Additional notes on the life and death of Sir Matthew Hale, the late universally…

I will truly tell you the matter and the manner of our converse. We were oft together, and almost all our discourse ⟨p. 5⟩was Philosophical, and especially about the Nature of Spirits and superior Regions; and the Nature, Operations and Immortality of mans Soul. And our disposition and course of thoughts, were in such things so like, that I did not much cross the bent of his conference. He studied Physics, and got all new or old books of Philosophy that he could meet with, as eagerly as if he had been a boy at the University: Mousnerius, and Honoratus Faber, he deservedly much esteemed; but yet took not the later to be without some mistakes. Mathematics he studied more than I did, it being a knowledge which he much more esteemed than I did; who valued all knowledge by the greatness of the benefit, and necessity of the use; and my unskilfulness in them, I acknowledge my great defect, in which he much excelled. But we were both much addicted to know and read all the pretenders to more than ordinary in Physics; the Platonists, the Peripatetics, the Epicureans (and specially ⟨p. 6⟩their Gassendus), Teleius, Campanella, Patricius, Lullius, White, and every Sect that made us any encouraging promise. We neither of us approved of all in Aristotle; but he valued him more than I did. We both greatly disliked the Principles of Cartesius and Gassendus (much more of the Bruitists, Hobs and Spinosa); especially their Doctrine de Motu, and their obscuring, or denying Nature it self, even the Principia Motus, the Virtutes formals, which are the Causes of Operations.

I will truly tell you the matter and the manner of our converse. We were oft together, and almost all our discourse ⟨p. 5⟩was Philosophical, and especially about the Nature of Spirits and superior Regions; and the Nature, Operations and Immortality of mans Soul. And our disposition and course of thoughts, were in such things so like, that I did not much cross the bent of his conference. He studied Physicks, and got all new or old books of Philosophy that he could meet with, as eagerly as if he had been a boy at the University: Mousnerius, and Honoratus Faber, he deservedly much esteemed; but yet took not the later to be without some mistakes. Mathematicks he studied more than I did, it being a knowledg which he much more esteemed than I did; who valued all knowledg by the greatness of the benefit, and necessity of the use; and my unskilfulness in them, I acknowledg my great defect, in which he much excelled. But we were both much addicted to know and read all the pretenders to more than ordinary in Physicks; the Platonists, the Peripateticks, the Epicureans (and specially