noife and jargon, especially in moral matters, where the words for the most part standing for arbitrary and numerous collections of ideas, not regularly and permanently united in nature, their bare founds are often only thought on, or at least very obfcure and uncertain notions annexed to them. Men take the words they find in ufe amongst their neighbours, and that they may not feem ignorant what they stand for, ufe them confidently, without much troubling their heads about a certain fixed meaning; whereby, befides the eafe of it, they obtain this advantage, that as in fuch difcourfes they feldom are in the right, fo they are as feldom to be convinced that they are in the wrong; it being all one to go about to draw thofe men out of their mistakes, who have no fettled notions, as to difpoffefs a vagrant of his habitation, who has no fettled abode: This I guefs to be fo; and every one may obferve in himfelf and others, whether it be or no.

§ 5. 2. Unsteady Application of them.

SECONDLY, Another great abufe of words is, inconftancy in the ufe of them. It is hard to find a difcourfe written of any fubject, especially of controverfy, wherein one fhall not obferve, if he read with attention, the fame words (and thofe commonly the most material in the difcourfe, and upon which the argument turns) ufed fometimes for one collection of fimple ideas, and fometimes for another; which is a perfect abufe of language. Words being intended for figns of my ideas, to make them known to others, not by any natural fignification, but by a voluntary impofition, it is plain cheat and abufe when I make them ftand fometimes for one thing, and fometimes for another; the wilful doing whereof, can be imputed to nothing but great folly, or greater disho• nesty. And a man, in his accounts with another, may, with as much fairness, make the characters of numbers ftand fometimes for one, and fometimes for another collection of units, (v. g. this character 3 ftand fometimes for three, fometimes for four, and fometimes for eight) as in his difcourfe, or reafoning, make the fame words ftand for different collections of fimple ideas. If men

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Book III. fhould do fo in their reckonings, I wonder, who would have to do with them? One who would speak thus, in the affairs and business of the world, and call eight fometimes feven, and sometimes nine, as best served his advantage, would prefently have clapped upon him, one of the two names men conftantly are difgufled with. And yet in arguings and learned contefts, the fame fort of proceeding paffes commonly for wit and learning ; but to me it appears a greater dishonesty than the mifplacing of counters in the cafting up a debt, and the cheat the greater, by how much truth is of greater concernment and value than money.

§ 6. 3. Affected Obfcurity by wrang Application.) THIRDLY, Another abuse of language is, an affected obfcurity, by either applying old words to new and unusual fignifications, or introducing new and ambiguous terms, without defining either; or elfe putting them fo toge ther, as may confound their ordinary meaning. Though the peripatetic philofophy has been most eminent in this way, yet other fects have not been wholly clear of it. There is fcarce any of them that are not cumbered with fome difficulties (fuch is the imperfection of human knowledge), which they have been fain to cover with obfcurity of terms, and to confound the fignification of words, which, like a mift before people's eyes, might hinder their weak parts from being difcovered. That body and extenfion, in common use, ftand for two distinct ideas, is plain to any one that will but reflect a little; for were their fignification precifely the fame, it would be proper, and as intelligible to fay, the body of an extenfion, as the extenfion of a body; and yet there are those who find it neceffary to confound their fignification. To this abufe, and the mifchiefs of confounding the fignification of words, logic and the liberal fciences, as they have been handled in the fchools, have given reputation; and the admired art of difputing hath added much to the natural imperfection of languages, whilft it has been made ufe of and fitted to perplex the fignification of words, more than to difcover the knowledge and truth of things; and he that will look into that fort of learn

ed writings, will find the words there much more obfcure, uncertain and undetermined in their meaning, than they are in ordinary conversation.

7. Logic and Difpute has much contributed to this. THIS is unavoidably to be fo, where mens parts and learning are estimated by their skill in difputing: And if reputation and reward fhall attend thefe conquefts, which depend mostly on the fineness and niceties of words, it is no wonder if the wit of men fo employed, fhould perplex, involve and fubtilize the fignification of founds, fo as never to want fomething to fay, in oppofing or defending any queftion; the victory being adjudged not to him who had truth on his fide, but the laft word in the difpute.

§8. Calling it Subtility.

THIS, though a very useless skill, and that which I think the direct oppofite to the ways of knowledge, hath yet paffed hitherto under the laudable and efteemed names of fubtility and acuteness, and has had the applaufe of the schools, and encouragement of one part of the learned men of the world; and no wonder, fince the philofophers of old (the difputing and wrangling philofophers I mean, fuch as Lucian wittily and with reafon taxes), and the fchoolmen fince, aiming at glory and efteem for their great and univerfal knowledge, eafier a great deal to be pretended to than really acquired, found this a good expedient to cover their ignorance, with a curious and inexplicable web of perplexed words, and procure to themfelves the admiration of others by unintelligible terms, the apter to produce wonder, becaufe they could not be understood; whilft it appears in all history, that thefe profound doctors were no wifer, nor more useful than their neighbours, and brought but fmall advantage to human life, or the focieties wherein they lived, unlels the coining of new words, where they produced no new things to apply them to, or the perplexing or obfcuring the fignification of old ones, and fo bringing all things into queftion and difpute, were a thing profitable to the life of man, or worthy commendation and reward.

$9. This Learning very little benefits Society, For notwithstanding thefe learned difputants, thefe allknowing doctors, it was to the unfcholastic statesman that the governments of the world owed their peace,, defence, and liberties; and from the illiterate and contemned mechanic (a name of difgrace) that they receiv-,. ed the improvements of ufeful arts. Nevertheless, this artificial ignorance, and learned gibberish, prevailed mightily in thefe last ages, by the intereft and artifice of thofe, who found no cafier way to that pitch of authority and dominion they have attained, than by amufing! the men of bufinefs and ignorant with hard words, or employing the ingenious and idle intricate difputes about unintelligible terms, and holding them perpetually entangled in that endless labyrinth. Befides, there is no fuch way to gain admittance, or give defence, to ftrange and abfurd doctrines, as to guard them round a bout with legions of obfcure, doubtful and undefined. words, which yet make these retreats more like the dens of robbers, or holes of foxes, than the fortreffes of fair warriors, which if it be hard to get them out of, it is not for the ftrength that is in them, but the briars and thorns, and the obfcurity of the thickets they are befet with, For untruth being unacceptable to the mind of man, there is no other defence left for abfurdity, but obfcurity.

§ 10. But defroys the Inftruments of Knowledge and Communication.

THUS learned ignorance, and this art of keeping, even inquifitive men, from true knowledge, hath been propagated in the world, and hath much perplexed, whilst it pretended to inform the understanding: For we fee that other well-meaning and wife men, whofe education and parts had not acquired that acuteness, could intelligibly exprefs themselves to one another, and in its plain ufe make a benefit of language: But though unlearned men well enough understood the words white and black, &c. and had conftant notions of the ideas fignifi-. ed by those words, yet there were philofophers found, who had learning and fubtility enough to prove that fnow was black; i. e. to prove that white was black s·

whereby they had the advantage to deftroy the inftruments and means of difcourse, conversation, instruction i and fociety, whilft with great art and fubtility they did no more but perplex and confound the fignification of words, and thereby render language lefs ufeful than the real defects of it had made it; a gift which the illiterate had not attained to..

Str. As ufeful as to confound the Sound of the Letters. T THESE learned men did equally inftruct mens under standings, and profit their lives, as he who fhould alter the fignification of known characters, and, by a fubtle device of learning, far furpaffing the capacity of the illiterate, dull and vulgar, fhould, in his writing, fhow that he could put A for B, and D for E, &c. to the no small admiration and benefit of his reader; it being as fenfelefs to put black, which is a word agreed on to ftand for one fenfible idea, to put it I fay, for another or the contrary idea, i. e. to call fnow black, as to put this mark A, which is a character agreed on to ftand for one modification of found, made by a certain motion of the organs of fpeech, for B, which is agreed on to ftand for ano ther modification of found, made by another certain motion of the organs of speech.

§ 12. This Art has perplexed Religion and Justice. NOR hath this mifchief ftopped in logical niceties, or curious empty fpeculations; it hath invaded the great concernments of human life and fociety, obfcured and perplexed the material truths of law and divinity, brought confufion, diforder and uncertainty into the affairs of mankind, and if not deftroyed, yet in great measure rendered useless thofe two great rules, religion and juftice. What have the greatest part of the comments and difputes upon the laws of GOD and man served for, but to make the meaning more doubtful, and perplex the fense? What have been the effect of thofe multiplied curious diftinctions and acute niceties, but obfcurity and uncertainty, leaving the words more unintelligible, and the reader more at a lofs? How elfe comes it to pass that princes, fpeaking or writing to their fervants, in their or dinary commands, are easily understood; fpeaking to