A26921:354
Richard Baxter's dying thoughts upon Phil. I, 23 written for his own life and…
Richard Baxter's dying thoughts upon Phil. I, 23 written for his own life and the latter times of his corporal pains and weakness.
London: printed by Tho. Snowden for B. Simmons, 1683
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
1. It is costly, as to the hard labour and precious time, which must be laid out for it, as aforesaid; we grow old in getting us Horses, and Boots, and Spurs for our Journey, and it's well if we begin it at the last: Like a Man that would study the new found Planets, and the shape of Saturn, and Jupiter's Satellites, and the Viam Lacteam, &c, and he spends his whole life in getting him the best Tubes or Telescopes, & never useth them to his ends: Or like one that instead of learning to write doth spend his life in getting the best Ink, Paper & Pens: Or rather like one that learneth to Write and Print exactly, and not to understand what any of his words do signify. Men take their Spectacles in stead of Eyes.
1. It is costly, as to the hard labour and precious time, which must be laid out for it, as aforesaid; we grow old in getting us Horses, and Boots, and Spurs for our Journey, and it's well if we begin it at the last: Like a Man that would study the new found Planets, and the shape of Saturn, and Jupiter's Satellites, and the Viam Lacteam, &c, and he spends his whole life in getting him the best Tubes or Telescopes, & never useth them to his ends: Or like one that instead of learning to write doth spend his life in getting the best Ink, Paper & Pens: Or rather like one that learneth to Write and Print exactly, and not to understand what any of his words do signifie. Men take their Spectacles in stead of Eyes.
2. And when this Learning is got, how uncertain are we whether the words have no ambiguity? Whether they give us the true notice of the Speakers […], and of the Matter spoken of? As I said before, what a penury, and yet redundancy of words have we? Of how various and uncertain signification? Changed by Custom, or Arbitrary design? Sometime by the Vulgar use, and sometime by Learned men, that being conscious of the defectiveness of the speaking-Art, are still tampering and attempting to amend it. And some men speak obscurely on purpose, to raise in their Readers a conceit of their subtle and sublime conceptions. And he that understandeth Things most clearly, and speaketh them most plainly (which are the parts of true Learning) shall have much a do to get the Matter out of dark and bewildering uncertainties, and to make others understand both it and him.