THE SECOND BOOK 237 



History is Natural, Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Literary ; 

 whereof the three first I allow as extant, the nistoria 

 fourth I note as deficient. For no man hath Literarum. 

 propounded to himself the general state of learning to be 

 described and represented from age to age, as many have 

 done the works of nature and the state civil and ecclesiasti- 

 cal; without which the history of the world seemeth to me to 

 be as the statua of Polyphemus with his eye out ; that part 

 being wanting which doth most shew the spirit and life of 

 the person. And yet I am not ignorant that in divers 

 particular sciences, as of the jurisconsults, the mathemati- 

 cians, the rhetoricians, the philosophers, there are set down 

 some small memorials of the schools, authors, and books ; 

 and so likewise some barren relations touching the inven- 

 tion of arts or usages. But a just story of learning, 

 containing the antiquities and originals of knowledges, and 

 their sects ; their inventions, their traditions ; their diverse 

 administrations and managings; their flourishings, their 

 oppositions, decays, depressions, oblivions, removes ; with 

 the causes and occasions of them, and all other events 

 concerning learning, throughout the ages of the world ; I 

 may truly affirm to be wanting. The use and end of 

 which work I do not so much design for curiosity, or 

 satisfaction of those that are the lovers of learning ; but 

 chiefly for a more serious and grave purpose, which is this 

 in few words, that it will make learned men wise in the 

 use and administration of learning. For it is not St. 

 Augustine's nor St. Ambrose works that will make so wise 

 a divine, as ecclesiastical history throughly read and 

 observed ; and the same reason is of learning. 



His^oj^jo^NatFe- is of three sorts ; of nature in 

 course, of nature erring or varying, and of nature altered 

 or wrought ; that is, history of Creatures, history of 

 Marvels, and history of Arts. The first of these no doubt 

 is extant, and that in good perfection ; the two later are 

 handled so weakly and unprofitably, as I am moved to 

 note them as deficient. For I find no sufficient 

 or competent collection of the works of nature 

 which have a digression and deflexion from the ordinary 



