ever followed with malice: Humility, feare, obedience, and honesty (which are the principall instruments for the preservation of humane society) require a single docile soule and which presumeth little of her selfe.
Christians have a peculiar knowledge how curiosity is in a man a naturall and originall infirmity. The care to increase in wisdome and knowledge was the first overthrow of man-kinde: is the way whereby man hath headlong cast himselfe downe into eternall damnation. Pride is his losse and corruption: it is pride that misleadeth him from common waies; that makes him to embrace all new fangles, and rather chuse to be chiefe of a straggling troupe and in the path of perdition, and be regent of some erroneous sect, and a teacher of falsehood, than a disciple in the schoole of truth, and suffer himselfe to be led and directed by the hand of others in the ready beaten highway. It is haply that which the ancient Greeke proverb implieth, 'Superstition obaieth pride as a father. Oh overweaning, how much doest thou hinder us?
Socrates being advertised that the God of wisdome had attributed the name of wise unto him, was thereat much astonished, and diligently searching and rouzing up himselfe, and ransacking the very secrets of his heart, found no foundation or ground for this divine sentence. He knew some that were as just, as temperate, as valiant and as wise as he, and more eloquent, more faire and more profitable to their country. In fine he resolved that he was distinguished from others, and reputed wise, onely because he did not so esteeme himselfe: And that his God deemed the opinion of science and wisdome a singular sottishnes in man; and that his best doctrine was the doctrine of ignorance, and simplicitie his greatest wisdome. The sacred writ pronounceth them to be miserable in this world that esteeme themselves. 'Dust and ashes,' saith he, 'what is there in thee thou shouldest so much glory of? And in another place God hath made man like unto a shadowe, of which who shall judge when, the light being gone, it shall vanish away? Man is a thing of nothing.
So far are our faculties from conceiving that high Deitie, that of our Creators works, those beare his marke best, and are most his owne, which we understand least. It is an occasion to induce Christians to beleeve, when they chance to meet with any incredible thing, that it is so much the more according unto reason, by how much more it is against humane reason. If it were according unto reason, it were no more a wonder; and were it to be matched, it re no more singular. Melius scitur Deus nesciendo, 'God is better knowen by our not knowing him,' saith S. Augustine: and Tacitus, Sanctius est ac reverentius de actis deorum credere quam scire: 'It is a course of more holinesse and reverence to hold beleefe than to have knowledge of Gods actions.' And Plato deemes it to be a vice of impiety overcuriously to enquire after God, after the world, and after the first causes of things. Atque illum quidem parentem hujus universitatis invenire, difficile; et quum jam inveneris, indicare in vulgus, nefas: 'Both it is difficult to finde out the father of this universe, and when you have found him, it is unlawfull to reveale Him to the vulgar,' saith Cicero. We easily pronounce puissance, truth, and justice; they be words importing some great matter, but that thing we neither see nor conceive. We say that God feareth, that God will be angry, and that God loveth.
Immortalia mortali sermone notantes,
Who with tearmes of mortality Note things of immortality.
Lucretius, The Nature of Things, 1. v. 122.
They be all agitations and motions, which according to our forms can have no place in God, nor we imagine them according to his. It onely belongs to God to know himselfe and interpret his owne workes; and in our tongues he doth it improperly, to descend and come downe to us, that are and lie groveling on the ground. How can wisdome (which is the choice betweene good and evill) beseeme him, seeing no evill doth touch him? How reason and intelligence, which we use to come from obscure to apparant things, seeing there is no obscure thing in God? Justice+, which distributeth unto every man what belongs unto him, created for the society and conversation of man, how is she in God? How, temperance, which is the moderation of corporall sensualities, which have no place at all in his God-head? Fortitude patiently to endure sorrowes, and labours and dangers, appertaineth little unto him, these three things no way approaching him, having no accesse unto him. And therefore Aristotle holds him to be equally exempted from vertue and from vice. Neque gratia, neque ira teneri potest, quod quae talia essent, imbecilla essent omnia: 'Nor can he be possessed with favor and anger; for, all that is so is but weake.'
The participation which we have of the knowledge, of truth, what soever she is, it is not by our owne strength we have gotten it; God hath sufficiently taught it us in that he hath made choice of the simple, common, and ignorant to teach us His wonderfull secrets. Our faith hath not been purchased by us: it is a gift proceeding from the liberality of others. It is not by our discourse or understanding that we have received our religion, it is by a forreine authority and commandement. The weaknesse of our judgement helps us more than our strength to compasse the same, and our blindnesse more than our clear-sighted eies. It is more by the meanes of our ignorance than of our skill that we are wise in heavenly knowledge. It is no marvell if our naturall and terrestriall meanes cannot conceive the supernaturall or apprehend the celestial knowledge. Let us adde nothing of our own unto it but obedience and subjection: for (as it is written) 'I will confound the wisdome of the wise, and destroy the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe, where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made the wisdome of this world foolishuesse? For seeing the world by wisdome knew not God, in the wisdome of God, it hath pleased Him, by the vanity of preaching, to save them that beleeve.