Mr. Ray to Dr. Robinfofi. 241 



&n Undertaking than I, and therefore fhall refer it td 

 you. In Summe the Ancients excel the Moderns 

 in nothing but Acutenefs of Wit and Elegancy of 

 Language in all their Writings," in their Poetry aiid 

 Oratory. As for Painting and Sculpture^ and Mufick 

 and Architecture^ fome of the Moderns I think do 

 equal, if not excel, the beft of them, not in the The-* 

 Ory only, but alfo in the Practice of thofe Arts : Nei* 

 ther do we give place to them in Politicks, or Mora* 

 lity y but in Natural Hiftory and Experimental Philo* 

 'fophy we far tranfcend them. In the purely Mathe* 

 matical Sciences abftra&ed from Matter, as Geometry 

 and Arithmetic^ we may vie with them $ as alio iti 

 Hiftory : But in Aftronomy, Geography and Chronology^ 

 we excel them much. No wonder they fhould-.out- 

 ftrip us in thofe Arts which are converfant in pchOi- 

 ing and adorning their Language* becaufe they be^ 

 flowed all their Time and Pains in cultivating of theiri^ 

 and had but one, and that their Native tongue ^ td 

 mind. But thofe Arts are by wife Men eenfured a§ 

 far inferior to the Study of Things, Words being 

 but the Pi&ures of Things > and to be wholly ocicu* 

 pied about them* is to fall in love with a Picture* and 

 neglect the Life : And Oratory^ which is, the beft oi 

 thefe Arts, is but a kind of voluptuary one, like Cook^ 

 ery, which fophifticates Meats, and cheats the Palate§ 

 fpoiling wholfome Viands, and helping unwholfomei 



Mr. Ray to Dr. Robinfori* 



Stllj . March 16. ^s>o2 



OUR kft Letter of March 3 d exprefies fucht 

 Excefs of Kindnefs, as one that did not Well 

 know you to be aliene from all Flattery or Diflittitt* 

 ktion* wot^ld hardly think you wrote your &wfi 



li Senfe 



