426 ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 



men of every age and place, where the Gospel shall be 

 preached. And this observation holds in other parts of 

 Scripture. 



We find, among theological writings, too many books of 

 controversy; a vast mass of that we call positive theology, 

 commonplaces, particular treatises, cases of conscience, ser 

 mons, homilies, and numerous prolix comments upon the 

 several books of the Scriptures : but the thing we want and 

 propose, as our third appendix to theology, is, a short, 

 sound, and judicious collection of notes and observations 

 upon particular texts of Scripture; without running into 

 commonplace, purusing controversies, or reducing these 

 notes to artificial method; but leaving them quite loose 

 and native a thing we find something done in the more 

 learned kind of sermons, which are seldom of long duration, 

 though it has not hitherto prevailed in books designed for 

 posterity. But certainly, as those wines which flow from 

 the first treading of the grape are sweeter and better than 

 those forced out by the press, which gives them the rough 

 ness of the husk and the stone; so are those doctrines best 

 and wholesomest, which flow from a gentle crush of the 

 Scripture, and are not wrung into controversies and com 

 monplace. And this treatise we set down as wanting, under 

 the title of the first Sowings of the Scriptures. 



And now we have finished our small globe of the intel 

 lectual world with all the exactness we could, marking out 

 and describing those parts of it which we find either not 

 constantly inhabited or not sufficiently cultivated. And if 

 through the course of the work we should anywhere seem 

 to depart from the opinion of the ancients, we would have it 

 remembered that this is not done for the sake of novelty, 

 or striking into different paths from them, but with a desire 

 of improving; for we could neither act consistently with 

 ourselves nor the design, without resolving to add all we 

 could to the inventions of others, at the same time wishing 

 that our own discoveries may be exceeded by those of pos 

 terity. And how fairly we have dealt in this matter may 



