230 OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 



bins and cabalists, are to be confined with a noli cdtum 

 sapere, sed time. 



17. But the two latter points, known to God and un- 

 known to man, touching the secrets of the heart and the 

 successions of time, doth make a just and sound differ- 

 ence between the manner of the exposition of the scrip- 

 tures and all other books. For it is an excellent observa- 

 tion which hath been made upon the answers of our 

 Savioiu" Christ to many of the questions which were 

 propounded to him, how that they are impertinent to 

 the state of the question demanded ; the reason whereof 

 is, because not being like man, which knows man's 

 thoughts by his words, but knowing man's thoughts 

 immediately, he never answered their words, but their 

 thoughts. Much in the like manner it is with the scrip- 

 tures, which being written to the thoughts of men, and 

 to the succession of all ages, with a foresight of all 

 heresies, contradictions, differing estates of the church, 

 yea and particularly of the elect, are not to be inter- 

 preted only according to the latitude of the proper sense 

 of the place, and respectively towards that present occa- 

 sion whereupon the words were uttered, or in precise 

 congruity or contexture with the words before or after, 

 or in contemplation of the principal scope of the place ; 

 but have in themselves, not only totally or collectively, 

 but distributively in clauses and words, infinite springs 

 and streams of doctrine to water the church in every 

 part. And therefore as the literal sense is, as it were, 

 the main stream or rivet ; so the moral sense chiefly, 

 and sometimes the allegorical or typical, are they where- 

 of the church hath most use : not that I wish men to be 

 bold in allegories, or indulgent or light in allusions ; but 

 that I do much condemn that interpretation of the 

 scripture which is only after the manner as men use to 

 interpret a profane book. 



18. In this part touching the exposition of the scrip- 

 tures, I can report no deficience ; but by way of remem- 

 brance this I will add. In perusing books of divinity, I 

 find many books of controversies, and many of common- 

 places and treatises, a mass of positive divinity, as it is 



