226 OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 



the Egyptian : but when he saw the two Israelites fight, 

 he said, You are brethren, why strive you ? If the 

 point of doctrine be an Egyptian, it must be slain by 

 the sword of the spirit, and not reconciled ; but if it 

 be an Israelite, though in the wrong, then, * Why strive 

 you ? We see of the fundamental points, our Saviour 

 penneth the league thus, * He that is not with us is 

 against us ; but of points not fundamental, thus, He 

 that is not against us is with us. So we see the coat of 

 our Saviour was entire without seam, and so is the 

 doctrine of the scriptures in itself ; but the garment of 

 the church was of divers colours and yet not divided. 

 We see the chaff may and ought to be severed from the 

 corn in the ear, but the tares may not be pulled up from 

 the corn in the field. So as it is a thing of great use well 

 to define what, and of what latitude those points are, 

 which do make men merely aliens and disincorporate 

 from the Church of God. 



10. For the obtaining of the information, it resteth 

 upon the true and sound interpretation of the scriptures, 

 which are the fountains of the water of life. The inter 

 pretations of the scriptures are of two sorts ; methodi 

 cal, and solute or at large. For this divine water, which 

 excelleth so much that of Jacob s well, is drawn forth 

 much in the same kind as natural water useth to be out 

 of wells and fountains ; either it is first forced up into 

 a cistern, and from thence fetched and derived for use ; 

 or else it is drawn and received in buckets and vessels 

 immediately where it springeth. The former sort where 

 of, though it seem to be the more ready, yet in my 

 judgement is more subject to corrupt. This is that 

 method which hath exhibited unto us the scholastical 

 divinity ; whereby divinity hath been reduced into an 

 art, as into a cistern, and the streams of doctrine or 

 positions fetched and derived from thence. 



11. In this men have sought three things, a summary 

 brevity, a compacted strength, and a complete perfec 

 tion ; whereof the two first they fail to find, and the last 

 they ought not to seek. For as to brevity, we see in all 

 summary methods, while men purpose to abridge, they 



