THE SECOND BOOK 381 



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. 



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 interpretations of 

 the Scriptures are of two sorts ; methodical, 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 whereof, though it seem to be 

 the more ready, yet in my judgment 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. 



In this men have sought three things, a summary 

 brevity, a compacted strength, and a complete perfection ; 

 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 

 give cause to dilate. For the sum or abridgment by 

 contraction becometh obscure, the obscurity requireth 

 exposition, and the exposition is deduced into large com- 

 mentaries, or into common places and titles, which grow to 

 be more vast than the original writings whence the sum 

 was at first extracted. So we see the volumes of the 

 schoolmen are greater much than the first writings of the 

 fathers, whence the Master of the Sentences made his 

 sum or collection. So in like manner the volumes of 

 the modern doctors of the civil law exceed those of 

 the ancient jurisconsults, of which Tribonian compiled the 

 digest. So as this course of sums and commentaries is 

 that which doth infallibly make the body of sciences more 

 immense in quantity, and more base in substance. 



And for strength, it is true that knowledges reduced 



