THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS. 81 



ginity : for, questionless, it was this heinous offence 

 that brought that punishment of devouring his liver 

 upon him ; which is nothing else but to shew, that 

 when we are puffed up with too much learning and 

 science, they go about oftentimes to make even 

 divine oracles subject to sense and reason, whence 

 most certainly follows a continual distraction, and 

 restless griping of the mind ; we must therefore, 

 with a sober and humble judgment, distinguish be 

 tween humanity and divinity, and between the oracles 

 of sense and the mysteries of faith, unless an here 

 tical religion and a commentitious philosophy be 

 pleasing unto us. 



Lastly, it remains that we say something of the 

 games of Prometheus, performed with burning 

 torches, which again hath reference to arts and 

 sciences, as that fire, in whose memory and celebra 

 tion these games were instituted ; and it contains in 

 it a most wise admonition, that the perfection of 

 sciences is to be expected from succession, not from 

 the nimbleness and promptness of one only author : 

 for they that are nimblest in course, and strongest in 

 contention, yet happily have not the luck to keep 

 fire still in their torch, seeing it may be as well ex 

 tinguished by running too fast as by going too slow. 

 And this running and contending with lamps seems 

 long since to be intermitted, seeing all sciences seem 

 even now to flourish most in their first authors, Aris 

 totle, Galen, Euclid, and Ptolemy ; succession having 

 neither effected, nor almost attempted any great 

 matter : it were therefore to be wished that these 



