Captain James’j Voyage into Hudfon’s Bay, Book II 
436 
dom) to come by ObferTation, Whether then ought 
any Human Dictates to he fo magijlerial as to prefcrihe 
agHnJi all other Imagination ? 
“ iSfe Human Study more conduces to the fetting 
forth of Glory^ than the Contemplation of his 
great Works in *, for though a fmattering 
“ Knowledge in fecond Caufes works the Mind towards 
“ Atheifm^ yet a higher Speculation of them brings it 
about again to Religion. No Man I believe will think . 
“ it fit for us to have a Pope in Philofophy, one that 
“ no body lhall prefume to cenfure ; but all be bound 
to advance his Decretals above the holy Scripture. 
‘‘ This is the Scandal that myfelf and divers good Men 
“ take at the undue Authority in fome Heats pinned 
upon the Stagerite. 
“ I am forry that the Ifraelites Dotage upon Solomon^ s 
Philofophy, fliould have caufed the zealous Hezekiah 
“ to call in and fupprefs thofe Invaluable Phyfics, for 
‘‘ fear, I fuppofe, left their Credit' fhoiild have as much 
“ derogated from the Authority of the holy Scriptures, as 
“ the brazen Serpent (which he deftroyed about the fame 
time) had done from Religion ; none will believe that 
Solomon’ s Philofophy was contrary to the Scriptures^ 
“ feeing tlit Scriptures commend Solomdfi for It was 
‘‘ not Hezekiah\ Fear therefore (or not only) left there 
might have been a Competition between them, but a 
Negledt of one of them : He was zealous, left the 
“ Scripture might have any Writing fet upon hy it^ 
“ ‘ though not againfi it. 
“ Can Divines then be blamed for fpeaking, when 
they hear Ariftotle’’^ Philofophy to be folely magnified, 
“ and the Study of the Scripture Philofophy difrefpedled j 
‘ ‘ or, that when ftis confefled that fuch a Thing is true 
“ in Divinity^ and yet the moderating the Point deter- 
mine for Philofophy ? Nay, to hear it called abfurd and 
“ ridiculoi&‘ to have Scripture urged at all in Point of 
“ Philofophy ? No doubt there is but whatfoever is 
“ falfe in Divinity is alfo falfe in Nature^ how much 
“ Shew of ^Truth foever it paffes within Philofophy : Phi- 
lofophy hath taken its Turn in the Schools.^ and the 
“ holy Texts, by the Schoolmen.^ have even been lubmitted 
onto Arifiotle\\ yea, to the great Corruption o^ Dhe- 
® ‘ ology., as the Complaint is, hath this Man been fo far 
“ advanced, that Contra eft Philofophus, (A contra ejt 
“ Apofiolus^ have familiarly pafled up and down for 
“ tcpjidlOppofitions •, fo that it hath been a meafuring Cajt 
“ oftentimes, betwixt the Prophet and the Peripatetic ; 
“ and by foul Play hath the Meafure been made to ftand 
“ the harder at t\\t Peripatetic, for that tAs. Prophet hath 
“ been forced to comply with him by a wrejled Inter- 
“ pretation. Thus had St. Paul need give his Caveat 
unto Pheology as well as unto Pheologues ; Beware left 
ayiy Man fp oil you through Philofophy. 
“ All this were to no Purpofe, unlefs the Text of 
God were excellent in this Kind, and embelliflied here 
and there with moft admirable Philofophy ; what in- 
“ comparable rare Footfteps ofithave we in the Books 
oi Genefts,- Job, 3.nd t\\t Pfalms ? How noble a Study 
then were ity and how worthy the Lcifure of fome 
* ‘ excellently learned Men to beftow fome Time upon it ? 
Valcfms the Phyftcian hath, in his Sacra Philofophia, 
done fomething in this Kind, who yet might have 
done better here and there for the Honour of the 
Scriptures-. I am notfo fottifh, to believe that every 
‘‘ Particular is to be drawn out of the Scriptures *, ’tis 
none of my Dotage that; or th.2it God, in Scripture, did 
intend every where the Accuratenefs of Philofophy, or 
** ftand to be fo^curious in Definitions and Difeuffions ; 
“ nor that nothing fhoiild be determined on till a PeA 
“ confirmed it. But this perchance might profitably be 
“ thought upon; that where the Scriptures have any 
thing of this Kind, it fhouid more reverently be 
“ efteemed ; Colledions out of fcattered Places (as is done 
“ out bi Arijtotle' P) made ; thefe compared, and their 
“ Refultances obferved. This furely would amount to 
“ more than is yet thought of ; and in God's Name let 
‘ ‘ Scholars be fo bold with Ariftotle as to examine him upon 
‘‘ goodAfTurance hj \nh?Lt is, Truth' sTouchJtofie : Received 
“ Philofophy is a moft neceflary Handmaid to the Scrip- 
“ tures ; but let her not be fet above her Lady ; nor no 
“ Competition be made betwixt them. 
“ Something elfe remains to be thought of. That 
feeing the fame God who gave Ariftotle thefe good 
“ Parts, hath, in like Manner, raifed up many excellent 
“ Spirits more ; whether it were not injurious to what is 
“ done, and a Difeouragement to what might be done, 
“ to have the Inventions, or Obfervations, of thofe ex- 
“ cellent Wits, and great Induftries, fo abalhed with 
“ Ariftotle' s, Authority, that they can have no Credit in 
“ the World ; for that his Didlates have pre-occupated 
all good Opinion Let it not then be thought unequal 
“ to examine the firft Cogitations of the old Philofophy, by 
“ the fecond Thoughts of our more modern Ar lifts ; for 
“ that the fame Improvement may by this means accrue 
“ unto the Phyfics, that hath advanced our Geography, 
“ our Mathematics, and our Mechanics ; and let it not 
“ be thought fo infolent to refufe Ariftotle' s Authority 
“ fingly, where his Reafon is not fo concluding. Seeing 
“ other Men have taken the Boldnefs to do that before 
in feveral Kinds ; fome have perfefted, and others 
“ controlled his Ethics, by the Scriptures, as Scultetus 
‘ ‘ Wallaus, and fome others. Juftin Martyr, . firnamed 
“ the Philofopher, hath purpolely written contra Dog- 
“ mat a Ariftotelis. Baffon and Gaffendus (two brave Men) 
“ have newly written point-blank againft him, nor have 
“ they taken away all Liberty from thofe that are to fol- 
“ low them. 
“ And thus, with renewing my former Proteftatioii 
“ for mine own Refpe6l to Ariftotle, I conclude my 
“ two Propofitions •, which I defire may receive a fa- 
“ vourable Conftruftion from all ingenuous, incapri- 
“ cious Scholars ; I mean them out of Good-will to 
“ promote Learning ; to encourage and countenance 
“ future Undertakings ; and, in fuch a Cafe, a little too 
“ much faying may be thought not to have exceeded an 
“ honeft Rhetorication ; fori would not be thought too 
“ earneft in it. The Hint, for all this, I took from this 
“ Book, which in mine own, and fome better, Judg- 
“ ments, is (to fay no more) as well done, and inrich- 
“ ed with as fure and ufeful Obfervations, as any in this 
“ kind. I was defired by the able Author, and fome 
“ other Friends, to overlook the written Copy of it, and 
“ to amend the Englifh here and there, in which I did 
“ not defpair of doing fomething : For that in my 
“ younger Time, I had a little acquainted myfelf with 
“ the Language of the Sea, that which put me in the 
“ Head to inferibe it unto your Names (moft excellent 
“ learned Academians) was, for that the Place of this 
“ wintering was within a Minute or two of the Height of 
“ our Cambridge : Which my Prayer to God is, that your 
“ Studies may make famous. 
Tours, 
- X. Z.P 
i 
