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THE 
 
 CELEBRATED TREATISE 
 
 OF 
 
 JOACH. FORTIUS RINGELBERGIUS 
 
 DE 
 
 RATIONE STUDII 
 
 TRANSLATED 
 
 FROM THE EDITION OF VAN ERPE, 
 
 BY 
 
 G. B. EARP. Coll.Corp.Xti.Cant. 
 
 Aisv agio-TEuw, jcat vttei^oxov e/a./j,evm ofahoov. Xenopli. 
 
 If such, ideas were early infixed in the bosom of an in- 
 genuous and ingenious boy, what improvement in virtue, 
 and in all useful qualities, might not be expected. Dr. Knox. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL, 
 
 stationer's COURT. 
 
 AND SOLD BY DEIGHTON, CAMBRIDGE; 
 
 PARKER, OXFORD ; 
 
 AND CUMMING, DUBLIN, 
 
 1830. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/celebratedtreatiOOring 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 There never was a period in the His- 
 tory of the Church, in which an increase 
 of knowledge on the part of its minis- 
 ters was so indispensably requisite as 
 the present. The spirit of enquiry has 
 descended upon all ranks from the 
 prince to the peasant, and the whole 
 mass of the community is in conse- 
 quence actively engaged in searching 
 into those mysteries, as well of Science 
 
 b 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 as of Theology,, which from their ab- 
 stracted nature, have been heretofore re- 
 garded by the generality of mankind 
 with superstitious veneration, or believed 
 to be above the level of an ordinary 
 comprehension. 
 
 Such being the case, it is natural to 
 suppose that an increased knowledge on 
 the part of the people, must result from 
 their desire of acquiring it; and this in- 
 crease of knowledge on their part, must 
 also be followed by a corresponding in- 
 increase of learning on the part of the 
 clergy; for it is to them, as to men who 
 have hitherto been esteemed the princi- 
 pal depositories of literature, both hu- 
 man and divine, that individuals of every 
 class naturally look for information and 
 assistance ; and should they find them- 
 selves disappointed, the result must un- 
 
PREFACE. 11V 
 
 Questionably be, a secret, if not avowed 
 disregard for the clerical profession/and 
 an indifference, if not an aversion, to re- 
 ligion in general. 
 
 It is therefore the duty of all who 
 aspire to this most arduous and honour- 
 able office, diligently to embrace every 
 opportunity of adding to a thorough 
 knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, such 
 a portion of human learning, as may en- 
 able them to maintain that respect in 
 society which they have hitherto been 
 accustomed to maintain, and which is 
 not more essential to the dignity of the 
 ministerial character, than conducive to 
 the interests of Christianity. 
 
 With a view to the promotion of this 
 object, it is the intention of the following 
 translation to rouse the dormant energies 
 of the young student, during the period 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 usually allotted to academical instruc- 
 tion ; that he may thereby acquire that 
 knowledge which will be an ornament to 
 him here, and by the acquisition of 
 which he may be enabled to render a 
 good account of his time hereafter. — And 
 may that God who is the source and foun- 
 tain of wisdom, send down his blessing 
 upon the humble endeavour to advance 
 the good of them, whom his Providence 
 has destined to become the future minis- 
 ters of his word, and the dispensers of his 
 heavenly mysteries. 
 
 But it may be asked, were there no 
 other means better calculated to effect 
 this purpose, than that of drawing from 
 the oblivion to which it had been con- 
 signed, the inelegant Latin of an ob- 
 scure author? The opinion of a man 
 whose judgment is far superior to my 
 own shall answer this enquiry. 
 
PREFACE IX 
 
 €i There, is" says Dr. Vicesimus Knox, 
 in his hundred and fifty-seventh Essay,, 
 fC a little treatise on the method of study, 
 written by Ringelbergius, which, in the 
 two last centuries was a great favourite 
 among scholars, and contributed much to 
 animate their industry. The learned Er- 
 penius acknowledges himself originally 
 indebted to it for all his acquisitions. 
 He met with it at the age of sixteen, and 
 in consequence of its suggestions, though 
 he was then totally averse to a stu- 
 dious life, and had made no proficiency 
 in learning, yet he afterwards became a 
 distinguished scholar. The treatise had 
 become scarce, and Erpenius gener- 
 ously printed a new edition, that others 
 might partake of the benefit which he 
 had himself enjoyed. He published it 
 with the title of Liber vere Aureus, or the 
 truly Golden Treatise. It is short, and 
 contains many passages which tend to 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 encourage the scholar in his pursuits, 
 and to inspire him with an ardour and 
 enthusiasm, like that excited in the 
 soldier by the drum and trumpet, as 
 he is marching on to battle. I believe 
 there could not be found a better exhor- 
 tation to study for the use of boys, if the 
 good passages were not disgraced by 
 others so ridiculous as almost to brinsr 
 the writer under the imputation of 
 lunacy. His literary enthusiasm had 
 certainly transported him, in several in- 
 stances, beyond the limits of his own 
 reason. The whole is in deed more 
 valuable for the spirit and fire which 
 it conduces to raise, than for its precepts 
 and directions. It is rather exhortatory 
 than didactic. 
 
 " There are certainly many things in 
 it which can scarcely fail to stimulate 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 an honest mind, sincerely and seriously 
 devoted to letters. A severe critic, or 
 a lover of ridicule, will find much both in 
 the matter and the style to censure and 
 deride. But still there is something so 
 honest and so warm in this writer that a 
 goodnatured mind cannot help being 
 entertained even with his absurdities, 
 and inclined to overlook them amidst the 
 greater abundance of valuable advice." 
 
 Such was the opinion of the learned 
 Dr. Knox with regard to this treatise; we 
 will next adduce the testimony of Er- 
 penius. The whole of the preface pre- 
 fixed to the edition of this learned and 
 eminent man, is too long for insertion 
 here. I shall therefore only transcribe 
 such parts of it as may best serve the 
 present purpose. 
 
lli PREFACE. 
 
 Adolescens eram, says Erpenius, anno- 
 rum plus minus sexdecim, cum primum, 
 quae mea felicitas fuit, in libellum hunc 
 ineidi. Missus er am a fdelissimoparente, 
 viro non erudito quidem, sed eruditionis 
 tamen et eruditorum amantissimo 3 studio- 
 rum causa, Leidam, Ubi mox nescio quce 
 me satietas eorum cepit. Ita dum sum 
 affectus parum diligenter studia tracto, et 
 tantum non negligo, unice desiderans 
 Musis valedicere, Quern animum meum 
 dum differ o par enti aperire, forte for tuna 
 in manus meas venit hie libellus. Qui 
 vel leviter tantum inspectus, ita me affe- 
 cit, ut judicaverim eum non emendum 
 tantum mihi, sed et attente perlegendum 
 esse. Quod ut feci (feci autem non sine 
 magna animi voluptate) incredibile dictu 
 est quantum mutatus fuerim ab iilo qui 
 ante eram studiorum koste. Nihil mihi 
 placere ccepit prczter studia : Discere, et 
 
PREFACE. XI11 
 
 alios, quod didiceram captata etiam ad 
 id occasione, docere, summce mihi volup- 
 tati fuit. Quid multa ? Auctoris hujus 
 consilium, quantum quidem pro rerum 
 mearum ratione mihi licebat, per omnia 
 sequatus, ad indefessum me laborum ac- 
 cingo, spem concipiens, fore ut licet inge- 
 nio cssem non admodum felici, assidua 
 tamen diligentia aliquosque, in liter arum 
 curriculo pervenirem, Quce spes non om- 
 nino me fefellit. Gratia sit Deo immor- 
 tali, qui, pro immensa sua bonitate, tarn 
 benigne labori meo benedixit. 
 
 Such are the testimonies of these 
 learned men in favour of the treatise. 
 The former of whom testifies that a 
 better work could not be put into the 
 hands of youth^ if it were divested of 
 some of its absurdities,, of which I have 
 in some measure endeavoured to de- 
 
\iv PREFACE. 
 
 prive it. The latter acknowledges him- 
 self, under the blessing of the Almighty, 
 indebted to it for all his acquisitions. 
 It would therefore be useless to waste 
 farther lime in apologizing for its repro- 
 duction. 
 
 It now only remains to speak of the 
 nianner in which the following treatise 
 has been translated. No one I believe 
 would have thanked me had I rendered 
 a mass of uncouth Latin with the fidelity 
 which the translation of a classic author 
 would have necessarily demanded. I 
 have therefore omitted whatever ap- 
 peared to me irrelevant to the purpose 
 oi the work, or of too enthusiastic a na- 
 ture to be consistent with good sense 
 Mid sound learning. In order to fill up 
 the vacuum thus necessarily occasioned, 
 I have also made such additions to the 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 original as seemed best calculated to 
 preserve the connexion of the text, or 
 rather to give something like connexion 
 to it ; for I should not hesitate to pro- 
 nounce it in its original state, one of the 
 most illogical productions which ever 
 emanated from the press. Even as it 
 now stands, he who searches it for con- 
 sistency or sound argument,, will find 
 himself disappointed. It is,, as Dr. Knox 
 has observed, more valuable for its ge- 
 neral fire, than for the rationality of its 
 particular directions. 
 
 There are many chapters, the trans- 
 lation of which I have omitted alto- 
 gether, considering them either foreign 
 to the main design of the treatise, or not 
 sufficiently applicable to the present 
 
 i state of literature ; such asthe one^ " Cu- 
 
 i 
 
 jusmodi discendce sint artes" ; the whole of 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 the chapters, "de ratiyne docendi/' with 
 several others. Bat for the gratification 
 of those who are fond of literary curiosi- 
 ties, I have inserted them in the original 
 language, by way of appendix. 
 
 I shall now take leave of the student 
 and the treatise; hoping, that it will af- 
 ford him as much profit in the perusal, 
 as it has given me pleasure in the trans- 
 lation ; at the same time admonishing 
 him in the concluding words of the au- 
 thor: Nisi summo studio temp or is f rue - 
 turn queer amus, sine gloria pecudum more 
 sumus moriluri. 
 
 G. B» EARP. 
 
 Birmingham, 1830. 
 
SKETCH 
 
 or THE 
 
 LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 RINGELBERGIUS. 
 
 uoachimus Fortius Ringelbergius was 
 a Flemish Philosopher and Mathema- 
 tician, whose German name was Sterck ; 
 concerning the early period of whose 
 life, but little is known. He was born 
 at Antwerp, but at what period is uncer- 
 tain. He studied at Louvain, where 
 he obtained a Professorship; but after- 
 wards went to France, where he died 
 about the year 1536. He was a very in- 
 
XVill UFE OF 
 
 genious man, not only in polite learning 
 and the sciences ; but in the arts of me- 
 chanical writing, painting, and engrav- 
 inff. Indeed these were his first pursuits 
 and employments, and he did not apply 
 himself to learning Latin till his seven- 
 teenth year; but such was the force of 
 his genius, that he then made a rapid 
 proficiency. He was certainly a man of 
 genius., and though not quite correct in 
 his language, yet he wrote Latin with 
 much more spirit and vivacity than most 
 of the Dutch and German writers of his 
 age. He acquired the Greek language, 
 and could almost repeat Homer from 
 beginning to end. He was well versed 
 in various sciences, and wrote ingeni- 
 ously upon them ; but his tracts are 
 more curious than useful. He would 
 have been an excellent writer, and pro- 
 found philosopher, had he lived in an 
 
RINGELBERGIUS. XIX 
 
 age when the follies of judicial astrology 
 were exploded, and hypothesis reduced 
 to the test of experiment. 
 
 The most esteemed works of this ec- 
 centric author, are — Sphaera, sivelnsti- 
 tutionum Astronouricaruiri, Lib. iii. Basil, 
 1 528, 8vo.— Liber deHomine, Bas. 1529, 
 8vo. — DeRatione Studii, Antwerp, 1529. 
 — Dialectica, et Tabulae Dialecticae, Ley- 
 den, 1574. — De Conscribendis Epistolis, 
 Lib. — Rhetorica, et quae ad earn spec- * 
 tant ; — Sententiae ; — Cosmographia ; — 
 Optica — Chaos Mathematicum. — Arith- 
 meticum. 
 
 The whole of his works were 
 lished at Lugd. 1531. Bas. 1541, 8vo. 
 and again at Lugd. 1556, 8vo.— Besides 
 these, his treatise De Ratione Studii was 
 edited by Van Erpe, or (as his name 
 
\ \ LIFE, ETC. 
 
 was Latinized) Erpenius, the professor of 
 Arabic and Hebrew at Leyden in the 
 year 1619, for whose eulogiuin on the 
 work, Vide Preface. It is from the edi- 
 tion of this learned and eminent man,, 
 thai the present translation is made. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Preface. 
 Biographical Sketch. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I. We must first of all, by a careful and 
 impartial estimation of our own abili- 
 ties, determine to what height we can 
 reasonably hope to aspire, and then 
 make every exertion for its attainment 1 
 
 II. We must love our studies and de- 
 spise luxury - •* - 12 
 
 III. We must never despair- - 22 
 
 IV. We must think lightly of riches - 26 
 
 V. The student must be desirous of praise 31 
 
 VI. By what means knowledge is to be 
 
 attained- - - - 33 
 
 VII. On solitary study - 36 
 
 VIII, Hearing lectures of little use, with- 
 out private study - 39 
 
 IX. We must not suffer an unbecoming 
 timidity to hinder us in the pursuit of 
 knowledge - - - 43 
 
CONTENTS. 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 X. We must accustom ourselves to writ- 
 ting much, and not suffer ourselves to 
 be led away by the desire of vain and 
 transitory popularity - - 46 
 
 XI. By what signs they who are likely 
 to rise to literary eminence may be 
 distinguished - - -52 
 
 XII. Youth is the time for exertion - 59 
 
 XIII. We must not suffer a moment to es- 
 cape us without profit - - 62 
 
 XIV. We must look to our own studies, 
 and not concern ourselves too much 
 about the progress of others - - 66 
 
 XV. We must not waste too much time 
 
 in sleep - - - - 70 
 
 XVI. What time is best adapted to study 75 
 
 XVII. On bodily exercise - - 78 
 
 XVIII. On slothfulness - - 87 
 
 XIX. Our recreative amusements should, 
 as far as possible, be rendered subser- 
 vient to the purposes of literature - 98 
 
 XX. Conclusion. - _ . . \\q 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 CAP. PAGE 
 
 I. Cujusmodi discendae sint artes - 125 
 
 II. Eloquentiae laus - - 134 
 
 III. De legum studio - - - 137 
 
 IV. De ratione docendi - - 140 
 
 V. Qua ratione captari debeat occasio 
 docendi - 143 
 
 VI. Docendi munus ob levem causam non 
 debere intermitti - - 149 
 
 VII. In docendi nihil celandum esse - 150 
 VIII. De docendi forma apud Peripateticos , 151 
 
 IX. Qua ratione vitare possis in scribendo 
 taedium - - - 153 
 
 X. Accurate notandum esse, si quid per 
 diem profeceris - - 159 
 
 XI. De exercitio corporis - - 161 
 
 XII. Mutandum esse subinde locum - 163 
 
 XIII. Studiosos debere esse liberos - 169 
 
ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA. 
 
 PAGE 2 line 1 for, and determined, read, and 
 
 next determined 
 
 6 — 5 for asserion, read, assertion 
 
 6 — 20 for word, read, work 
 
 11 — 3 for ist truly, read, it is truly 
 
 19 — 13 for ignorant, read, indolent 
 
 25 — G for i£ is sure, read, i£ is usually sure 
 
 27 — 14 for make, read, makes 
 
 36 — 10 for how more, read, hoiv much more 
 
 GO — 1 for oragr, read, Zo?^ 
 
 119 — 18 for distinctly views, read, it dis- 
 tinctly views 
 
 135 — — ( iei e no t e , postquam vero ad sum* 
 mum ventum erit, and insert it in 
 the text in place of the asterisk. 
 
ON STUDY. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 We must first of all, by a careful and impartial 
 estimation of our abilities,determine to what height 
 we can reasonably hope to aspire ; and then make 
 every exertion for its attainment. \ 
 
 Whenever any one wishes to rise to 
 literary distinction, he must not think 
 of accomplishing his purpose in a rash 
 and inconsiderate manner ; but having 
 first, after a close and impartial scrutiny 
 into the capabilities of his mental powers, 
 considered which of the arts or sciences 
 are best adapted to his capacity, and 
 
2 ON STUDY. 
 
 most congenial to his taste,, and deter- 
 mined to what extent he will proceed in 
 their attainment ; he must then rouse 
 every energy, and direct every effort of 
 I) is mind solely to the accomplishment of 
 the proposed object of his solicitude: 
 for in this way only, will he arrive at any 
 thing like distinction in those arts or 
 sciences which come within the scope of 
 his imagination. To what height the 
 young student intends to aspire, must of 
 course be left to his estimation of his 
 own abilities. For in a man of ordinary 
 talents, it is laudable to have attained by 
 industry and perseverance to a well 
 grounded reputation of mediocrity : it 
 is more laudable to be ranked with men 
 whose names have been the glory of their 
 1 ' «J m (t ivc eras ; but it is beyond all praise, 
 !<> pass beyond the station of the most 
 illustrious of ancient and modern times, 
 a,,(1 to obtain a firm footing upon a lofty 
 eminence of the mountain of literature 
 where no one has ever stood before you 
 id where in all probability, no one will 
 
ON STUDY. 6 
 
 ever venture to climb after you. The 
 first of these objects is easy of attainment. 
 The second is truly an arduous under- 
 taking; but should you even attempt 
 the last, you will, by men of little know- 
 ledge and circumscribed intellects., be 
 branded with the epithet of insane ; or 
 be accused of searching into secrets 
 which Nature never intended should be 
 known to any one but herself. 
 
 Let not however this discourage you : 
 for should you even endure the morti- 
 fication of failure, you are sure of ap- 
 probation ; since great attempts, al- 
 though unsuccessful, are most worthy of 
 praise. But with men of talent and 
 industry, there is little danger of defeat; 
 for since it is evident, that there have 
 been men, to the superiority of whose 
 genius the universal admiration of all 
 ages has borne testimony ; I maintain, 
 that it is in the power of men in the pre- 
 sent day, to surpass even those luminaries 
 themselves in the acquirements of science 
 
4 ON STUDY. 
 
 and literature.— Good God ! how mean, 
 how timid, how abject must be the con- 
 dition of that mind which can content it- 
 self with any thing like mediocrity ! On 
 the other hand, how noble must be the 
 elevation of that mind, which having sur- 
 mounted the loftiest pinnacle of the 
 temple of learning, can look down upon 
 the groveling earthworms, upon whom it 
 has trampled in its progress thither! 
 Upon that enviable eminence, more radi- 
 ant than the splendour of the mid-day 
 sun it shall shine, a glorious object to the 
 whole world ; till time itself shall have 
 consigned all human distinctions to an 
 eternal oblivion. Myriads of men, in 
 number countless as the sands on the 
 shores of the ocean, shall perpetuate the 
 memory of its possessor with heart-felt 
 "latitude and veneration. 
 
 Let me therefore exhort all whose 
 minds have been rendered susceptible of 
 the influence of literature, to determine 
 to what height they can reasonably hope 
 
ON STUDY. 
 
 to aspire; and then., in spite of any diffi- 
 culties they may encounter in their pro- 
 gress, to journey progressively and pa- 
 tiently onward,, till they find themselves 
 in full and secure possession of the ar- 
 dently wished for eminence. 
 
 To this end, then,, let us always con- 
 tinue to labour without intermission; 
 even though our labours be productive 
 of no fruit, no glory, no praise. Though 
 another may reach the goal before us ; 
 though another may be in possession 
 of the camp; still let not exertion be 
 wanting on our parts : for if, when we 
 expect to find our efforts crowned with 
 success, we should be disappointed, we 
 shall thus have the unspeakable satisfac- 
 tion of knowing, that, although from ad- 
 verse or unforeseen circumstances we 
 have not been able to command that suc- 
 cess, we have notwithstanding richly 
 deserved it. For my own part, when- 
 ever the desire of effecting a noble pur- 
 pose has enkindled a flame within my 
 
6 ON STUDV. 
 
 breast, such is my ardour, such my con- 
 fidence, that I had rather be torn in a 
 thousand pieces, (nor do I surpass the 
 bounds of truth, when I make the asser- 
 ion) than suffer my mind to relinquish 
 its object. 
 
 I am aware, that there are some who 
 will not only esteem it an act of presump- 
 tion, but as I have before said, of down- 
 right madness, to attempt to surpass the 
 works of the ancients in excellence ; for 
 say they, the writings of the ancients, 
 which have come down to us, though 
 comparatively few in number, and those 
 perhaps inferior to others, which have 
 perished ; are so elaborate, and at the 
 same time so perfect, that to add or 
 take away, to change or transpose one 
 word in the writings of any one of them, 
 would be to render the word so altered less 
 perfect and less admirable. And so in fact 
 it would ; yet since they were men of like 
 capacities with ourselves, it is but rea- 
 sonable to suppose, that we should be 
 
ON STUDY. *J 
 
 able at least to equal them. And since 
 the sun of science, which was in their day 
 but just dawning upon the horizon of li- 
 terature, has beamed upon us in its full 
 and meridian splendour ; it is but reason- 
 able to suppose, nay, it is disgraceful not 
 to suppose, that we may and ought infi- 
 nitely to surpass them ; and in my opini- 
 on, were the industry and perseverance 
 of man but equal to his capacity, there is 
 nothing upon earth beyond the power of 
 the human mind to accomplish. Should I 
 now be addressing any one who together 
 with this opinion, possesses the ability 
 requisite to demonstrate its correctness, 
 I will say of him, that a noble heart beats 
 within his breast, and he may truly say 
 of himself with Virgil of old 
 
 tentanda via est, qua me quoque possim 
 
 T ollere humo, victorque virum volitare per ora. 
 Primus ego in patriam mecum (modo vita supersit) 
 Aonio rediens deducam vertice Musas : 
 Primus Idumasas referam tibi, Mantua, palmas. 
 
 New ways I must attempt, my grov'ling name 
 To raise aloft, and wing my flight to fame. 
 
8 ON STUDY. 
 
 I, first of Romans, shall in triumph come 
 From conquer'd Greece, and bring her trophies 
 
 home, 
 With foreign spoils adorn my native place, 
 And with Idume's palms my Mantua grace. 
 
 The generality of mankind seem to 
 imagine that the chief thing to be studied 
 is, how to live voluptuously; and to this 
 end, they are continually on the alert 
 to pander to their vile passions and ap- 
 petites, without once considering that 
 each possesses a mind, which if culti- 
 vated with care and adorned with learn- 
 ing, is the most glorious of all the works 
 which have emanated from the great 
 Creator— a transcript of himself. I, for 
 my own part, do not see in what these 
 monsters of men differ from oxen, ex- 
 cept in having the gift of speech ; where- 
 as oxen only low : in every other respect 
 they perfectly resemble each other 
 They have fat, bloated faces-so have 
 < «en; a marked stupidity of countenance 
 -so have oxen; flabby unmeaning lips 
 -so have oxen ; they are always grovel- 
 
ON STUDY. 
 
 9 
 
 ing upon the earth looking out for fod- 
 der—so are oxen ; they drag along with 
 them monstrous bellies, which four or five 
 times a day they fill to repletion— so do 
 oxen. In short the resemblance is so 
 complete, that were it not for the afore- 
 mentioned gift of speech, a natural his- 
 torian would be fully justified in classing 
 them with that species. These animals, 
 (for men they cannot be called,) lull the 
 generous spirit which was born within 
 them, into a state of supiueness and 
 obscurity; and think nothing worthy 
 to be learned, but what may place 
 them on a level with a set of illiterate 
 companions, as low sunk in the scale of 
 sensuality as themselves. But come thou 
 more noble scion of man, whose soul is 
 on fire with enkindling ardour ;— I wish 
 not so much to excite mankind in ge- 
 neral, as to rouse the sons of genius from 
 their state of torpidity ;— come, I say, 
 let us behold the beauty of our minds, 
 and having beheld it, let us study to 
 adorn it; and having adorned it, let us 
 
10 ON STUDY. 
 
 glory in the ornaments; and knowing the 
 shortness of this our mortal life, let us 
 secure an immortality by building our- 
 selves a name which time itself cannot 
 efface. We are all sprung from celes- 
 tial seed, thither let us return whence 
 we derive our origin. Thus, as we be- 
 hold the rays of the sun descending upon 
 a certain space in the horizon, so shall 
 the rays of the divine mind shine upon 
 us : but unlike the natural orb, which 
 withdraws its beams, and for a time 
 leaves that space in darkness ; the 
 sun of knowledge shall enlighten us 
 through the whole of our career with in- 
 creasing splendour, and shall render us 
 glorious objects to all beholders. Let 
 us imitate the example of the lion, who, 
 being the most noble of beasts, is natu- 
 rally averse to society, and prefers the 
 gloomy solitude of the forest to the com- 
 pany of inferior animals. Let no one 
 acknowledge a greater than himself upon 
 earth, him only excepted, who of his 
 Omnipotence framed the universe. Let 
 
ON STUDY. 11 
 
 us purge our minds from fancy and vani- 
 ties^ and let nothing delight us but what 
 ist ruly great ; and thus whatever may be 
 the height of our ambition, we shall find 
 that difficulties will vanish at our touch, 
 and that there is nothing so arduous that 
 we shall not be able to conquer it. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 We must love our studies and despise luxury. 
 
 He who desires to enlist himself under 
 the banners of learning, must cheerfully 
 submit to labour as well by night as by 
 day. He must fly from luxury, wanton- 
 ness, and all other things which render the 
 mind effeminate, as he would from a 
 serpent : He must rather be willing to 
 sleep upon stones and bare floors than 
 upon a bed of down: He must accustom 
 himself to eat such food as is best cal- 
 culated to satisfy the cravings of nature; 
 without having regard to any of those 
 delicacies which only serve to pamper a 
 depraved appetite, and engender a taste 
 
ON STUDY. 13 
 
 for voluptuousness. In short, he must 
 consider all things, the more immediate 
 object of which is pleasure, in the sensual 
 acceptation of the word, as the greatest 
 enemies to himself and his pursuits, and 
 as such studiously avoid them. 
 
 Quisquis enim duros casus virtutis amore 
 Vicerit, ille sibi laudemque decusque parabit 
 At qui desidiam luxumque sequetur inertem 
 Turpis inopsque sirnul, miserabile transiget aevem. 
 
 He who contends with ills in virtue's name 
 Shall conquer; and acquire a glorious fame : 
 But him, who sunk in sloth and lux'ry lies, 
 The wise shall hate, and even fools despise ; 
 A fearful death his shameful life shall end, 
 And to the grave unwept he shall descend. 
 
 Nevertheless he must take every pos- 
 sible care of his bodily health, for with- 
 out that the mind will scarcely be able 
 to effect any thing of importance. He 
 must be more willing to stand, than to 
 sit at his ease; he must rather run, than 
 walk leisurely along the path marked 
 
 B 
 
14 ON STUDY. 
 
 out for him. Let him never lay the 
 weapons of his warfare out of his hands, 
 but exercise himself in the constant use 
 of them, for all these things add strength 
 to the body, and vigour to the mind ; for 
 as trees which stand exposed to the rude 
 blast of northern storms, are more hardy 
 than those which are sheltered from all 
 but the southern and western breezes, so 
 are we firmer and stronger when we have 
 to contend with adverse circumstances ; 
 or when greater exertion than usual is re- 
 quired, than when we live in a state of 
 uninterrupted prosperity, and are easily 
 enabled to obtain whatever we may wish 
 for. Our ability increases with our ex- 
 ertion, and decreases with the want of 
 it. Nor can any thing be truly great or 
 meritorious, which is not obtained by 
 the sweat of our brow. For so it was 
 ordained by the great Author of nature 
 himself, that we should not attain to ex- 
 cellence without the greatest diligence 
 on our own parts. Thus we find it to 
 be the case, that those things which are 
 
UN STUDY. 15 
 
 obtained without trouble, are for the 
 most part worthless in themselves, and 
 as such come to an inglorious end : be- 
 sides which, things easily acquired are 
 lightly esteemed, and eventually become 
 almost, if not altogether, useless to their 
 possessors. 
 
 If any one think that knowledge is to 
 be attained without labour, let him not 
 unite himself to our forces. For in this 
 our warfare, a greater degree of ar- 
 dour and a stricter discipline are neces- 
 sary, than the armies of other generals 
 are accustomed to exercise. Nor is this 
 at all unreasonable, for they contend 
 only for the sovereignty of some parti- 
 cular country, nay, perhaps their object 
 may be only the possession of some in- 
 significant city; but we grasp at the uni- 
 verse. They know that the honours 
 they have acquired, must, after the lapse 
 of a few years, irrecoverably perish; but 
 we limit our glory only by the end of the 
 world and the consummation of time. 
 
16 ON STUDY. 
 
 If then, the young recruit of litera- 
 ture be not willing to undergo this 
 discipline, and encounter these difficul- 
 ties, let him withdraw himself from our 
 bands, and let him remain, as he ever 
 will remain, an useless burden to the 
 community. Socrates, the wisest of 
 all the ancient philosophers, was accus- 
 tomed to say, that the root of learning 
 was certainly bitter,but the fruit was truly 
 delicious ; and that although the culti- 
 vation of that root required more dili- 
 gence and exertion than ordinary, the 
 produce of the tree would amply repay 
 the labour and anxiety of the husband- 
 man. Therefore, whoever thou art, 
 whose breast glows with the desire of ac- 
 quiring knowledge; whose mind is fired 
 with the love of glory; banish far from 
 thee all effeminacy, levity, indifference, 
 voluptuousness, and whatever may tend 
 to extinguish the ardour of thy soul. 
 The path we tread is truly a rugged one. 
 Rugged, did I say? yea, we are borne 
 onward across rocks, over precipices, 
 
ON STUDY. 
 
 17 
 
 through fires. Let it delight us to en- 
 counter the Scyllae, the Syrtes, the Cha- 
 rybdes of the ocean of literature. If there 
 be any thing in the world more formid- 
 able than ordinary,, let us immediately 
 attack it^ with a determination to con- 
 quer : for the bolder the attempt the 
 greater will be the glory. 
 
 Should we even fail in the attempt,, 
 many places of refuge are open to those 
 who have been vanquished in an ho- 
 nourable cause, and that is our country., 
 which virtue and fortitude have chosen 
 as the place of their habitation. But 
 there is ■ no danger of defeat, if our 
 courage and perseverance are only 
 equal to our strength. Fortune herself 
 has pointed out the path to victory, and 
 it is our own fault if we suffer the 
 favourable opportunity to pass disre- 
 garded. 
 
 Methinks I hear some one exclaim, 
 cc the harshness of your precepts is 
 
18 ON STUDV. 
 
 alone sufficient to deter any one from 
 entering upon a path so confessedly 
 difficult as that of learning." To the in- 
 dolent and unthinking, I confess they 
 must appear disagreeable ; but to him 
 whose aim is glory, I trust it will prove 
 an additional excitement : for the greater 
 the difficulty of obtaining the prize, the 
 sweeter the enjoyment when in posses- 
 sion of it. Let the young student bear 
 in mind, that although prosperity may 
 make him happy, adversity alone can 
 render him truly great. Alexander, 
 though a youth, by fortitude and perse- 
 verance in the midst of difficulties and 
 dangers, was enabled with a very small 
 army to render even the most powerful 
 monarchs tributary to himself, and 
 eventually to reduce the whole of the 
 then known world under his dominion. 
 And shall Ave, whose field of exertion is 
 BO much more extensive, submit to be 
 extinguished for ever without honour, 
 without remembrance, ' A * g »h s fa v fe*- 
 **&!, without having done any thing 
 
ON STUDY. 19 
 
 like men? Pliny, if I remember rightly, 
 somewhere says, that Pompey the Great, 
 in a short time subjected eight hundred 
 cities of Spain to the Roman yoke, not- 
 withstanding they were for the most 
 part so situated amongst the Alps and 
 in other mountainous districts, as to 
 render them almost impregnable : shall 
 we then idly shrink from a contest 
 which promises us so easy a victory? 
 Truly the common proverb ff That 
 learned men are of all others the most 
 ignorant/' does not seem to be alto- 
 gether void of foundation, if they thus 
 neglect to seize and improve the ad- 
 vantages which are open to them. It is 
 not enough to know that we possess 
 sufficient strength to overcome all ob- 
 stacles, but we must exert that strength 
 and wage war with impediments, for in 
 no other way can we hope to conquer 
 them. Again I say, let them depart 
 from amongst us who prefer their own 
 ease to this our inflexible discipline and 
 unremitting perseverance. We shall 
 
20 ON STUDY. 
 
 think our labours amply rewarded if we 
 obtain the approbation and excite the 
 energies of those who are willing to 
 enter the lists with us against indolence, 
 luxury, and dissipation, and to contend 
 with us for glory in this our arduous and 
 honourable enterprize. 
 
 Let us unite ourselves, and mutually 
 assist each other : and who is there pos- 
 sessed of a disposition so self-interested, 
 and a mind so devoid of humanity, as 
 not to desire to help those who endea- 
 vour to assist him? let us reject every 
 thing which is vulgar and effeminate ; 
 and let us keep our minds intently fixed 
 upon the noble monument upon which 
 we wish to have our deeds indelibly en- 
 graven. But are we doing this whilst 
 we waste the flower of our age in vain 
 pleasures and debasing indulgences? 
 ( !ertainlx*iot. What a man sows, that 
 also he may expect to reap randif we thus, 
 1,1 th <* time of youth, foster the seeds of 
 toxury and indolence, we may expect 
 
ON STUDY. 21 
 
 in our old age, to reap a plentiful harvest 
 of disease and contempt. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 We must never despair. 
 
 If we should not find our efforts 
 crowned with success so soon as we may 
 wish ; or if the difficulties we may have 
 to contend with prove greater than we 
 had at first reason to expect ; we must 
 not on either of these accounts be de- 
 terred from our pursuits. If in our 
 ascent, we should fall headlong a thou- 
 sand times, we must begin to climb 
 again every time more ardently, and fly 
 to the summit with recruited vigour. 
 Alexander, a man with whom difficulties 
 were only fresh excitements to action 
 having invaded a country, came to a 
 
ON STUDY. 23 
 
 rocky mountain of such stupendous 
 height and magnitude, that his troops 
 were obliged to halt, till a place could 
 be found, through which they might be 
 enabled to pass. Amongst these preci- 
 pitous and almost inaccessible heights, a 
 number of the princes of the surround- 
 ing country had taken refuge together, 
 hoping that the conqueror would either 
 be killed, or, being satiated with con- 
 quest, no longer desirous of extending 
 his empire. Some of these meeting 
 with the soldiers, whom Alexander had 
 commissioned to explore the mountain, 
 jocularly enquired of thern, whether 
 their monarch could fly well ? This 
 saying was reported to Alexander, who 
 not at all approving the jest, but eager 
 to seize even the most trivial opportu- 
 nity of stimulating his men to victory, 
 exclaimed, Nature has made nothing so 
 difficult of ascent, that determination 
 and bravery are not able to reach its 
 summit ! . Having said this he promised 
 to rew ard the man who should first gain 
 
24 ON STUDY. 
 
 the top, with ten talents, the second with 
 nine, the third with eight, the fourth with 
 seven, and so on to the tenth, to whom 
 he promised one. This had the desired 
 effect, and he had almost immediately 
 the satisfaction of seeing his whole 
 army upon the summit of that rock, 
 which a few hours before was deemed 
 insurmountable. 
 
 Let no one be dejected, if he is not 
 conscious of any great advantage at first. 
 For as we know, that the hour-hand of 
 a timepiece moves progressively onward, 
 notwithstanding we cannot discern its 
 momentary motion ; and as we see trees 
 and herbs increase and grow to ma- 
 turity, although we are not able to per- 
 ceive their hourly progress; so do we 
 know that genius, although its transi- 
 tions be imperceptible at the moment of 
 observation, is sure in its advancement. 
 The merchant thinks himself happy if 
 after a ten years voyage, after a thousand 
 dangers, he at length improves his for- 
 
ON STUDY. 25 
 
 tune ; and shall we, like poor-spirited 
 creatures, give up all hopes after the 
 first onset? No ! let us rather adopt 
 this as our maxim, that whatever the 
 mind has commanded itself to do, it is 
 sure of obtaining its purpose. 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 We must think lightly of riches. 
 
 Most unadvisedly do they complain, 
 who contend that poverty is too often 
 the companion of literature; and insinu- 
 ate, that when once a man has given 
 himself up to the study of letters, for- 
 tune and he have turned their backs on 
 each other. With any one seriously 
 and ardently devoted to learning-, this 
 argument, even allowing it to be true, 
 will have but little weight ; or if it have 
 any, it will preponderate in favour of li- 
 terature and science. There is nothing 
 better adapted, nothing more necessary 
 to distinction than a moderate fortune ; 
 
ON STUDY. 27 
 
 nay, I had almost said than penury it- 
 self: for from this source have sprung all 
 those arts and inventions which enhance 
 the comfort and promote the happiness 
 of mankind. Necessity is the mother 
 of invention ; nor is there any thing 
 more calculated to sharpen the inge- 
 nuity and excite the industry of man, 
 than poverty. And how much more 
 honour is there due to him who has 
 raised himself as it were from the dust 
 to eminence, than to him upon whom 
 fortune has lavishly showered her richest 
 gifts; but who make no other use of 
 them, than to riot in extravagance, and 
 drown his talents in oblivion. The- 
 ocritus has well remarked, iC That as 
 strong and active bodies are entirely 
 useless to men, who, together with phy- 
 sical strength, possess indolent and lan- 
 guid minds ; so it is no detriment to a 
 man to be of low estate, if he possess a 
 soul ambitious of distinction and deter- 
 mine to use every effort to gain it." 
 The gifts of fortune and the bodily en- 
 
28 ON STUDY. 
 
 dowments of Nature soon vanish away ; 
 but the beauty of mental excellence is 
 eternal. We ourselves have seen men 
 of distinguished rank in society, who 
 have diffused their wealth around them 
 with a liberal hand, and largely contri- 
 buted to increase the comforts and ad- 
 vance the welfare of those who stood in 
 need of their assistance; yet since this 
 was their only excellence, they have 
 descended into the grave, lamented only 
 by a few dependents upon their bounty, 
 and their riches together with their good 
 name have perished with them. 
 
 I for my own part, am always afraid 
 lest the possession of a few vile pieces 
 of metal should so occupy my mind, as 
 to blunt the desire of study, and render 
 literary pursuits less enjoyed and es- 
 teemed. Nevertheless I do not deny 
 that a moderate income is necessary, not 
 only to the comfort but also to the sup- 
 port of our existence. Nor do I con- 
 demn the possession of a large fortune, 
 
ON STUDY. 29 
 
 only as it too often unfits the mind for 
 study, and disposes the owner to luxury 
 rather than to excellence. For so it 
 generally happens,, that those things 
 which are productive of pleasure to the 
 mind, are inimical to the welfare of the 
 body; and on the other hand, those 
 which are productive of pleasure to 
 the body, are inimical to the welfare of 
 the mind. In my opinion,, it amounts 
 almost to a contradiction, that a man 
 should be at the same time learned and 
 rich. And hence it is,, that we so sel- 
 dom see persons,, whom rank and for- 
 tune have rendered illustrious, in the com- 
 mon acceptation of the term, effect any 
 thing worthy of being handed down to 
 posterity 
 
 There is another evil attending this 
 inordinate desire of gain, which though 
 it operates indirectly upon the mind of 
 the youthful student, often operates but 
 too surely, viz. an expectation on the part 
 of his parents or friends that he should 
 
30 ON STUDY. 
 
 acquire riches. Indeed so far does this 
 principle, or rather want of it, sometimes 
 lead parents, that they would rather 
 choose that their children should be 
 guilty of perjury or murder, than not 
 know how to hoard money, however 
 disgraceful their methods of acquiring it. 
 
CHAP. V, 
 
 The student must be desirous of praise. 
 
 It is a great and certain sign of future 
 excellence when any one is urged on- 
 ward in the pursuit of knowledge, by the 
 praise given to some noble achievement 
 which he may have performed in science 
 or literature. Nor is it a less favour- 
 able sign, to be grieved, and incited to 
 loftier aims, upon finding ourselves re- 
 proved or surpassed by another. For, 
 as Ovid observes, glory inspires the soul 
 with new vigour, and renders the ima- 
 gination more productive, and its ideas 
 more brilliant. He, therefore, who as- 
 pires to lofty things must be passionately 
 
S2 ON STUDY. 
 
 fond of glory. And indeed,, the most 
 profound erudition, without a love of ap- 
 plause, will be able to effect but little ; and 
 in like manner the love of applause with- 
 out erudition, will be found even worse 
 than useless. The one must act in con- 
 cert with the other, and they will thus 
 together be found sufficient for the per- 
 formance of those things, which separ- 
 ately, they would not be able to ac- 
 complish. 
 
CHAP. VL 
 
 By what means knowledge is to be attained. 
 
 Thus have the first qualities, indis- 
 pensably requisite in a youth devoted to 
 study, been mentioned. He must aim 
 at the highest points; he must love la- 
 bour; he must never despair; he must 
 despise riches; he must be passionately 
 fond of applause. It now remains, that 
 we prescribe the methods most likely to 
 effect his purpose, and smooth the path 
 to excellence. There are then, three 
 gradations in the modes of study ; hear- 
 ing, teaching and writing. It is a 
 good and easy method to hear ; it is 
 
34 ON STUDY. 
 
 better and more easy to teach; but it is 
 the best and most easy to write. The 
 first of these methods I do not hesitate 
 to pronounce the most difficult. For to 
 me there is nothing' more disagreeable 
 than to sit and hear a dull lecture, 
 though it last but for an hour; and the 
 cause of this weariness is, that it is tedi- 
 ous to confine the liberty of thought to 
 the voice of the reader ; but when we 
 teach or write, the very exercise itself 
 precludes all tasdium. 
 
 Young men have often been fright- 
 ened by the difficult and uninteresting la- 
 bours thus imposed upon them to no 
 purpose; naturally enough concluding-, 
 that if the commencemen t of their literary 
 career be so harsh and unpleasing, their 
 progress will be infinitely more rugged 
 and intolerable; so rather than enter the 
 lists with such formidable opponents, 
 they give up their studies altogether. 
 It is therefore the duty of tutors, to ad- 
 monish their pupils, that difficulties only 
 
ON STUDY, 35 
 
 occur at their outset in learning; and 
 that when they have once overcome 
 these^ the remainder of their path will be 
 found smooth and delightful. But be- 
 fore we proceed farther on this subject, 
 we will venture an opinion concerning 
 solitary study. 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 On solitary study. 
 
 Solitary study, in which almost all 
 students waste away their time at home, 
 is of all other methods the least pleasing, 
 and at the same time the least profitable. 
 It is certain to produce great weariness 
 both of mind and body, and it is also 
 certain to blunt rather than to sharpen 
 the powers of the imagination, so that 
 little fruit is to be expected from it ; be- 
 sides how more delightful is it to study 
 an author in company with another than 
 by ourselves. It is truly astonishing 
 l«>w much clearer and more forcible our 
 ideas upon any subject are, in the pre- 
 
ON STUDY. 37 
 
 sence and with the assistance of a second 
 person; so much so indeed,, that if you 
 read in company with any one who is 
 competent to give his opinion upon the 
 subject under consideration,, all difficul- 
 ties at once unravel themselves, and you 
 are plainly enabled to perceive, what, 
 had you been alone, you might have 
 puzzled over in a state of drowsy 
 stupidity, till you had either imagined 
 the stumbling block too great for you 
 to pass over, or thrown down your book 
 in a fit of desperation and disgust. 
 
 Let me therefore recommend the 
 young student, to select a companion 
 whose habit and inclinations are in a 
 great degree consonant to his own ; tak- 
 ing: care not to choose him merely for 
 
 O ml 
 
 his companionable qualities, as they are 
 commonly called, but for his love of 
 learning, and sterling worth. With the 
 aid of such an one, he may fearlessly en- 
 counter even the most appalling diffi- 
 
 D 
 
38 ON STUDY. 
 
 cultieSj and that under such advantages 
 as cannot fail to excite additional energy 
 both in himself and his fellow-labourer, 
 and ultimately lead both to victory and 
 honour. 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Hearing lectures of little use, without private 
 
 study. 
 
 There are some men who maintain, 
 that a daily attendance upon a public 
 lecture, for a couple of hours, is sufficient 
 for the ordinary purposes of a student, 
 provided he take care to rehearse and 
 digest at home what he has previously 
 heard in the lecture room. But surely 
 they who talk thus are miserably defi- 
 cient in learning, if not in intellect. 
 For setting aside the carelessness too 
 frequently observed in students, when 
 attending the lectures of a professor; 
 what memory can retain the whole of 
 the discourse delivered by him, in so 
 
40 ON STUDY. 
 
 perfect a manner, as to enable a young- 
 man, (should he be so inclined,) to 
 treasure it up in his mind, so as to pre- 
 clude the possibility of its being for- 
 gotten. An opinion like this, even al- 
 lowing it to be true, is highly pernicious 
 and utterly subversive of every excite- 
 ment to distinction. For young men 
 (at all times too prone to inaction and 
 dissipation,) would spend the remainder 
 of the day in luxury, sleep, idle loung- 
 ing, or the rehearsal of empty and fabu- 
 lous stories, to the exclusion of that serious 
 meditation which ought to characterize 
 a candidate for literary honours. Sup- 
 pose some one had advised Alexander 
 the Great, when he had first conquered 
 a city, to lay aside all thoughts of fu- 
 ture conquest ; and, having adorned the 
 recently subdued place with every kind 
 of magnificence, to fix his residence 
 there, and spend the remainder of his 
 days in the enjoyment of the fruits of his 
 victory. Would not the monarch, as 
 well, as posterity, have considered the 
 
ON STUDY. 41 
 
 person so advising him, beyond all 
 doubt, a madman? And why should 
 they be considered less mad, who per- 
 suade the youthful literary adventurer 
 to be satisfied with an insignificant ac- 
 quisition, and to waste the greater part 
 of his life in false and pernicious plea- 
 sures. Let the student be assured, that 
 conduct like this, will never raise him to 
 eminence : this is not the way by which 
 learned men have arrived at knowledge. 
 Had Alexander been contented with the 
 conquest of a paltry town, he had never 
 subdued the world; and if we are satis- 
 fied with attainments, perhaps scarcely 
 worth the trouble of acquiring, we must 
 give up all thoughts of becoming either 
 learned or wise. But Alexander was 
 aware that he had a world within his 
 grasp; nor did he rest satisfied till he 
 had rendered himself master of it. We 
 too have a world to win still more ex- 
 tensive than the one subdued; and a 
 cause to contend for still more honour- 
 able than that of an usurper. Let us 
 
42 on studv. 
 
 then with all our might, lay siege to 
 every strong-hold in nature ; nor desist 
 from the attack, sooner than we have 
 rendered ourselves victors. 
 
 O thou careless and unthinking youth, 
 would that I could rouse thee from thy 
 lethargy of indolence and forgetfulness ; 
 and inflame thee with a desire of glory ! 
 How long wilt thou adopt the per- 
 nicious maxim, that by spending an hour 
 in study, thou may'st be permitted to pass 
 the remainder of the day in luxury and 
 indolence. Spurn at once advice so de- 
 structive of thy welfare, and adopt in its 
 stead this precept—That, whatever by 
 diligence and hard study, thou may'st 
 have acquired, that freely impart to 
 others; and so shalt thou establish thy- 
 self upon a sure foundation, and become 
 
 blessing to those around thee. 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 We must not suffer an unbecoming timidity to 
 hinder us in the pursuit of knowledge. 
 
 There are some men so exceedingly 
 bashful, that if they meet with anything 
 more than ordinarily difficult in their 
 studies, they are afraid to ask their tu- 
 tor to explain it ; and by this false mo- 
 desty are often kept from knowledge, of 
 which it is indispensable that they should 
 form the clearest ideas. They say to 
 themselves, — cc with what countenance 
 shall we venture to ask a professor for an 
 explanation of that, which, to him, is 
 doubtless perfectly easy and familiar V 3 
 Thus, by suffering a false sense of mo- 
 
44 ON STUDY. 
 
 desty to get the better of their resolution, 
 they waste not only hours, or days, or 
 weeks, but the most valuable part of 
 their whole lives, and with it every hope 
 which should animate their future con- 
 duct. Their own reason would inform 
 them, did they but give themselves the 
 trouble to inquire of it, that it is incon- 
 sistent with sound sense, to suppose a 
 student possessed of that knowledge in- 
 tuitively, which he comes to the univer- 
 sity for the express purpose of gaining ; 
 and consequently, that it is no disgrace, 
 but the mark of an inquiring mind, to 
 ask of another what they themselves are 
 not able to comprehend without ex- 
 planation. 
 
 Let me therefore exhort young men, 
 not to waste a moment over any diffi- 
 culty which may impede their progress; 
 but let them rather freely apply for the 
 assistance of their tutor, which, if he be 
 a liberal and enlightened man will be 
 as freely given. I do not however mean 
 
ON STUDY. 45 
 
 that they should continually embarrass 
 him with frivolous and unmeaning ques- 
 tions,, for it is a great hindrance to men 
 of learning to be thus interrupted ; but 
 that they should in as few words as pos- 
 sible request his assistance where there 
 is an absolute necessity for it. If he 
 happen not to be at liberty just at the 
 moment, state your difficulty to any 
 other person capable of giving you the 
 requiste information ; for it matters not 
 by whose treasures we increase our own 
 resources. Think not then, that it 
 can possibly lessen you in the estimation 
 of others,, that you stand in need of their 
 assistance. Rather bear in mind, that 
 unless you indefatigably seize and im- 
 prove every opportunity afforded you of 
 increasing your knowledge, you must 
 never expect to reap any fruit from your 
 exertions. 
 
CHAP. X. 
 
 We must accustom ourselves to writing much, 
 and not suffer ourselves to be led away by the de- 
 sire of a vain and transitory popularity. 
 
 One of the most valuable helps which 
 the young student can possibly have to 
 aid him in the pursuit of knowledge is, 
 diligently and faithfully to commit to 
 paper the transactions of every day, 
 during his literary career. And indeed, 
 he will never think the time so occupied 
 wasted, should he continue the practice 
 throughout the whole of his life. Let 
 him not only be careful to note down 
 the more striking events which may fall 
 under his observation; but let him also 
 
ON STUDY. 47 
 
 record even the more trivial occurrences 
 of the day. Let him not only mark the 
 nature and progess of his studies, but 
 also his ideas, his conversations with 
 others, his anxieties, the state of his 
 mind, the state of his bodily health, his 
 expences; in short, whatever he may 
 see, whatever he may hear, whatever he 
 may have acquired, whatever he may 
 stand in need of, ought to be written 
 down, and constantly referred to. He 
 will speedily find that this practice will 
 lead him to a more correct knowledge 
 both of himself and others, than any other 
 which he could adopt. Even when he 
 shall have arrived at a considerable pro- 
 ficiency in learning, let him think, that 
 he has only acquired so much additional 
 knowledge during the day, as he has com- 
 mitted to writing at its close. This 
 method has also another advantage, in- 
 dependent of the facility with which it will 
 enable him to gain knowledge; it will 
 give him a solid and manly habit of 
 thinking and reasoning : for he will be 
 
48 ON STUDY. 
 
 ashamed to find any article in his diary, 
 of a puerile nature, or any arguments 
 which may appear inconclusive or illogi- 
 cal. 
 
 There are some men who value them- 
 selves so much upon their talent of 
 speaking extempore, that they disdain 
 to commit their ideas to writing for the 
 purpose of previous study. But ex- 
 amples of this kind are rather to be 
 avoided than imitated. For let the sub- 
 stance of an unpremeditated, long winded 
 speech of two or three hours duration 
 be reduced to writing, and then be sub- 
 jected to the test of criticism; whatever 
 may have been the applause bestowed 
 upon the speaker by an illiterate audi- 
 ence, the man of learning will be induced 
 to smile at his ignorance and want of 
 method. Should the young student be 
 gifted by nature with a ready flow of 
 language, let him not think for a mo- 
 ment of risking his literary reputation 
 upon this unstable foundation. For it 
 
ON STUDY. 49 
 
 is generally the case., that men who can 
 at any time secure the applause of an in- 
 considerate mob, by the fluency of their 
 speech and the harmony of their periods, 
 never venture to display their ideas 
 upon paper ; or if they do, it is with the 
 certainty of bringing upon themselves 
 a torrent of ridicule and contempt. 
 Nor indeed, is it reasonable to expect 
 from them any thing but mere empty 
 sounds, for they are so taken up with the 
 admiration of the delightful melody of 
 their own voices, that they have no time 
 to consider whether they are giving vent 
 to sense or nonsense. Let the tyro bear 
 in mind that the splendid orations of 
 Demosthenes and Cicero, were the re- 
 sults of previous meditation, and severe 
 study ; and we have no reason to expect 
 that they should be surpassed in the pre- 
 sent day by the unpremeditated effusion 
 of illiterate quacks or infatuated schisma- 
 tics. I am not here going to insinuate 
 that it is not a valuable attainment to be 
 
 E 
 
50 ON STUDY. 
 
 able to express ourselves happily and be- 
 comingly. On the contrary,, I should be 
 the first to pay the warmest tribute of 
 admiration to eloquence, when united 
 with learning and sound judgment. My 
 object is to guard the student against the 
 example of those men who are so ar- 
 dently devoted to the gratification of their 
 darling passion, that they greedily seize 
 upon every opportunity of holding forth 
 even in the streets and high ways, upon 
 subjects of great importance and no im- 
 portance, in season and out of season ; 
 despising the acquisition of the sciences 
 and the belles lettres, for no other rea- 
 son, than that the shallowness of their 
 capacities cannot either comprehend or 
 retain them. I do not recollect a single 
 instance, of a man rising to eminence as 
 an author, who was ambitious of becom- 
 ing a florid and poetical speaker, with- 
 out regard to that solidity and depth of 
 judgment which always characterize the 
 true orator. Indeed no one can ever 
 become eloquent, without first becoming 
 
ON STUDY. 51 
 
 learned. Let us then despise this puerile 
 fame, and fix our minds upon attaining 
 those things which will render our 
 names imperishable. To this end let us 
 bear in mind that — Ofa asi %os &$$#> wizvk 
 xtofa — "We must build our nests whilst it 
 « is yet summer/' For if we neglect so to 
 do, the winter of life will come upon us 
 unexpectedly, and we shall be left house- 
 less and exposed to the storms of ridi- 
 cule, which will be showered upon us 
 with unrelenting and unmitigated fury, 
 by those very men who applauded our 
 youthful vanities, and pampered us with 
 deceitful expectations of future import- 
 ance. 
 
CHAP. XI. 
 
 By what signs they, who are likely to rise to li- 
 terary eminence, may be distinguished. 
 
 There are in all men,, certain indica- 
 tions, as well of conduct as of ability, 
 by which we may be enabled to form a 
 pretty correct judgment as to the profi- 
 ciency they are likely to make in the ac- 
 quistion of learning. For the better un- 
 derstanding of which prognostics, I shall 
 divide those in whom they are most con- 
 spicuous, into three different gradations. 
 The lowest class consists of those, who 
 are attached to their studies, yet set aside 
 a considerable portion of their time, in 
 which to enjoy the pleasures of the table, 
 
ON STUDY. 53 
 
 the ball-room, the theatre, or any other 
 gratification or amusement which chance 
 may throw in their way. Men of this 
 class I would denominate lovers of 
 learning and lovers of pleasure. The 
 next class consists of those who are so 
 devoted to literature, that it is with diffi- 
 culty they can be prevailed on to quit 
 their darling studies, even for the pur- 
 pose of satisfying the cravings of nature; 
 much less can they be induced to relin- 
 quish their literary pursuits, be it for ever 
 so short a time, for the sake of the gratifi- 
 cation of empty amusements, or vain and 
 unprofitable conversations. Men of this 
 class, I would describe as ardent loveis 
 of literature, and contemners of what- 
 ever may have a tendency to lessen their 
 ardour. The remaining class, consists 
 of men who despising the length and 
 ruggedness of the way, and the horror 
 of the darkness amidst which they are 
 groping onward, rise with the sun to 
 prosecute their journey with renewed 
 vigour, nor rest from their labours till 
 
54 ON STUDY. 
 
 nature and the midnight bell have 
 warned them, that the body as well as 
 the mind requires a temporary cessation 
 from exertion. These men I would call 
 downright enthusiasts. 
 
 Having thus described the gradations 
 before alluded to, I will proceed to ex- 
 amine the probability which each class 
 has of arriving at distinction. 
 
 The first mentioned class comprises 
 by far the greater portion of the literary 
 world. And they who compose it, may 
 generally be distinguished by the ardour 
 with which they enter into any pursuit, 
 whether of study or amusement ; either 
 of which is to them a matter of perfect 
 indifference; for they are equally fond of 
 both, and pursue both with a consider- 
 able degree of vigour and vigilance. 
 The greatest bar to the progress of these 
 men, is, the loss of that time, which, by 
 setting it apart for pleasure, they volun- 
 tarily and deliberately waste; and this 
 
ON STUDY. 55 
 
 alone is sufficient to prevent them from 
 gaining any thing above mediocrity. 
 If they spend half their time in incon- 
 siderate gratifications and amusements, 
 they must be content with half the learn- 
 ing they would otherwise have gained. 
 For it is unreasonable to expect that any 
 one should attain to a greater degree of 
 knowledge than is proportionate to the 
 time spent in its acquisition. 
 
 We will now proceed to the consider- 
 ation of the next class. This,, as has 
 been before observed, consists of men 
 who are ardently devoted to learning. 
 They enter upon their journey with 
 diligence, and a determination to sur- 
 mount all difficulties which they may 
 have to encounter. They look neither 
 to the right hand nor to the left, but 
 keep their eyes steadily fixed upon the 
 goal to which they are hastening; at 
 which, as a matter of course, they are 
 sure to arrive, in spite of every obstruc- 
 tion. 
 
56 ON STUDV. 
 
 They who form the third class, are for 
 the most part men on whom nature has 
 bestowed a fine genius; and who can- 
 not on that account brook the tortoise 
 pace of the class beforementioned, whose 
 object is rather to make sure their steps, 
 than to proceed too rapidly. It is sel- 
 that these men effect much, because the 
 motive by which they are stimulated to 
 exertion is generally a bad one, viz. to 
 arrive at that degree of eminence in a 
 short time, which others esteem easily 
 acquired at the expence of years of la- 
 bour and anxiety. They wish to seize 
 on all the treasures of learning without 
 delay, and as they generally find them- 
 selves disappointed, it is often the case, 
 that from the exercise of intense labour 
 and sleepless anxiety, they sink down 
 into a state of apathy and indolence, 
 from which they seldom attempt to 
 rouse themselves; and thus, they em- 
 brace only the shadow of learning, 
 without ever being able to grasp the 
 substance. 
 
ON STUDY. 57 
 
 There is yet another class of persons 
 in the literary world, viz. that of the 
 habitually indolent and unthinking, who 
 imagine that they have made a sufficient 
 attainment in learning, if they pin their 
 faith upon the sleeve of some wretched 
 dogmatist— a degree removed from them- 
 selves. But as men of this class are too 
 contemptible to occupy our attention 
 more than for a moment, we shall pass 
 over them as beneath our notice. 
 
 I now recommend to the young stu- 
 dent to enrol himself in the second of 
 the abovementioned classes, as being 
 the one most likely to raise him to emi- 
 nence. For whilst the first contents itself 
 with such exertion only, as is calculated to 
 raise its members to a kind of mediocrity ; 
 and whilst the third by the exercise of 
 an injudicious zeal defeats its own in- 
 tentions; the second will be found to 
 maintain a rational medium between 
 both ; uniting in itself the vigour of the 
 first, without its unjustifiable waste of 
 
58 ON STUDY. 
 
 time, and the zeal of the third without 
 its enthusiastic indiscretion. 
 
CHAP. XII. 
 
 Youth is the time for exertion. 
 
 Nothing is more favourable to our 
 entrance upon the field of literature., than 
 youth. With a mind eager in the pursuit 
 of knowledge, thoroughly imbued with 
 a love of learning, and determined at 
 all events to acquire it; what is thereto 
 obstruct the tyro in the accomplishment 
 of his most honourable enterprise? O 
 happy youth, how often do I envy the pli- 
 ability of thy limbs, the ruddy glow of 
 health which blooms upon thy cheeks, 
 thy progress along the path of life, the 
 greater part of which, is by thee as yet 
 unexplored and untrodden : but above 
 
60 ON STUDY. 
 
 all, the hope which the promise of a ong 
 life holds out to thee, of ranking thyself 
 amongst the illustrious of the earth ! — Or 
 perhaps, I should rather have exclaimed, 
 O unhappy man, who hast foolishly wast- 
 ed the best of thy years in folly and im- 
 prudence ! — Would that it could be given 
 to me, I will not say to exchange places 
 with thee, but to return to my former 
 state of youth and activity ! With what 
 delight should I again occupy my seat 
 in the school, and listen to the precepts 
 of my instructor ! Never more would I 
 waste the precious moments in play or 
 indolence! No! I would rather endea- 
 vour to distinguish myself above others 
 by increasing diligence and unwearied 
 application. But in vain I thus com- 
 plain that my years are rapidly drawing 
 to a close— -in vain I prefer such prayers 
 —in vain my tears flow— the time is 
 gdne, never, ah never to return. W T hat 
 little space yet remains between me and 
 the tomb, I will regard, not as so many 
 years, but as so many victories gained 
 
ON STUDY, 61 
 
 over the ruthless combatant,, Time. May 
 such be the conduct of all those, the 
 more valuable part of whose life has pas- 
 sed away without fruit. But O ye youths, 
 who are just entered upon the great 
 stage of human existence — if ye possess 
 minds — if ye would wish to distinguish 
 yourselves — if ye would desire to enjoy 
 the delicious fruits of labour, learn to 
 place a just value upon time. O that 
 the flower of my age might again re- 
 turn ! What hopes would stimulate me 
 to exertion ! What ardour would glow 
 within my breast ! But, alas, even whilst 
 I have been indulging in vain wishes, 
 the time has passed away ! Let me then 
 exhort you, as ye hope not to live with- 
 out honour, nor to die without remem- 
 brance, cheerfully to submit to labour- 
 seek it — let the soul pant after it — rush 
 fearlessly upon it. Fortitude and perse- 
 verance will conquer all things. 
 
CHAP. XIII. 
 
 We must not suffer a moment to escape us 
 without profit. 
 
 The proper cultivation of time is of 
 such a vast importance, that without it 
 it is impossible for any one, however 
 great his talents, to acquire the reputa- 
 tion of being either learned or wise. 
 The mind of man is a garden which pro- 
 vidence has bestowed upon him to cul- 
 tivate, and if he be not diligent to mark 
 the times and seasons proper for plant- 
 ing and bringing to perfection the vari- 
 ous fruits and flowers peculiar to its soil; 
 he will find that weeds will spring up of 
 their own accord, and not only retard 
 
ON STUDY. 63 
 
 the growth of the more valuable plants,, 
 but eventually destroy the plants them- 
 selves. So that instead of delighting 
 the eye of him who looks upon it, by its 
 beauty and fertility^ it will present no- 
 thing but the harsh aspect of a barren 
 wilderness. Time is continually on the 
 wingj and when once past can never be 
 recovered. Let me then exhort the stu- 
 dent upon no account to suffer a mo- 
 ment to pass him without improvement. 
 The life of man is made up of moments^ 
 and the fruit thus momentarily gathered^ 
 will in the lapse of years amount to a 
 noble and imperishable possession. 
 
 I would even recommend the im- 
 provement of the hours usually devoted 
 to sleep. I need not inform him who is 
 alive to the fascinations of study^ that 
 there are hours when the activity of the 
 mind renders slumber impossible. Let 
 not these be wasted^ but let the student 
 have at hand^ tablets on which he may 
 note down whatever ideas and observa- 
 
64 ON STUDY. 
 
 tions may enter his mind,, and let him 
 retranscribe them by daylight. The 
 greater part of this treatise was actually 
 thus written : and by this means, a con- 
 siderable portion of our time which is 
 usually lost, might be rendered not only 
 eminently productive, but highly in- 
 teresting. 
 
 Should any one court your society, 
 who is more desirous to embrace the 
 follies and vanities of youth, than to ex- 
 cel in literary pursuits ; avoid his com- 
 pany and fly immediately to your studies : 
 for it is better that such an one stigma- 
 tize you with a want of politeness, than 
 that you should waste your time. Re- 
 gard not what indolent or unthinking 
 men may say of you ; but always keep 
 in view the opinion of posterity. How 
 many useful volumes might we not write 
 during those hours which are too often 
 devoted to idle and unprofitable conver- 
 sation ! If we were to keep an account 
 ot the time so wasted but for a year, we 
 
ON STUDY. 65 
 
 should find it to amount to a very con- 
 siderable portion of the whole. There 
 is no portion of time so brief that we 
 mi^ht not make some advancement to- 
 wards excellence. The space of life 
 remaining even to young men is but 
 short, perhaps ten, twenty, or thirty 
 years at most ; and yet, they almost in- 
 variably live as though they were certain 
 of surviving a thousand. 
 
CHAP. XIV. 
 
 We must look to our own studies, and not 
 concern ourselves too much about the progress of 
 others. 
 
 There are some men who are almost 
 continually employed in watching the 
 progress of others, along the path of 
 literature, without manifesting any soli- 
 citude about their own. Contented with 
 scrutinizing the conduct of their com- 
 panions, they regard their own advance- 
 ment as a matter of secondary import- 
 ance. The folly of such conduct will 
 be best illustrated by an example.— Sup- 
 pose a number of men were to set out 
 with the intention of gaining the sum- 
 mit of a lofty mountain, and one of that 
 
ON STUDY o 6 
 
 number,, after having proceeded a few 
 paces, were to make a stand., and amuse 
 himself with observing how the others 
 surmounted the precipices which ob- 
 structed their progress ; the consequence 
 would evidently be, that after having 
 seen his companions, one by one, arrive 
 at the place of their destination, he him- 
 self would be left nearly at the bottom ; 
 and there in all probability he would re- 
 main ; for the circumstance of his having 
 to perform his journey alone, after hav- 
 ing seen his fellowtravellers attain their 
 object, would be sufficient to deter him 
 from encountering the dangers and diffi- 
 culties of the ascent And so it is with 
 regard to our progress in literature. If 
 we content ourselves with merely watch- 
 ing the exertions of others, whilst as- 
 cending the rugged hill of science, with- 
 out endeavouring to keep pace with 
 them ; we shall find ourselves scrambling 
 amongst the thorns and briars at the 
 bottom, or at best gathering a few 
 worthless and insignificant flowers, whilst 
 
G8 ON STUDY. 
 
 we shall have the additional mortifica- 
 tion of beholding them in the full enjoy- 
 ment of those honours which are the 
 reward of industry and perseverance; 
 and which, had it not been for our own 
 supineness and indifference, we might 
 have shared in common with themselves. 
 If, therefore, we wish to avoid the mor- 
 tification and disgrace, of being left be- 
 hind in our career, by others with per- 
 haps less capacity for exertion, but more 
 perseverance; we must take heed to our 
 own steps, and use every endeavour to 
 keep pace with, and if possible, to sur- 
 pass our fellows; so that we may arrive 
 first at the temple of learning, which is 
 ever open to receive us ; for by so doing 
 we shall secure ourselves a higher distinc- 
 tion, and become entitled to a greater 
 reward. 
 
 Notwithstanding, we must take care 
 that our concern for our own honour, do 
 not degenerate into selfishness, than 
 which nothing is more despicable. It 
 
ON STUDY. 69 
 
 is the mark of a truly benevolent mind, to 
 be anxious for the welfare of an other, 
 but this anxiety for the welfare of others, 
 should be in common with the anxiety 
 for our own welfare ; for should we be 
 anxious to promote another's interest to 
 the neglect of our own, it is no longer 
 benevolence, but imprudence. Let us 
 then, whilst we ourselves are strenuously 
 endeavouring to arrive at distinction, be 
 ever ready to assist our weaker brethren, 
 and so, we shall not only reap the re- 
 wards of industry and perseverance, but 
 those also of philanthropy and bene- 
 volence. 
 
CHAP. XV. 
 
 We must not waste too much time in sleep. 
 
 It is too often the case, and more es- 
 pecially with young men, that they con- 
 sume a great deal more time in sleep 
 than is necessary for the refreshment of 
 nature. This is studiously to be avoided; 
 for the hours which are thus wasted, are 
 by far the most valuable portion of the 
 whole day, I mean those of the morning. 
 Six or seven hours at most are at all 
 times sufficient for the refreshment of a 
 person in health ; and what more is con- 
 sumed, may be considered an unjustifi- 
 able waste of time. But this is not the 
 only disadvantage. Too much sleep, 
 
ON STUDY. 71 
 
 more than too little, renders both the 
 corporeal and mental faculties drowsy 
 and languid during the whole of the 
 day, and if persisted in, gives an habitual 
 heaviness to him who thus indulges him- 
 self. This will be sufficiently exempli- 
 fied if we contemplate but for a moment 
 the countenance of the hard student and 
 that of the sluggard. We certainly 
 shall not find in the former that ruddi- 
 ness of complexion and rotundity of fea- 
 ture, which characterize the latter; but 
 there will be a certain fire and expres- 
 sion in his look, which may be admira- 
 bly contrasted with the vacant, halfani- 
 mated gaze of the drone ; nor will his 
 mind be less vivid than his eye, inas- 
 much as the one is the index to the 
 other. But to this animation both of 
 mind and countenance, the habitual 
 sluggard -must ever remain a stranger. 
 If he possess any abilities, he is in dan- 
 ger of losing them — If he have any ideas, 
 they are as confused, and consequently 
 as useless and unmeaning as his dreams 
 
79 ON STUDY. 
 
 He may be said to sleep away one 
 
 half of his life, that he may be rendered 
 unable to enjoy the other — In short he 
 most resembles his kinsman the dor-j 
 mouse — a creature entirely useless to 
 society, and born only to sleep and to de- 
 vour the goods of the more industrious 
 part of the community. 
 
 Such is the sluggard : and here let me 
 ask the student whether he is willing to 
 be classed with such a character ? if so, 
 let him sleep on and take his ease, his 
 disease is beyond the reach of our re- 
 medies: but if not, let him avoid the so^ 
 ciety of such men, lest he be accounted 
 one of their number. Rather than «ive 
 to nature an hour more than is neces- 
 sary, let him deprive her of one. — In a 
 word, let him endeavour to live, rather 
 than drag out his existence in a state oi 
 torpor, for in no other way can he hope 
 to find any real enjoyment within his 
 own breast, or render himself useful to 
 society. 
 
ON STUDY. 73 
 
 To those who are accustomed to spend 
 more time in slumber than the nature of 
 their studies, and these our admonitions 
 will admit of; an alarum clock, which 
 might be set to any hour they chose, 
 would be found highly serviceable. I 
 myself, when I have been upon a journey, 
 or sojourning in any place where a ma- 
 chine of this kind could not be obtained, 
 have actually slept upon two flat pieces 
 of wood, laid transversely upon my bed, 
 lest I should slumber too long. Nor 
 have I felt any inconvenience from this, 
 for I have uniformly found by experi- 
 ence, that when weary, I have slept 
 soundly, notwithstanding the hardness 
 of my couch, and when sufficiently re- 
 freshed, the hardness of my couch has 
 compelled me to quit it. But this to 
 most men would be a harsh experiment, 
 and one which perhaps few, however at- 
 tached they may be to literary pursuits, 
 would care to try. I therefore recommend 
 the alarum in preference ; or what is in- 
 
 G 
 
74 STUDY OF 
 
 finitely better than either, a firm resolu- 
 tion not to continue to slumber after a 
 certain hour of the morning, 
 
CHAP. XVI. 
 
 What time is best adapted to study e 
 
 There are some,, who set apart a cer- 
 tain portion of each day, in which to 
 enjoy the conversation of their friends,, 
 to walk out, or to relieve the mind with 
 social and recreative amusements ; and 
 in these particulars, let every one act 
 according to his own custom and in- 
 clination. Recreation is as necessary to 
 the mind as food is to the body. But let 
 the student take care not to let it en- 
 croach upon the hours set apart for study. 
 I, for my own part, have no set time 
 either for study or recreation, but follow 
 eitherjust as I feel an inclination so to do. 
 
76 ON STUDY. 
 
 I would nevertheless recommend, that 
 the whole of the morning" should be de- 
 voted to learning, as being by far the 
 most valuable part of the day; since the 
 mind, refreshed and invigorated by the 
 slumber of the preceding night, then 
 acts with redoubled vigour. Should the 
 taedium of reading for a whole morning 
 be too great, let it be varied by writing, 
 or by imparting knowledge to others, 
 and indeed, this is not the least valuable 
 method of study; for whilst we are en- 
 gaged in instructing others, we are at 
 the same time fixing those instructions 
 indelibly upon our own minds. 
 
 It is an excellent method to divide our 
 time into distinct portions, each of which 
 is to be allotted to some peculiar branch j 
 of learning. This division must of course 
 be regulated by existing circumstances, 
 and even then would frequently be liable 
 to derangement, by attending lectures, 
 examinations, &c. but let the student be 
 careful to allow no trivial occurrences to 
 
ON STUDY. 77 
 
 alter or derange his plans. By pursuing 
 this methodical course he will not only 
 find his daily progress in literature much 
 more rapid than it otherwise would have 
 been ; but he will also reap the benefit 
 of it in after life, for it will give him a 
 systematic way of thinking and acting, 
 which will vastly contribute to the ma- 
 turity and solidity of his judgment ; and 
 from which, when he has once perceived 
 its advantages, nothing will ever be 
 able to divert him. 
 
CHAP. XVII 
 
 On bodily exercise. 
 
 A sedentary life, if unaccompanied by 
 judicious and moderate exercise, en- 
 feebles the energies of the body, and too 
 often lays the foundation of diseases 
 which subject the student to pain and 
 inconvenience to the latest period of his 
 existence. On this account he should 
 be careful not to let a day pass without 
 having taken exercise sufficient for the 
 preservation of his bodily health. In- 
 deed, he ought to make a rule of devot- 
 ing an hour at least daily to this pur- 
 pose. Nor is there any necessity that 
 <Hc time thus devoted should be wasted, 
 
ON STUDY. 7 
 
 for the mind may be as actively and 
 usefully engaged during this period, as 
 when occupied in severe study. Thus 
 for instance, in the exercise of walking, 
 (than which there is no exertion better 
 adapted to the exigencies of the human 
 frame,) if he have a mind capable of ap- 
 preciating and enjoying the beauties of 
 rural scenery and productions, what a 
 noble field does every step he takes pre- 
 sent to his view, and what an admirable 
 opportunity is every where afforded him 
 for the expansion of his mental powers! 
 Is he a Christian ? — How can he form 
 more splendid ideas of the Omnipotence 
 of his Creator than by contemplating the 
 work of his hands ; or of his benevolence 
 and wisdom, than by observing how ad- 
 mirably every part of nature is adapted 
 to the specific purpose for which it was 
 created? Is he a philosopher ?— He will 
 acquire more correct philosophical no- 
 tions, by reading the volume of Nature, 
 with the commentaries of revelation and 
 science, than by poring ov£r the absurd and 
 
80 ON STUDY. 
 
 atheistical theories of the Epicurean sys- 
 tem as displayed by Lucretius and others. 
 Is he a poet ? — He will here behold those 
 beauties in their simple, unadorned love- 
 liness ; of which Theocritus, Moschus, 
 Virgil, with all the other pastoral writers 
 of ancient and modern times, have at 
 best given a faint outline. Does he wish 
 to become ah orator ? — The silent elo- 
 quence of nature will inspire him with 
 ideas and sentiments equally grand and 
 striking with any he may meet with in 
 the impassioned pages of Demosthenes, 
 or the more refined periods of Cicero. 
 So that whilst the exercise of walking is 
 eminently conducive to the preservation 
 of health, it may at the same time be ren- 
 dered subservient to the noblest purposes 
 for which the mind of man was brought 
 into action. Indeed there is no necessity 
 that any time devoted to the exercise of 
 the body should be lost, for the corpo- j 
 real and mental powers of man are so in- f 
 dependent of each other, that whilst the 
 body is occupied in using the means ne- 
 
ON STUDY. 81 
 
 cessary for the preservation of its health, 
 the mind may be as actively employed in 
 using the means necessary for its im- 
 provement, and that without injury to 
 either. 
 
 But there are many things perpetually 
 occurring, which render the exercise of 
 walking impossible ; or at least, incom- 
 patible with prudence. Such as the in- 
 clemency of the season, or the unfavour- 
 ableness of the weather. In either of 
 these cases I would recommend the use 
 of such gymnastic exercises as are best 
 calculated to bring the limbs and muscles 
 of the body into action. 
 
 Gymnastic exercises, besides their use 
 in developing the forms of the body and 
 strengthening the constitution, have also 
 a direct tendency to strengthen and invi- 
 gorate the mind. In support of this, we 
 have only to refer to the histories of an- 
 cient Greece and Rome; and we shall 
 find that their most successful generals, 
 
82 ON STUDY. 
 
 their warmest patriots, their best philoso- 
 phers, their most eminent senators and 
 orators, were in their youth accustomed 
 to pass much of their time in the exer- 
 cises of the Palaestra and of the Campus 
 Martius, whereby they acquired that 
 physical and mental strength, which 
 when brought into operation, decided 
 the fate of kingdoms, and gave to their 
 possessors, such a preeminence, both in 
 peace and war, over their more effemi- 
 nate neighbours, as ultimately ended in 
 universal dominion. 
 
 Were additional proof of this assertion 
 necessary, we might further advert to 
 the present state of modern Italy, where 
 manly and robust exercises with their 
 concomitant magnanimity of soul, have 
 long been unknown; and where effemi- 
 nacy and luxury with all the corporeal 
 and mental debility consequent upon 
 their enjoyment, have introduced them- 
 selves. In that country, once the mis- 
 tress of the arts and of the world, we 
 
ON STUDY. 83 
 
 should now look in vain for a Cincinna- 
 ti, a Regulus, a Fabius, or a Fabricius. 
 — Instead of the stern patriots of ancient 
 times, ever ready to expose their lives in 
 defence of their country ; — we see nothing 
 but a race of abject slaves, ready to sub- 
 mit to any caprice of fortune. — Instead 
 of finding a Scipio or a Caesar wielding 
 the sword for the security or glory of 
 the republic, — we find the nobles of the 
 land wielding a fiddle in its stead, and 
 exulting in the conquest of a wornout 
 beauty, with as much selfcongratulation 
 as either of the great men beforementioned 
 would have felt, whilst undergoing the 
 honours of a triumph. We behold the 
 descendants of those very men who as- 
 sassinated Julius Caesar, because his am- 
 bition led him to aspire to the imperial 
 dignity, bowing the knee with worse 
 than pagan superstition at the feet of an 
 antichristian and imbecile Pontiff. — In- 
 stead of listening to the eloquence of him 
 who was with justice styled the cc Father 
 of his country" they now think nothing 
 
g4 ON STUDY. 
 
 worth hearing but the womanish warbling 
 of an incapacitated eunuch. — And the 
 country which produced a Virgil, a 
 Horace, a Terence, and an Ovid, is at 
 present overrun with a contemptible race 
 of operatic balladmongers. Who that 
 draws these parallels, (and they might 
 be extended infinitely farther) between 
 it s ancient glory and modern degeneracy, 
 can help, whilst he is filled with admira- 
 tion at the splendour of the one, pitying 
 the demoralizing effects of the other. — 
 May such a degeneracy of mind and of 
 morals never become the characteristic of 
 our own country ! 
 
 If then, manly and robust exercises 
 have a direct tendency to invigorate 
 the faculties both of the body and of the 
 mind ; surely literary men, from their 
 peculiar habits, stand more in need of 
 the use of them, than any other ^lass of 
 individuals whatsoever ; inasmuch as 
 their whole dependance is placed upon 
 the strength of their mental powers. 
 
ON STUDY. 85 
 
 For vigour of intellect cannot exist in a 
 state of perfection without health; and 
 health cannot be maintained without 
 bodily exertion. Every man, therefore, 
 who aspires to distinction on the ground 
 of the superiority of his intellect, is not 
 consulting his own interest, unless he use 
 every endeavour to improve and pre- 
 serve it. 
 
 It of course does not come within the 
 scope of this treatise, to prescribe the ex- 
 ercises best adapted to the preservation 
 of health ; that being left to the choice 
 and inclination of the individual using 
 them, or the direction of others to whose 
 profession it more particularly belongs. 
 Enough, however, has been said, to show 
 their utility and necessity; there can, 
 therefore, be no farther hesitation in 
 adopting them ; sufficient care being al- 
 ways taken, that the body be not injured 
 by the empty vanity of performing feats 
 of strength or agility. 
 
 H 
 
8ft STUDY OF 
 
 The original chapter, " De exercitio corporis," 
 beino- little more than a recommendation to lift a 
 number of leaden laminae, increasing the quantity 
 by degrees, as long as the strength of the body 
 will allow; upon the same principle that Milo car- 
 ried his ox. It occurred to the translator that it 
 would be acceptable to the generality of his readers 
 to write a short essay upon the subject, more con- 
 sistent with the manners and habits of the youth of 
 our own times and nation; for it will be readily al- 
 lowed that we have but few Milos in the present 
 day, and that more particularly amongst the in- 
 mates of our universities, too many of whom are 
 nursed in the lap of luxury. Should any one, 
 however, be ambitious of rivalling the Grecian 
 bullcarrier, he will find the chapter alluded to, 
 inserted in the Appendix. 
 
CHAP. XVIII 
 
 On slothfulness. 
 
 Of all unhappy beings, the man who 
 lives under the influence of sloth is most 
 to be pitied. His time, his fortune, his 
 interests, his honour, his existence, are 
 all swallowed up in the vortex of this de- 
 testable vice. He is rendered incapable 
 of assisting himself or others. The 
 world is to him a mere blank. He is 
 equally deaf to the affections of nature, 
 and the wants of them who are so un- 
 fortunate as to be dependent upon him. 
 The industrious man, if he meet with 
 any thing more difficult than ordinary, 
 or be involved in unforeseen misfortunes, 
 
88 ON STUDY. 
 
 immediately applies himself with re- 
 doubled energy to conquer the one, or 
 extricate himself from the other. But the 
 slothful man, should any thing in the 
 least discouraging oppose his progress ; 
 or should he be surrounded by difficulties, 
 which are the natural consequence of 
 his conduct, sits down in despair : and 
 although the methods by which he may 
 avoid or subdue them be at hand, his 
 habitual indolence effectually precludes ! 
 all inclination on his part to adopt them ; I 
 and he continues in a state of hopeless | 
 despondency, till an obscure death even- 
 tually puts a period to a miserable life ; j 
 when he descends into the grave unho- 
 noured and unregretted, if not amidst 
 the execrations of his family, whom he j 
 has wilfully made the partakers of his I 
 poverty and obscurity. \ 
 
 Slothfulness is a vice, to which, of all 
 others, it is the most surprising that ra- 
 tional beings should addict themselves; \ 
 for it confers no pleasure, neither is it 
 
ON STUDY. 89 
 
 productive of benefit, which are the main 
 springs of human action. On the con- 
 trary it invariably superinduces a listless 
 vacuity of mind, amounting to perpetual 
 uneasiness; and almost as invariably 
 brings on a ruinous state of circumstances 
 which at length, plunges him who yields 
 himself up to it, into the depths of poverty. 
 And yet we find men clinging to it with 
 all that tenacity, which would actually 
 lead us to suppose that it was the founda- 
 tion upon which their future good fortune 
 was to be erected. Suppose a man 
 about to cross a deep and rapid river,, 
 were to refuse the aid of the customary 
 medium of communication with the oppo- 
 site shore — a ferry boat; and obstinately 
 persist in swimming across, taking with 
 him a heavy mass of lead or some other 
 ponderous metal, for the avowed purpose 
 of supporting him whilst in the water ; 
 would not the bystanders who might 
 witness such a determination, deride the 
 folly of such conduct, and think it 
 
90 ON STUDY. 
 
 scarcely worth their while to save the 
 individual so acting, against his own in- 
 clination ? And yet many of those who 
 would censure such conduct, as the very 
 height of insanity, are themselves daily 
 and hourly, yea, momentarily, commit- 
 ing the same species of folly. We have 
 all to cross the stream of life — the ferry- 
 boat of industry is ever waiting to waft 
 us over, not only in safety, but with en- 
 joyment — and yet we rather choose to 
 throw ourselves amongst the rocks and 
 breakers near its shore, encumbered with 
 the weight of our own unjustifiable indo- 
 lence ; which, if it do not always sink us 
 to the bottom, is at least sure of prevent- 
 ing our enjoyment of any real pleasure 
 during the whole of the voyage. 
 
 But however unjustifiable slothfulness 
 may be in a man of business, it is infi- 
 nitely more so in one who is engaged in 
 the pursuits of literature. Fortuitous 
 circumstances, such as legacies, fortu- 
 mite speculations, &c. may, to men in 
 
ON STUDY. 91 
 
 general,, make up for the loss necessarily 
 occasioned by a want of energy ; but 
 nothing upon earth can compensate the 
 literary student, for the time thus incon- 
 siderately wasted. He cannot expect, 
 on the decease of a learned doctor, his 
 relative, to come in for the defunct's share 
 of knowledge, nor can he at any time go 
 to the Exchange, and purchase literary 
 stock as he would national. It is in- 
 dustry alone that can confer knowledge. 
 And whatever may be the force of his 
 genius, if he do not practice the one, 
 he must, as a necessary and unavoidable 
 consequence, be devoid of the other. 
 
 From what has been said, the ne- 
 cessity of using the utmost exertion 
 whilst engaged in literary employments, 
 must be obvious to every one. Without 
 exertion, there cannot possibly be any 
 honourable distinction ; and with it, we are 
 as certain of reaping its fruits, as we are 
 of being compelled to gather those of 
 indolence without it. 
 
92 ON STUDY. 
 
 But there is a particular class of lite- 
 rary persons, to whom these remarks are 
 peculiarly applicable, viz : to young 
 men pursuing their studies at an univer- 
 sity. Our conduct here, may be said to 
 be the touchstone of our future credit 
 and character. The knowledge here 
 acquired is the foundation upon which 
 our future reputation for learning is to be 
 built, and unless that foundation be solid, 
 the whole superstructure when erected, 
 must fall to the ground, or at best, stand 
 in so precarious a state, as to be in con- 
 tinual danger of falling. Let us then 
 studiously anddeterminately avoid every 
 thing which may tend to weaken this 
 support of our reputation; and let us 
 strenuously and diligently embrace every 
 opportunity of strengthening and con- 
 firming it. We shall thus find, that 
 whilst so engaged, pleasure will be the 
 helpmate and companion of our labours, 
 and honour the reward of our perseve- 
 rance. 
 
 There are, however, some persons 
 
ON STUDY. 93 
 
 anxiously desirous of arriving at literary 
 eminence ; who, from the disadvantages 
 arising from the neglect of their early 
 education, or what is infinitely worse, 
 the misguided indulgence of parents 
 during their immature years ; do not feel 
 that stimulus to exertion, which so emi- 
 nently distinguishes youth educated in 
 industrious habits. Men thus unhappily 
 situated, should accustom themselves to 
 reading the biography of others, who, 
 though surrounded by difficulties of a 
 nature the most discouraging and appal- 
 ling, have nevertheless distinguished 
 themselves in the different departments 
 of literature. Let them imitate the ex- 
 ample of such characters. Let them en- 
 deavour, by entering into the spirit of 
 their history, to catch their ardour, and 
 tread in their footsteps; and they will 
 soon find their early prejudices and in- 
 jurious customs vanish altogether; and 
 themselves gradually habituated to a sys- 
 tem of industry, from which nothing will 
 ever be able to detach them. 
 
94 ON STUDY. 
 
 Persons of this latter description would 
 do well to store their memory with a few 
 apothegms chosen from the works of the 
 ancient philosophers; so that whenever 
 they find themselves disposed to indo- 
 lence rather than to exertion, they may, by 
 the recollection of some one of these, 
 rouse the mind from its state of lethargy 
 and inertness. Of this description are 
 
 the following, ftox^v avaynri rou$ QeXovTag eutvx,e7v. 
 
 ff They who wish to enjoy happiness, 
 should accustom themselves to industry." 
 — 'Onto you a 3«ao$\ He who is afraid of 
 difficulty, is thereby rendered incapable 
 
 of Surmounting it. " — O/ dafQavovTE$ vex§o7(rtv 
 
 ofMtot si™. cc Sluggards are little better 
 than lifeless carcasses." "0&, to sr5v. " No- 
 thing is impossible to diligence." 2%oauv 
 Qxfcovra whs kixu. " Disgrace is the reward 
 
 OI indolence. " — "Ottou ttKeicov b ttqvqs ekei /AEiZav 
 
 iiW "The greater the labour, the 
 greater the enjoyment."— El ™ to ^qv e&, 
 eI to 7ra?6v eI nfif. (e If we make good use of 
 the present, we shall have no reason to 
 doubt as to the future."— As the diligent 
 
ON STUDY. 95 
 
 student doubtless will observe many pas» 
 sages of this nature in the course of his 
 acquaintance with the Greek and Ro- 
 man classics, a further selection will be 
 needless.* 
 
 Were more than has been already 
 said, necessary to rouse youth from 
 their indolent habits, let them look 
 abroad upon the works of creation, and 
 from the ant, which is indefatigably em- 
 ployed in the occupations of the mole- 
 hill, to the sun, rising from his chambers 
 
 * I cannot omit this opportunity of quoting a 
 passage from our own incomparable Shakespeare, 
 which, if received with the spirit in which it is 
 given, cannot fail to be of service to him who pe- 
 ruses it : 
 
 This morning like the spirit of a youth 
 That means to be of note, begins betimes. 
 
 Let this be written in legible characters in a 
 conspicuous part of the bedchamber of every lite- 
 rary student, so that it may strike his eye every 
 morning as he awakes ; and if he can recompose 
 himself to sleep, neither this nor any other stimu- 
 lus will be of the least service to him. 
 
96 ON STUDY. 
 
 in the east, to give light, heat, and fer- 
 tility to our globe ; he will find all but 
 man, diligently pursuing the course 
 pointed out by the great Creator. And 
 is it for him, who exclaims that all things 
 were made for his use, who proudly 
 boasts himself superior to all created 
 things besides, to be idle; whilst all 
 around him are busily engaged in per- 
 forming the tasks assigned them on the 
 great stage of universal being ? If he 
 would but make use of that reason which 
 he calls his sole prerogative, he would 
 think that every blade of grass he treads 
 upon, every insect which flutters around 
 his path, every animal he meets with, 
 might justly reproach him with being the 
 only useless creature amidst such a dis- 
 play of universal industry. Let us then 
 no longer suffer ourselves to be dis- 
 graced by a just reproach from the in- 
 sects we tread upon. Let not the sun 
 whilst performing his daily revolution in 
 the heavens, be witness to our want of 
 industry. If the vassals of nature are 
 
ON STUDY. 97 
 
 actively engaged in these various avoca- 
 tions^ much more ought the lords of na- 
 ture to be so. Let us detach ourselves 
 from things trifling and insignificant, 
 and give ourselves up to things worthy 
 our nature and capacity. We all value 
 our possessions, much more ought we to 
 estimate our time. Yet such is the 
 irrationality of our conduct, that if we 
 should happen by some mischance to 
 lose a portion of our property, which by 
 industry may be easily recovered, we 
 fill the air with our lamentations'; but we 
 not only bear the loss of time, which can 
 never be recovered, with equanimity, 
 but with manifest indications of joy and 
 satisfaction. 
 
CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Our recreative amusements should, as far as 
 possible, be rendered subservient to the purposes 
 of literature. 
 
 It has been observed in a former 
 chapter, that recreation is as necessary 
 to the body as food is to the mind. In- 
 deed the most rigid devotee of literature 
 will scarcely deny, but that a temporary 
 relaxation is highly necessary. The 
 human mind is, as an ancient fabulist 
 has ingeniously observed, like a bow; if j 
 it be always bent it will soon lose its elas- 
 ticity, but if unstrung at intervals, it will 
 long retain its wonted properties, But 
 relaxation of the mind, as well as exer- 
 cise of the body, should, as far as possi- 
 
ON STUD* 99 
 
 ble, be rendered subservient to the pur- 
 poses of literature. It will thus be 
 found to be doubly advantageous ; for 
 whilst it becomes an agreeable mode of 
 communicating knowledge, it will at the 
 same time prevent us from engaging in 
 trivial and unmeaning amusements which 
 would not only consume a considerable 
 portion of our time, but also detach us 
 from, and incapacitate us for, matters of 
 greater importance. 
 
 Suppose, for instance, the junior mem- 
 bers of a college were to make a prac- 
 tice of meeting alternately at each others 
 apartments, for the purpose of discussing 
 some interesting philosophical specula- 
 tions, of unravelling the more curious 
 properties of the mathematical sciences, 
 or writing or conversing upon moral, 
 religious, or literary subjects, either in 
 their own native tongue, or in the 
 learned languages ; they would find 
 any of these occupations productive of 
 more real pleasure, than most of those, 
 
100 ON STUDY. 
 
 which are, though falsely;, termed amuse- 
 ments; and they would also find,, that by 
 these methods,, they were gaining, what 
 after all, is the main end of study — prac- 
 tical knowledge. In order to perceive 
 the advantage of such a course of con- 
 duct, let the student weigh the pleasure 
 derived from these sources, against that 
 resulting from vain conversation, idle 
 lounging, and dissipated practices, and 
 ifhedonot perceive the balance per- 
 ponderate in favour of the former, let 
 him still continue to practice the latter ; 
 but that this, if he give the matter an 
 impartial consideration, will be the case, 
 we are not under the slightest appre- 
 hension. 
 
 But independent of such a course, as 
 the one prescribed, being an agreeable 
 mode of communicating knowledge, it 
 has yet another advantage, which is by 
 no means its least valuable one, viz. that 
 of exciting emulation. There are many 
 men who would not think it so desrad- 
 
ON STUDY. 101 
 
 ing not to rank high in the classes of an 
 university, as not to be able to equal 
 their familiar companions in their re- 
 searches after truth. Consequently, al- 
 though in the former case, they might con- 
 tent themselves with being placed a re- 
 move above mediocrity, they would in the 
 latter, exert their ingenuity to the utmost 
 stretch, lest they might incur the derision 
 of their more intimate associates. Let 
 such a principle as this be once fairly 
 brought into action, what results might 
 we not reasonably expect from it. In- 
 stead of seeing young men leave the 
 university with the possession of a little 
 learning, acquired but to be forgotten, 
 we should behold their minds, as it were, 
 tablets, on which the records of general 
 knowledge were so legibly and indelibly 
 engraven, that every one who looked 
 thereon might read. 
 
 Of all those occupations which come 
 under the denomination of trivial, the 
 fascinatingbut destructive vice of gaming 
 
102 ON STUDY. 
 
 holds the most distinguished place. This 
 is the rock upon which many a young 
 man of the most promising abilities has 
 split ; and on which,, it is to be feared, 
 the genius and fortunes of many more 
 will hereafter be wrecked. And yet this 
 vice, like slothf illness, is productive nei- 
 ther of profit, pleasure, nor recreation. 
 
 It is not productive of profit, for it 
 would be easy to prove upon mathema- 
 tical principles, that the habitual game- 
 ster, if he play fairly, must, whatever 
 may be his temporary successes, eventu- 
 ally become a loser. There can be no 
 greater exemplification of this, than, 
 that numbers of men, who would fain 
 be thought to be possessed of genius 
 and ability, are daily reduced, by their 
 indulgence in this their favourite pas- 
 sion, either in private circles, or in those 
 public sinks of iniquity, which are es- 
 tablished for the infamous purposes of 
 ensnaring the inexperienced, and of fos- 
 tering the vicious propensities of crafty 
 
ON STUDY o 103 
 
 and designing men, from the enjoyment 
 of affluence and happiness, to a state of 
 beggary and despair. 
 
 It is not productive of pi easure, though 
 it certainly is of excitement ; but it is 
 the excitement of a demon, founded 
 upon a desire of enriching ourselves at 
 the expense of our neighbour's welfare. 
 Who that has observed the countenance 
 of a gamester, when a lucky cast of the 
 die has elated him by the success which 
 it has conferred upon him, can say, that 
 the wild emotions there depicted pro- 
 ceed from the enjoyment of real plea- 
 sure! Or who, that has witnessed his 
 features when an unfavourable throw 
 has at once drained him of his peace of 
 mind, and his pecuniary resources, can 
 pronounce, that the conflicting passions 
 by which they are distorted, are the in- 
 dices to the happy serenity of his mind ! 
 As well might the diabolical agents of 
 the infernal regions, to whom pleasure is 
 unknown, feel joy in having added a 
 
104 ON STUDY. 
 
 victim to their number, or in seeing him, 
 whom they had marked out for destruc- 
 tion, elude the malice of their grasp ! 
 
 It is not productive of recreation, 
 either mental or corporeal, for by super- 
 inducing an unusual degree of anxiety, 
 it always leaves the mind more languid 
 than it found it ; and whatever, by sud- 
 den excitement or otherwise, contributes 
 to destroy our equanimity, has, if often 
 repeated, an indirect tendency to injure 
 and weaken the vigour of our animal 
 powers. 
 
 But gaming is chiefly to be regarded 
 by us as it stands when viewed in rela- 
 tion to our studies; with which it must 
 manifestly appear, altogether incompati- j 
 ble. In order to study with profit to 
 ourselves, it is necessary that our 
 thoughts be detached from every other 
 subject, except the one under considera- 
 tion, and be, as it were, ri vetted to that 
 alone. But how can this be the case, 
 
ON STUDY. 105 
 
 when our minds are perpetually under 
 the influence of this pernicious passion ; 
 either occupied beforehand with the 
 hope of indulgence and inordinate desire 
 of gain, engaged in the commission of 
 the vice itself, or in a state of elevation 
 or depression — both of which, though 
 proceeding from opposite causes, are 
 equally hostile to study — consequent 
 upon our success or want of it. The 
 mind of a man thus occupied, can never 
 be free from anxiety, and consequently, 
 can never become adapted to study; 
 and though he be gifted by nature with 
 the powers of an iEschylus, the elo- 
 quence of a Cicero, or the genius of an 
 Archimedes ; the talents confided to his 
 care, will become useless to himself and 
 others, and instead of returning them at 
 the last great day of account with ten fold 
 interest, his conscience will be com- 
 pelled to testify against him, that he, of 
 of his own accord, buried them amongst 
 the rubbish of vanity and dissipation. 
 
106 ON STUDY 
 
 But there is yet another light in 
 which oraminjr, in common with other 
 trivial amusements and occupations is 
 to be regarded by us, viz. as they stand 
 when viewed in relation to the human 
 intellect. Mao, cry people of all ranks, 
 from the monarch to the boor, is a 
 creature made for lofty purposes ! and 
 with the words yet lingering on their 
 tongue, they sit down with a stoical 
 gravity, well befitting the dignity of that 
 intellect of which they are justly proud, 
 to improve the faculties of the soul by 
 speculating upon the highly interesting 
 and truly sublime effects produced by 
 the fortuitous and varied combinations 
 of a few pieces of painted paper : nay, 
 such is the ardour, with which they en- 
 deavour to unravel the intricacies of this 
 intellectual science, that they do not 
 scruple to sacrifice their health, their 
 happiness, their fortune, and even their 
 future expectations, for the sake of being 
 initiated into its admirable mysteries. 
 Who can deny that such occupations 
 
ON STUDY. 107 
 
 and disregard of worldly advantage are 
 worthy of creatures who derive their 
 origin from heaven, and who are destined 
 to the enjoyment of immortality? But 
 the noble spirit of man does not rest 
 here, he is frequently known to seize 
 upon the capricious Goddess Fortune, 
 and confine her within thenarrowlimits of 
 a dicebox, when he will sit for hours, and 
 even days together, violently tormenting 
 her in that circumscribed prison, as it were 
 in revenge for the freaks she sometimes 
 practices upon him. Should he not find 
 himself in a sufficient state of elevation 
 to perform these arduous avocations, he 
 has recourse to the renovating juice of 
 the grape, by which he is enabled to 
 form more splendid ideas of things, and 
 to perform actions of which he before 
 had no conception ; such as breaking 
 the heads or the windows of his less as- 
 piring neighbours, which things having 
 been done, he sallies forth with all the 
 pride of a victor, to enjoy the glorious 
 triumph of disgusting a society of virtu- 
 
108 ON STUDY. 
 
 ous ladies by a recapitulation of his 
 feats of glory ; or should chance throw j 
 an unprotected female in his way he im- 
 mediately evinces the superiority of his 
 prowess, by alarming or insulting her. 
 Who will say that a man capable of such 
 actions as these, is not C{ a creature made 
 for lofty purposes." 
 
 But methinks I hear some one ex- 
 claim, were such a burlesque upon the 
 human character, as the one you have 
 exhibited, to be exhibited by the buf- 
 foon of a pantomimic theatre, he would 
 be hissed and pelted off the stage for his 
 consummate impudence^- and so in all 
 probability he would : but he would at 
 the same time fall under the displeasure 
 of his audience for his display of truth. 
 The absurdities I have here depicted, 
 are by no means exaggerated. On the 
 contrary they are the < f recreations" to 
 which many, who are ambitious of being 
 denominated " men of literature," but 
 too frequently have recourse. May 
 
ON STUDY. 109 
 
 all such see their folly in the mirror here 
 held up to them, and profit by the view. 
 
 We have thus seen the folly of trivial 
 amusements, and the advantage of ra- 
 tional recreations ; let us then no longer 
 hesitate to adopt the latter and avoid 
 the former ; by so doing, we shall no 
 longer have to reproach ourselves with 
 being guilty of a waste of time ; but 
 on the contrary, peace of mind, and a 
 sense of improvement, will testify to our 
 hearts and consciences, that we are em- 
 ploying the talents confided to our care, 
 to the best purpose. 
 
 K 
 
CHAP. XX. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 Lest the preceding chapters should 
 have been read by any in a thoughtless 
 and unheeding manner, it may not be 
 altogether useless, by way of conclusion, 
 to recapitulate some of the most impor- 
 tant of them ; on which, as it were, the 
 welfare and success of the literary stu- 
 dent in a great measure depend. And 
 first, as the basis on which his future re- 
 putation is to be founded, let him be 
 careful to form a just estimate of his 
 own abilities, taking care neither to 
 undervalue nor overrate them ; for by the 
 one he will be prevented from making 
 
ON STUDY. Ill 
 
 those attainments which he otherwise 
 might have made, and by the other he 
 will be in danger of generating a spe- 
 cies of intellectual pride, which is never 
 the concomitant of, and always detri- 
 mental to, sound learning. Having satis- 
 fied himself on this point, he must then 
 determine to what extent in literary ac- 
 quisitions he intends to proceeds and in 
 fixing this boundary, if he possess a 
 mind ambitious of distinction, and deter- 
 mined by every means in its power to 
 gain it, he is seldom in danger of pro- 
 ceeding too far ; but when once he has 
 pointed out the goal to his own imagina- 
 tion, let him never relax in his exertions 
 to reach it. If the proposed extent 
 of his learning be not so great as that 
 which has been acquired by others, there 
 is not the less merit due to him on that 
 account. Nature has not bestowed upon 
 every one the abilities of a Plato, an 
 Aristotle, or a Cicero, consequently it is 
 not in the power of all to rival them in 
 the attainments of literature and philoso- 
 
112 ON STUDT. 
 
 phy ; but it is in the power of every one 
 to rival them in merit, for they did but 
 make the best use of their talents, and it 
 is in the power of all to do the same. 
 To this end, let nothing divert the mind 
 of the student from his pursuits ; let him 
 not yield even for a moment, (for even in 
 this there is danger) to the debasing in- 
 fluence of effeminacy, or the fascinating 
 allurements of luxurious enjoyments. 
 In short, as has been before inculcated, 
 he must consider all things, the more 
 immediate object of which is pleasure, 
 in the sensual acceptation of the term, 
 as the greatest enemies to himself and 
 his pursuits, and as such studiously avoid 
 them. Let him remember, that his 
 ability will increase with his exertion, 
 and that it will on the other hand, de- 
 crease with the want of it. Let him 
 also bear in mind, that what he sows, 
 that also he may expect to reap; and if 
 he, during the season of youth, fosters 
 the seeds of luxury and indolence, he 
 may expect, in the season of age, to reap 
 
ON STUDY. 113 
 
 a plentiful harvest of disease and con- 
 tempt. 
 
 Let him never despair. Whatever 
 difficulties he may meet with in the 
 rugged paths of science, let them only 
 serve to increase his ardour and redouble 
 his energy, for in no other way can he 
 hope to conquer them. If in his ascent 
 he should fall headlong a thousand 
 times, he must begin to climb again 
 every time more ardently, and fly to the 
 summit with recruited vigour. He to 
 whom difficulties are appalling, will 
 meet with continual opposition ; but from 
 him, who disregards them, or who pos- 
 sesses the art of rendering them subser- 
 vient to his improvement, they will at 
 length altogether vanish. 
 
 Let him not be too desirous of riches. 
 A moderate fortune, is amply sufficient 
 for all the purposes of human happiness; 
 and he who possesses more than this, 
 too often carries with him a stumb- 
 
{14 ON STUDY. 
 
 lino* block, which he can seldom get 
 over. Not but that it is at all times his 
 duty to improve his possessions by all 
 honourable means within his power. 
 Only let him beware, that an immode- 
 rate hankering after wealth, do not blunt 
 the desire of acquiring more valuable 
 possessions, and blunt his capacity and 
 inclination for more laudable pursuits 
 and worthier attainments. 
 
 The student must be fond of applause. 
 He must diligently seek out and seize 
 opportunity of surpassing his fellowla- 
 bourers in order to gain it. So long as 
 he fosters this spirit of emulation, there is 
 every hope of his performing actions 
 which will be a lasting credit to himself, 
 and also of the utmost benefit to society. 
 Whenever he sees any one passing him 
 in the common race, let him not rest for 
 a moment till he has repassed him. 
 This will be highly beneficial to either, 
 for each will redouble his exertions, the 
 one to keep before his companion, the 
 
ON STUDY. 115 
 
 other to regain his lost ground ; whilst 
 they who are witnesses of the contest, 
 will give, if not the palm of victory, at 
 least the reward of perseverance to both. 
 
 It may not be improper to advert here 
 to some of the acquirements necessary to 
 be made before a man can enjoy the re- 
 putation of being learned. — A thorough 
 knowledge of the Latin language is, in 
 the first place indispensably requisite» 
 This has been the universal language 
 of men of literature of every civilized 
 nation, and in all ages, from the days of 
 Augustus to our own ; and it is at this 
 fountain that we must quaff the draughts 
 of knowledge, or otherwise be contented 
 with satisfying our thirst at turbid and 
 polluted streams. A knowledge of the 
 Greek language is also so necessary, 
 that a man who is destitute of it, can 
 scarcely come under the denomination 
 of learned. But much remains to be 
 done beyond the mere acquisition of 
 these, for it does not necessarily follow, 
 
116 ON STUDY. 
 
 that a person, be he ever so well skilled 
 in classical literature, should be either 
 learned or wise. Indeed it may so 
 happen, and undoubtedly is in many 
 instances the case, that a man may by 
 practice, acquire a considerable readi- 
 ness in reading works in either of the 
 above mentioned languages, and yet 
 be utterly unable to comprehend their 
 meaning : notwithstanding which, he 
 values himself highly upon these acquisi- 
 tions, never considering, that language 
 is only valuable as it is a means of ar- 
 riving at knowledge. But as the inuti- 
 lity of such parrotlike attainments is too 
 apparent to require a demonstration, we 
 shall pass on to the consideration of 
 scientific acquirements. 
 
 In order to become, in the modern 
 acceptation of the word, a philosopher, 
 it is indispensably necessary that the 
 person aspiring to this distinction should 
 be acquainted with the whole range of 
 the mathematical sciences; and this is 
 
ON STUDY. Ik* 
 
 the grand test of a man's ability. The 
 acquirement of classical literature, re- 
 quires little more than the exercise of 
 patient industry; and is so limited in its 
 nature, that a man of inferior abilities, 
 may, if he think it worth his while, easily 
 become acquainted with it in all its varie- 
 ties. But it is not so with the sciences, 
 it would be totally impossible to assign a 
 boundary to their extent, or their utility. 
 The acquisition of the former is a mere 
 effort of the memory ; the acquisition of 
 the latter, is the result of the most ardu- 
 ous application of the mind. The former 
 is, as it were, a kind of mental provision 
 gathered into the storehouse of the brain, 
 for the use only of him who possesses it; 
 but the latter is like seed sown in a fer- 
 tile field, yielding an hundredfold for 
 the use of others. 
 
 One great advantage of the mathema- 
 tical sciences is, that by constant exer- 
 cise in them, we become accustomed to 
 a close and infallible habit of thinking 
 
118 ON STUDY 
 
 and reasoning, so that a person well 
 versed in this department of literature 
 is in no danger of being deceived by 
 false representations of things, how- 
 ever ingenious the sophistry under which 
 such fallacy may be concealed ; for 
 whenever a theory is submitted to the 
 consideration of a mathematician, he im- 
 mediately traces it from its first princi- 
 ples through a series of consequences 
 till he arrive at a demonstration of its 
 truth, or a conviction of its error, ac- 
 cording to which he either adopts or 
 rejects it. So that whatever may be 
 the contentions of illiterate disputants 
 respecting it, whether arising from their 
 incompetency to decide concerning the 
 truth of its premises, or from their in- 
 ability to judge of the correctness or 
 fallacy of the conclusions drawn from 
 those premises, he is enabled, by an in- 
 fallible mode of reasoning, to establish 
 or overthrow it, according as he has 
 proved its truth or want of it. 
 
ON STUDY. 1 
 
 Another great and peculiar advantage 
 of mathematical learning is, that it ac- 
 customs us to a great diligence in study, 
 whilst at the same time it renders our 
 labours delightful. Indeed, a greater 
 punishment could not be inflicted upon 
 a mind thoroughly imbued with a love 
 of science, than by compelling it to re- 
 linquish its object whilst engaged in the 
 pursuit of it, although that pursuit be 
 accompanied by the most severe mental 
 labour. And it is no wonder, that, where 
 an ardent attachment to abstract learn- 
 in <r is firmly rooted in the mind, such 
 should be the case ; for as a great philo- 
 sopher has beautifully observed, "whilst 
 the mind is abstracted and elevated from 
 sensible matter, it distinctly views pure 
 forms, conceives the beauty of ideas, and 
 investigates the harmony of propor- 
 tions ; the manners themselves are sen- 
 sibly corrected and improved, the af- 
 fections composed and rectified, the 
 fancy calmed and settled, the under- 
 standing raised and excited to more 
 
IgO ON STUDY. 
 
 divine contemplations." And what can 
 
 ( 
 
 be more delightful than to behold our 
 minds increasing in knowledge, in a 
 manner which appears to us really won- 
 derful ; to feel that we possess the power 
 of unfolding the secrets of nature, and [ 
 til Ik tilling as it were the depths of Om- 
 nipotence itself; to rise above the little- r 
 ness of this terrestrial planet, and by the 1 
 nine volition of the will, transporting 
 ourselves into the immensity of space, 
 to mark the courses of the planets as j 
 they journey onwards in their respective | 
 orbits; to know the causes which pre- 
 ill them from wandering from their 
 customed spheres; to follow the ellipse i 
 of the comet to the very boundaries of j 
 the Universe. These are things worthy , 
 °fAenriadofman; and he who is des- 
 1 :,,,h ' of them, whatever may be his 
 J» *tainments, *»J be said to be a 
 
 ; ,nM ;; , - h ^ scarcely passed the alpha- 
 " "' ""man knowledge. 
 
 ■* *• chief end & of mathematical 
 
 '—'^ as far as the interest and hap. 
 
 ) 
 
ON STUDY. 121 
 
 piness of mankind in general are con- 
 cerned, consists in its practical utility. 
 It is owing to this, that a mariner is en- 
 abled to steer his vessel across the 
 pathless ocean, to a distant part of the 
 globe, with a precision nearly equal to 
 that with which a man would go from 
 his own house to that of his neighbour. 
 Hence flow our national and individual 
 prosperities; a considerable portion of 
 our necessaries and enjoyments; and our 
 knowledge of the existence, and the re- 
 lative situation, of the different parts of 
 our globe. It is to this, that we are in- 
 debted for the magnificence and comfort 
 of our public and private edifices. It is 
 upon this base that our commercial sys- 
 tems are erected. In short, from this 
 source spring almost all the advantages 
 which we possess, and the greater part 
 of the pleasures we partake of. 
 
 I But in addition to classical and scien- 
 
 ! tific literature, it is necessary that a man 
 
 of learning be acquainted with the dif- 
 
122 ON STUDY. 
 
 ferent branches of historical literature, 
 BO as to be able to assign the rise, pro- 
 gress, and decline of empires to their 
 respective causes, and to judge of the ef- 
 fects of different actions and events. He 
 should also be somewhat skilled in the 
 modern languages, and acquainted with 
 modern literature ; but these, together 
 with some inferior attainments, are too 
 obvious to all to require particular com- 
 ment. 
 
 It is thus evident, that he who aspires 
 to the character of a man of learning, 
 baa taken upon himself the performance 
 of no common task. The ocean of 
 literature is without limit. How then 
 will he be able to perform a voyage, 
 ei en to a moderate distance, if he waste 
 Ws time in dalliance on the shore ? The 
 Path to eminence is not only long, but 
 ariuous; and how can any one rationally 
 ,0 I>< 1 to arrive at its termination, unless 
 '"• use diligence proportional to its diffi- 
 «*"*? Our only hope is in exertion. 
 
ON STUDY. 123 
 
 Let our only reward be that of industry. 
 Whatever may be our conduct in this 
 respect, of one thing we are certain — 
 That unless we are vigilant to gather 
 the fruit of time, whilst the autumn of 
 life is yet with us; we shall, at the close 
 of its winter, descend into the grave as 
 the beasts which perish, without having 
 left a record behind us to inform pos- 
 terity that we ever existed. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Cujusmodi discendce sint artes. 
 
 Summo oratori, aut poetae futuro, cum primis 
 necessarise formae loquendi, disserendi, dicendi. 
 Grammatice aditum prasbet ad alias artes: quo 
 si careamus, caeci per omnes disciplinas aberra- 
 bimus, nullam unquam optimarum pulcherrima- 
 rumque rerum cognitionem consecuturi. Dia- 
 lectice docendi modum exprimit : Rketorice elo- 
 quendi. Ad hanc memoria3 artificium pertinet. 
 Graeca lingua adeo necessaria, ut vix quenquam 
 dixerim eruditum, qui earn ignoraverit. Nee 
 omittendaa historian: praestant enim et copiamora- 
 tionis, et rerum experientiam. Mathematics 
 artes simul dignitate quadam pollent sua : trac- 
 tant enim rerum sublimium descriptiones : simul 
 ad varietatem orationis faciunt, Astronomia le- 
 
1 J<; JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 gem Dataramqne tlocet eorum, quae ab extremo 
 circoiiD mundi usque ad elementa sunt, hoc est, 
 pene orbem universum. In coelo situm monstrat 
 Elelices, Cynosurae, Erickthonii, Caprae, Virgi- 
 liarom, Hyadum, Argus, Canopi, Syrii : quo- 
 rum orfa olntuque tempora omnia describuntur. 
 \ elul spud Virgilium: 
 
 Sub ipsum 
 Arcturum tenui sat erit suspenderesulco. 
 
 Item : 
 
 Ante tibi Eos Atlantides abscondantur, 
 Dcbita quam sulcis committas semina. 
 
 Et: 
 
 Multi ante occasum Mais ccepere. 
 
 Sec pauca hujusmodi exempla passim obvia 
 rant, apud Ovidiuto, presertim in Fastis. Infra 
 
 luin \ agoram siderum progessus, regressus, sta- 
 tions, drtVctionesque. Solem esse Principem, 
 
 "l"«su,»«Tioratrigonisfere radiis convertere : 
 inforiora, intervallo breviore. 
 
 Ifliccs anim*, quibus hsc cognoscere primum, 
 jue domos superas scandere cura fuit. 
 peUtur caelum, non ut ferat Ossan Olympus, 
 Summaquc Peliacus sideratangat apex. 
 
 °qwta voraptas animi, non terras et maria 
 
 * sidera ipsa cognaiosque coelos perer. 
 
 '" tonnisaima quaeque aeris spatia celeri 
 
 , " , ' ,,,,1 -' , ^u«,ucterri,acpenetrarecuncta?Quo 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 127 
 
 tandem gaudio adfici necesse est cum liis habi- 
 tantem pernoctantemque curis? Contueamur ergo 
 candentem ilium igneumque aethera, coelestium 
 ignium flammas immotis oculis admiremur. Omnia 
 enim qua? mundi circumflexus continet, non alii 
 usui, quam spectaculo et admirationi sacrarum 
 mentium fabricator orbis videtur destinasse : id- 
 que voluisse, ut tantarum varietate rerum in me- 
 dio operis sui spatio rationis capaces oblectare- 
 mur. Mens hisce dedita studiis, non ea concu- 
 piscit, quaa vilia sunt, non illicitis distringitur 
 notis : tantum id quod pulchrum est, quod purum 
 est, quod divinum est, nihil mortale sapiens, dulci 
 ardore amplectitur. Pridem, abhinc luce, opinor, 
 septima, circa secundam vigiliam noctis, solus 
 eram in liorto quodam baud procul a meo cubiculo. 
 In coena fuerat mentio facta de ratione stellarum 
 ejusmodi. Mirum esse sic praedici defectiones : 
 Solem esse majorem terra, idque ex umbra depre- 
 hendi: incredibilem esse distantiam, quae sidus 
 facit tarn parvum videri : ad haec, miram celerita- 
 tem, quod horis quatuor et viginti nos non super 
 terram, sed tanto circuitu ambiat. Tali sermone 
 ultro citroque habito peractaque coena, sub Jove 
 stabam erecto sursum vultu, placida nocte, quum 
 jam omnia silerent, quum in proximis aedibus lu- 
 
JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 mina nulla cernerentur. Principio Lunam diu 
 lixis oculis aspiciebam, quae turn plena circumfuso 
 rnbore circulum suum describebat. Spectabam 
 deinde Helicen, Cynosuram, Virgilias, Syrium, 
 Oriona. Post sumptis in manum tabellis, car- 
 mine nonnihil bisce de rebus conscribere coepi : 
 
 Oceani rursus, mundique ruentis imago. 
 
 Mox abjecto stylo varias rerum vices altiore in- 
 '< Ibctupercurrebam, adeo ut et mei, et loci in 
 quo eram, plane oblitus fuerim. Tandem cum 
 
 "n'lusic cogitabam: Cur natura parens rerum 
 lam breve tempus homini largita es? Cur no- 
 bilea spiritus e medio tollis, priusquam orbem 
 penpexerint? Cur cceli pulchritudinem, gratiam 
 -lis, ita repente oculis nostris subtrahis ? Tua vis 
 wia vim animorum superat : te admirabimur, 
 d «»*tamanebit. O quam triste erit orbari vita, 
 111 **^ idendi eupidine ? O me felicem, Lache- 
 Mi> " rel Semel ante mortem tot species animan- 
 ■"""■ tot fructunm, quos terra profert, genera, 
 
 """""«'^-tiumformasinorbesuccessuasta- 
 ' ; ,U,; -^nosce^daretur! Hen me mi- 
 
 ; ,m ; ,1 : i '- ,i -^tOceanu S ,Solacsidera 
 
 ,; ,,n,,,, ;.;^ S P-tpeH g naviam,etiam 
 ,Um< *«■ ^gentomus videor. Ql 
 
 tuis enim 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 129 
 
 unquam adeo in peragendis rebus vehemens fuit, 
 
 qui non multo esse possitvehementior, si extremas 
 
 vires cogeretur experiri? Paucos anncs Parcae 
 
 donant, iisque negligenter utimur. Brevi aderit 
 
 dies, quum conimuni rerum lege ad finem suum 
 
 hujus vicissitudo corporis deveniet. Verum quan- 
 
 do quibusve exactis seculis rediturus sum ? Quo 
 
 revo eamdem Lunam, Pleiades illas, Arctos ibi, hie 
 
 Syrium iterum, videbit Joachimus? Uti nam post 
 
 annos mille ea, quae turn naturae, turn hominum 
 
 industria comersa erunt, exiguo momento tempo- 
 
 ris liceat intueri. Miser, de reditu verba facis? 
 
 Quin lachrymas mitte, gravem moerorem e pectore 
 
 move, missa fac inania vota ac horis potius fruere 
 
 praesentibus. Quid te toties fatorum memoria 
 
 cruciat ? O si puerilibus annis usus essem ! qui- 
 
 bas illi negotiis imprudenti defluxere? Sed quid 
 
 a°-o ? rursus dolor recrudescit : quanquam fletus 
 
 ratio non minus dulcis quam justa apparet. Quid 
 
 foeminarum more lachrymas fundo ? En unicum 
 
 remedium, vigilantins omnia peragenda : hoc oci- 
 
 us properandum, quo tempus dabitur brevius : 
 
 haris pro diebus utar, singulos menses annos pu- 
 
 tabo. De coelesti ilia cognitions dictum satis 
 
 arbitror. Ne sensa prorsus omni vacare judico 
 
 fcum, quern non delectat tain jucunda contempla- 
 
130 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 tin. «jut in nulla rerum miracula movent. Ex ea 
 de qua nunc locuti sumus arte, proficiscitur As- 
 trologia, Medicis magis, praecipue ad venas scin- 
 dendas, et decretorios dies, quam studiis nostris, 
 aecessaria: nisi quod stylum varietatis luce com- 
 intiidet, uti abunde apparet in Lucani primo libro. 
 I lane falso vulgus incertam vocat, propter errores 
 Don arti, sed indoctissimorum liominum inscitia? 
 el temeritati imputandos, qui citra delectum om- 
 nia eflutrant. Qua3 ex hac disciplina ad literas 
 magis conferunt, quaeque; discenti fuerint jucun- 
 dissima ha3c sunt : Quae duodecim mundi domus : 
 quaa i is radii bexagoni, tetragoni, trigoni, adversi : 
 quid Fortuna? gradus efficiat, et qua via reperia- 
 tur: atque alia complura, qua? longum esset re- 
 cenaere. Necessaria et Cosmograpliia. Ha3cenim 
 demonstrat zonas, climata, antcecos, perioecos, 
 •mphigcios, periscios, heteroscios, longitudinem- 
 wbium latitudinemque, hoc est, quot ipsaa horis 
 lU "" aboccasu, quot coeli partibus ab equatore. 
 1)1 ea liMIumeniisimus. 
 
 ( '"^Tluacognitufacilior: constat enim sola 
 
 ;: , 7 rom,,Icm ° ratione - Id duntaxat indicat, 
 » b « Tanais, Nil us , Tigris, Euphrates, Andros, 
 
 P ™*> Arabes; sine ulla mentione 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 131 
 
 coeli : sine circulorum, latitudinis, longitudinis, 
 umbrarum, zonarumque descriptione. Geometria 
 terrarum mensuras tradit, hoc modo. Si quadra- 
 ta forma oram habeat viginti pedum, intus esse 
 vigintiquinque. Si cuneatus ager longus fuerit 
 pedes quinquaginta, latus ex una parte pedes tri- 
 ginta septem, ex altera novem, aream esse pedum 
 mille centum quinquaginta: idque deprehendi 
 qua3sito ex imparibus numeris medio, ductoque in 
 longitudinem. In collibus vallibusque plus soli 
 esse quam coeli. De his libellum conscripsimus, 
 cui titulus, Chaos Mathematicum. Quantum haec 
 omnia ad styli prosint ornamentum, videre licet 
 quum in locis permultis, turn in Ciceronis operibus 
 de universitate, de natura Deorum, de Divina- 
 tione, in Somnio Scipionis : in Quintiliani capite 
 de agrorum mensura : in Virgilii Georgicis : Ovi- 
 dii Fastis, et Metamorphosi : denique in Lucano. 
 Arithmeticam primus Pythagoras in artem fertur 
 redegisse. Hinc Pythagorei per numerum jura- 
 bant quaternarium, quo nihil apud eos videtur 
 esse perfectius. Etenim quatuor elementa, ignis, 
 aer, aqua, terra. Quatuor anni tempora, ver, 
 autumnus, aestas, hyems. Quatuor qualitates re- 
 rum omnium, calidum, frigidum, humidum, sic- 
 cum. Quatuor coeli plagse, ortus, occasus, meri- 
 
|82 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 dies, septentrio. Musice mentem labore fessam 
 r , licit: verum inter descendum non parum aufcrt 
 temporis : qua de causa prasclarius reor frui 
 concentu aliorum, quam canendi artem disccre. 
 
 us inventorem quoque fuisse Pythagoram pu- 
 taot Hie primus dicitur ex malleorem ictibus 
 rocum diversarum numeros, modos, inflexiones- 
 que perpendendo, Musicam artem divina qua- 
 dani industria confecisse. Cytharam traduntinve- 
 nisse Orpheum: qui, si poetis credimus, non 
 lolum homines rudes atque agrestes, sed Jeones 
 etiam ac tigres et inferos manes lyrae suavitate 
 demulsit. Fistulam Pan Arcadius primus inflavit. 
 ■Nunc, qui in his potissimum legend'i sint autorcs. 
 In Qrammatica Diomedes, Perottus, Valla : in 
 Dialectica, Aristoteles : in Rhetorica, Cicero et 
 Pabius praecipui. In Astronomia legendi Procu- 
 Im el Aratus: nam apud Latinos pauci de ea 
 
 >te Bcripsere. Si altiora spectes, adjungere 
 Ptolomamm. In Astrelogia Julius Firrai- 
 c ««, qui ca3teris elegantius et verms artem tra- 
 ,!,,lil - I tamen nihil profuerit, nisi composita 
 Priu ex Ephemeridam libris pictura domorum, 
 ,l wsi babitia rudiiaentis e barbaris scriptoribus ; 
 '1" "»"» Alcabitius princeps. In Cosmographia 
 ™°*»«m: in Geographia, Pomponium, Me- 
 
JOACH. FORT. RING. 133 
 
 lam : in Geometria Euclidem censeo perdiscendos. 
 Feliciter studia instituent, qui ante omnia e doctis 
 autoribus artium cognitionem, hoc est, materiam 
 seu instrumenta scribendi sibi comparaverint. 
 Alio qui nihil sapiet stylus prseter inanem loquaci- 
 tatem. Summus non erit, qui non ex unaquaque 
 disciplina decerpserit, quod ad scopum suum con- 
 ferat. Id citra laborem effeceris, si nihil attigeris 
 nisi locos communes; de quibus quuni dabitur 
 occasio libellum conscribemus. 
 
 M 
 
CAP. II. 
 
 EloquenticB laus. 
 
 De oratoria facilitate, luce omnium disciplina- 
 rian, plura prodentur. Non satis est tarn leviter 
 (loctrinarum principem describere. Isthaec baud 
 dubie caeteris, quod Sol mundo, quod animis 
 Deus. Sine hac non modo artes reliquse, sed res 
 "innes, in tenebris versarentur. Quid essent 
 Romani, si non fuisset eloquentia ? Quid Camil- 
 la? Quid Caesar? Quid Scipio? Quid maximi 
 viri, qui nunc mortui, eloquentiaa viribus vivunt ? 
 Nemo sane aliquod pra3clarum facinus tentaret, si 
 eertam esset araorte sui nullam fore memoriam. 
 Deniqne quid Demostheni, quid Ciceroni, quid 
 1 ( rasso tantam laudem peperit, nisi eloquen- 
 , "' H'csiderum meatus, ventorum fragores et 
 'apetos, crepitus flammarum, undarum murmura, 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 135 
 
 montium celsitudines, nemorum umbras, flumi- 
 num discursus, sic depingit, ut ea ipsa te oculis 
 contueri existimes. Hac irritare torpentes, de- 
 sides animare, temerarios retrahere, sontes dam- 
 nare, bonos extollere possumus. Sed quid in re 
 immensa laboro ? Plenum insolentiae videtur, si 
 quis hujus laudes vel conetur commendare, quae per 
 se sunt amplissime : vel recensere, quae sunt innu- 
 nierse : vel quovis modo demonstrare, quarum lu- 
 men et splendor omnium oculos jam mentesque 
 perstringit. Prode te ipsam, eloquentia. Sentiat 
 fulgorem, sol lucidissime, tenebris immersum 
 mortalium genus. Nemo te nisi tu exprimere va- 
 let. Caligant in luce tanta oculi contuentium. 
 Tuin excelso solio sedens, mundum illustras uni- 
 versum. Te colentes similes tui, hoc est, im- 
 mortales, atque orbi toti per omne tempus reddis 
 admirabiles. Quid me, Forti, niteris extollere, 
 cujus gloriam olim jam agnoscunt omnes, cujus tot 
 exstant monumenta, nullo aevo, nulla injuria in- 
 teritura? Via quae ad me perducit, prinio in- 
 gressu est ardua, confragosa, saxis aspera, obducta 
 sentibus :* lucida, plana et amoena. Quare multi 
 initio laborem immensum prospicientes, abjiciunt 
 spem. Complures in medio deficiunt. Ad sum- 
 # Postquam vero ad summum ventum erit. 
 
136 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 mum pcrveniunt paucissimi. Hanc omnes pene, 
 perterriti malis, fugiunt. Verum tanto major glo- 
 ria victori, quanto victori rarior. Pulchrum si 
 intra annos mille vel unus ad verticem evaserit. 
 8i quia ergo plenum istud sudoris iter ingredi ve- 
 lif, componat sese ad tolerandum quicquid durum 
 eat Evitanda mollia, quaeque ad corporis gra- 
 in in faciunt, quo magis vigeat animus. Dum alii 
 conviviis ac fabulis fruentur, impallescere chartis 
 oportebit, Nonnulli se simul et voluptatibus et 
 lifm's dedunt : verum hi nihil aliud efliciunt, nisi, 
 dum utrumque captant, neutro potiantur. Sine 
 Budore, sine vigiliis, curis perpetuis hue perveniet 
 nemo. Ferendi aestus, algores, calamitates. Sse- 
 penumero lachrimoe fesso obortae excident. Saspe 
 aedebit moerens, cogitansque, coeptis ne desistere, 
 an peificere velit quod coeperit. Turn surgens 
 feluti furore quodam incitus, praaceps feretur in 
 laborea, donee lassus victusque humi prostratus 
 jweat, advolaturus iterum, simul atque vel mi- 
 """- *iwa anhelum et sudore perfusum accende- 
 "" , Hie noctea plerumque insomnes ducet, c*- 
 " * donuieutibua. Hune saepe labore multo 
 
 feM ,,h, ' bus admirabitur. Tu perge quo 
 
 • " piat», 
 
CAP. III. 
 
 De lecjum studio. 
 
 Divini origo juris altius repetenda. Principio 
 civitates non erant : per campos, per sylvas, per 
 montes passim homines sine veste, sine legibus 
 sub dio vagabantur. Nondum erant domus aut 
 sedificia : frondibus, ac pellibus a pluvia, nive, 
 grandine sese defendebant. Neque vini usum 
 neque frumenti noverant: sed pomis agrestibus 
 vescebantur. A posteris urbes extructae, terrae- 
 que cultura inventa est. Cererem primam leges 
 dedisse hominibus, existimant. Digna sane res, 
 quae divinitati adscribatur. Quippe quae dea 
 fruges nobis alimentaque dederit, leges quoque 
 dare voluit, ut vitam corpusque non solum susten- 
 taremus cibo, sed legum etiam defensione tuere- 
 mur. Atheniensibus postea Solon novas leges 
 
 M 2 
 
138 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 instituit. Primam, ut, qui parentes suos non ale- 
 rent, patrimoniumve dissiparent, ii perpetuo ob- 
 scuri atque ignobiles haberentur. Alteram, qui 
 otium sectarentur, et inertia? dediti essent, eos 
 jure ab omnibus tanquam nocentissimos accusari 
 posse. Et qui in praelio pro patria cecidissent, 
 eorum filios publice nutriendos erudiendosque 
 praecepit. Item curatorem una cum matre pupil- 
 lorum nequaquam habitare. £um praeterea cura- 
 torem esse non posse, ad quern esset haereditas 
 pupillorum morte perventura. Postremo statuit, 
 temulentum principem non pecunjis mulctandum 
 esse sed durissima atque ignominiosissima morte 
 puniendum. Lycurgus quoque suis Lacedaemon- 
 iis leges condidit. E quarum numero heec est : 
 I'ueros inopes non in urbe fovendos esse, sed in 
 agros ad usum rei rusticae deducendos : ut ab in- 
 I unte aetate laboribus adsuet'acti, paratiores ad 
 tolerandam inopiam per reliquum tempus effice- 
 rentur. Principatum obtinere videntur Romano- 
 rum jura, quae Justinianus prodidit. Sine legum 
 presidio vita liumana constare non posset. Eae 
 liqnidem nemini inferri vim, nemini injuriam 
 ,lr,i I'^tiuntur. Unumquemque in suo gradu, 
 mtque dignitate tuentur. Virtutem non qa3runt 
 "Olum, sed premiia exornant; non modo vitia 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 
 
 139 
 
 reprimunt, sed ulciscuntur suppliciis. Quod sta- 
 mus, quod incedimus, quod dormimus, quod se- 
 cure vitam agimus,id totum harum defensioni tri- 
 buendura. Quae nisi hominum libidines atque 
 avaritiam compescerent, non uxores pudicas, non 
 agros, non domos, non vitam tutam haberemus. 
 Virgines e parentum amplexibus eriperentur. 
 Passim per vicos a sicariis, a latronibus, a parn- 
 cidis crudelissime necaremur. Omnia denique 
 in vilissimorum hominum essent potestate. Pos- 
 sunt imperatores leges pervertere, sed suum una 
 cum legibus imperium pervertetur. Quamobrem? 
 Quia nullum imperium, nulla Resp. sine legibus 
 potest esse diuturna. Qua de causa harum cogni- 
 tionem summe esse frugiferam nemo dubitavent. 
 Ea enim quo pacto inter homines versari homo 
 debeat edocet. Verum hie discendum duntaxat, 
 quantum ad stylum, seu oratoriam artem (si stu- 
 dia nostra sectari velint) conferat. Pulchrum 
 fuerit servare modum Ciceronis, hoc est, attin- 
 gere quantum satis est. Minus placent illi, qui 
 sese ita huic studio dedunt, ut nihil nisi barba- 
 riem ament, ut omnia prse legibus fastidiant. 
 
CAP. IV. 
 
 De ratione docendi. 
 
 Huic etiam praecipiunt, horas solum debere 
 duas impendi, aut unam polius, quo rem accura- 
 tius queas explicare. Athaec praecepta socordia? 
 sunt, ha*c fugienda, huic spectanda inertia vulgi, 
 Aliud nos sentimus. Simul atque in literarum 
 jtnlicio promoveris nonnihil, enitere, ut per diem 
 totura, si fieri possit, doceas. Si non ita in disci- 
 pi mis omnibus versatus sis, si non tantum opum 
 coigeaserit sedulitas, ut per multas id boras queas 
 prawtare : ea doce, quae noveris, eaque diversis 
 bona, atiis atque aliis conveniet inculcare, juxta 
 ndgarem Bententiam : Multum legendum, non 
 " M,,,: '- Ita nihil ,erit difficile, si perpetuo sine 
 I" ■■'■«"« 'ditaiionc poteris profiteri. Satis sit si quis- 
 l" i,m ''• wdltt Interea exercitio miram rerum 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. l41 
 
 copiam tibi comparaveris. TJbi decies rem ean- 
 dem docueris, plus te senties profecisse, quam si 
 fugiens lucem magno te domi labore confesses. 
 Per singulos dies duodeeim docere horis solebam. 
 Praeterque ipsas semel interim declamare, vel de 
 Deo, vel de mundo, aut thematibus aliis, exerci- 
 tationis causa. Nonnulli insanire me vocifera- 
 bantur, sed utinam sic ab ineunte aetate contigis- 
 set insanire. Tanti ego facnltatem istam facio, 
 ut malim judicium adolescentis, qui perpetuo do- 
 cuisset, etiam res Uumillimas, quam ejus, qui soli- 
 taria domi lectione autores optimos perlegisset. 
 Multa seepe legi, sed mensis unius intercapcndo 
 memoriam ita deleveratomnem, ut vix dum scirem 
 quos legissem. At qu* alios docui, ea tarn miln 
 perspecta sunt, quam corporis membra ipsa. Ea 
 „on aliter ac Solis splendorem ante oculos tarere 
 sentio. Horum cognitionem firmam esse, certam 
 esse, frugemque proferre amplissimam, experimen- 
 to comperi. Horum memoriam vix morte credam 
 extin-ui posse. Csterum nolumus indoctos pro- 
 tinuslutorem publice profiteri : id enim furori 
 esset simile : sed domi doceant, aut puerum unum, 
 aut duos, aut tres, donee majore digni theatre 
 fuerint. Quod si mibi Alius esset, buic ita stu- 
 dium instituerem. Quam primum etiam in ipsis 
 
142 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 ■ermonu Latini seu Graeci dementis verbum unum 
 a praceptore didicisset, id extemplo alios doceret. 
 Professoremagricolaehaud incommode posse con- 
 ferri opinor. Illi namque munus praelegendi, 
 quod alteri sementis est. Illi judicium, et cogni- 
 tio rerum, quod alteri messis. Duo sunt quibus 
 ad exercitiummaxime incitamur, ingens copia au- 
 di torum, et spes cujuspiam magni lucri. 
 
CAP. V. 
 
 Qua ratione captari debeat occasio docendi. 
 
 Fit plerumque ut auspicanti exercitium non 
 
 semper prsesto sint qui audiant. Quare sedulo 
 
 curandum, ut vel precibus, vel pretio habeas 
 
 unum, cui ea quae voles, possis recitare. Si pro 
 
 horis singulis exiguam pecuniam dederis auditori, 
 
 atque hoc modo quatuor aut quinque aureos ex- 
 
 penderis, tantum comperes te profecisse turn in 
 
 Uteris, turn in forma docendi, ut vel palam eadem 
 
 audeas profiteri. Sed quis istuc, inquies, faciet ? 
 
 Nemo opinor. Ideo dico, quod pauci ad magna 
 
 pervenient. Vulgus enim inertissimum, pecuniae 
 
 parvse studio, cupidine ostentandi, pudore vano, 
 
 rebusque frivolis, praepeditur. Quocirca quando 
 
 universam cohortem inermem videmus, et ejus- 
 
 modi cura, hoc est, metu parvi sumptus, detineri, 
 
144 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 non ad snmrna evademus ? Ubi tarn facilis ^ ictoria J 
 Certain est, certissimum est, ex tali plebe se- 
 cuturum neminem. An posteritas forte pectus 
 aliquod nobile parturiet ? Minime, haec ipsa doc- 
 trinse impedimenta cum seculis crescunt. Quid 
 tucogitas, o Sol, qui cuncta intueris ac lustras, 
 cui nulla unquam ab ortu mundi contingit quies ! 
 Qua? mens tibi, quum ocissime per ccelum ruis, 
 videsque oculis tuis tarn somnolentos homines ? 
 Lege naturae odisse solemus gnavi ignavos, docti 
 inertes. Cur itaque tu longo cursu lassus, jus- 
 tissimam semper indignationem cohibes ? Quin 
 protinus perdis ignavam multitudinem ? Hi sunt, 
 qui turpi otio transigunt vitam, nati fruges consu- 
 mere. Caeterum quum res cunctas terra produxe- 
 rit in communem usum, quam iniquum videtur, 
 quod solus homo omnia sibi rapiat, et reliqua 
 animalia passim per vicos, per campos, per sylvas 
 longa fame intereant ? praesertim quum apud nos 
 miiI tarn nullius pretii, nee digni, ut vel semel 
 |>ulcherrima solis luce fruantur. Ego medius fi- 
 dius haec aliquando cum tanta indignatione per- 
 pendo, ut velim caeteras animantes omnes in horum 
 exitium conspirasse. Sed redeamus, unde inertia* 
 mentio nos deduxit. In profectione Germanica 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 
 
 145 
 
 contiait mini, ut a media nocte non dormiverim. 
 Animadverti milites quosdam, qui nobiscum in 
 navi erant, itidem vigilantes. Cogitabam pul- 
 cbrum fore, si horam unam ejus noctis mihi lucri- 
 facerem. Docui illos Germanico sermone circui- 
 tum mundi, Solis, Lunae, siderum reliquorum. 
 Quid orbes, circuli, axes, poli. Terram mundi 
 centrum esse, et nullam in coelo stellam cerni, 
 qua? non multo major sit quam terra. Quid an- 
 nus, mensis, dies, bora, et e quibus motibus pro- 
 fluerent. Ha3c ita perspicue illis delineabam, 
 reddita omnium ratione ac usu, ut jam totam sese 
 faciem mundi tenere existimarint, Istbaec eo 
 scripsi, quod censeam, omni momento temporis 
 quserendam esse occasionem aliquid docendi. 
 
 It 
 
CAP. VI. 
 
 Docendi munns ob levem causam non debere 
 
 intermitti. 
 
 Inter docendum non raro usuveniet, ut minus 
 
 te aptum ad futuram lectionem sentias. Id fit 
 
 ob varias cogitationes et studia diversa, quibus 
 
 domi fueris deditns. Plerique id praesentientes, 
 
 significare solent se non esse lecturos. Verum 
 
 lii in docendo famam magis et gloriam spectant, 
 
 quam eruditionem, quae paratur exercitio. Pro- 
 
 inde relicta ostentandi libidine, quoquo niqdo 
 
 adfectum te esse senseris, sive per noctem totam 
 
 \ igilaris, sive altior cogitatio in perquirendis na- 
 
 turae arcanis mentem impedierit tuam, ad exerci- 
 
 tium veluti ad messem currito. Praastantius est 
 
 enim, e professione judicium solum, atque fruc- 
 
 tum quaerere; Laudem vero spectare nusquam, 
 
 nisi in styli gloria, qua3 aeterna esse debet. Nam 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 147 
 
 qua? praelegeris, audient pauci : quae scripseris, 
 secula cuncta intuebuntur. Duo tamen remedia 
 sunt, quibus melanclioleam ex animo pellas. Al- 
 terum, ut bene nutrias corpus, ambules, ludas, 
 conviveris, corpus vino impleas, ac aliis modis re- 
 crees menteni. Idcirco nonnulli ante concionem 
 integros vini cantharos spiritu uno exhauriunt. Al- 
 terum, utmultum dorraias. Incredibile enim, quan- 
 tum lucis, quantum alacritatis res ea adferat animo. 
 Somnum conciliari binis pra3cipue modis posse, 
 nemo est qui ignoret : magna corporis fatigatione, 
 ac usu pharmacorum, inter quae primas tribuunt 
 papaveri. Corporis robur ac valetudinem, con- 
 ferre ad ostentationem, hoc modo discas. Nam 
 ut videmus, ii, quibus crassum et pingue corpus 
 est, vel magna caloris copia, facundiores sunt, et 
 aptiores ad docendum, etiam si non admodum 
 sint eruditi, quam alii qui perpetuo chartis inhe- 
 rent. Illi namque membra, vel organa, quibus 
 utuntur in sermone, robusta acbene nutrita habent : 
 hi contra imbecilla, et exiguos in pectore spiritus. 
 Quippe quanto magis animus, tanto minus corpus 
 valet. Verum in altero genere aliquid est dis- 
 criminis. Quibus enim crassum corpus est, ser- 
 monem tardum cum gravitate : quibus gracile, et 
 calidum, celerem habent. Caeterum in univer- 
 
14R JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 sum id pracipio, ut fugias ea qua mollia sunt : 
 ut manibus pedibusque ad scopum, hoc est, for- 
 main bene scribendi, perferaris. Cave corpus alas, 
 et impleas potu, quo majore cum gratia pronunties 
 ea, qua? per horam unam dictabis audientibus. 
 Ne talenta tria abjicias, ut referas ltnum. Alio- 
 qui satius fuerit nihil dicere. 
 
CAP. VII. 
 
 In docendo nihil celandum esse. 
 
 Plerique libentius imperitos docere, quam 
 doctos solent. Verentur enim, si sua sic omni- 
 bus tradiderint, ne non sint aliis superiores. Cae- 
 terum tales astu solum, foeminarum modo : non 
 vi, non aperte student vincere. Quapropter si li- 
 teratus quispiam me invisat, non occultabo ea, 
 qua? assidua peperit consuetudo, turpe enim id 
 esse judicarem. Verum ultro ipsa prodam, tra- 
 damque alteri ferrum, quo me superare possit, si 
 velit. Sic etenim aliis indicando seepe studii mo- 
 duni, ipse meliorem semper inveniam quern exer- 
 citatio illi suggeret docenti. Hoc pacto aperta 
 vi evadere victores possumus. Prsestat per vir- 
 tutem in pugna belli fortunam experiri. Inertis 
 est, venari dolo, quod sanguine parari possit. 
 
 N 2 
 
150 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 Nee, si ad summa niti velim, adversus unum aut 
 alterum arma suraam, sed adversus regiones 
 onines, adversus tot secula post me ventura. Si 
 magno igitur animo simus ? conabimur eflicere, ut 
 rion unus solum vincatur a nobis : verum ut na- 
 tiones universae succumbant : ut secula nulla alere 
 possint aliquem, qui eodem sit perventurus. Ita- 
 que nemo existimet, me quicquam alios celare 
 \c\\e. Quin potius persuadeat sibi, quicquid do- 
 mi babemus, obviis omnibus patere sponte. Qui 
 cunque nobiscum iter facient, eandem habeant 
 mentem oportet. 
 
CAP. VIIL 
 
 De docendi forma apud Peripateticos. 
 
 Prius, quam ad alia transeamus, de Peripateti- 
 cis scholis nonnihil dicendum. Haec tria mihi con- 
 silia occurrunt, non admodum iis infrugifera. 
 Primum est, ut cavillationes, vel sophismata, hoc 
 est, suppositionum conjecturas, atque id genus 
 deliramenta, penitus abjiciant, ut quse nihil ad 
 communem loquendi morem conferant. Nee 
 aliud illorum esse argumentationes video, quam 
 chartarum lusus in quibus omnia ficta sunt. Fin- 
 gunt enim in prima3 formee syllogismis themata 
 conversa, sive prseposteras orationes, qua? nus- 
 quam reperiuntur. Fingunt, longe aliud esse, 
 homo animal non est, quam, homo non est animal : 
 hanc falsam esse, illam veram : quse tamen diffe- 
 rentia nusquam observatur. Jucundum forte vide- 
 
J52 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 fur, omnem verborum seucontextus vimperspicere, 
 Atqui optabilius erat, iis, quorum nullus usus est, 
 relictis, meliora persequi, servareque Poetae dic- 
 tum : Ne quid nimis. Vitam quippe mortalibus 
 brevem, ac artes innumeras natura concossit. Al- 
 terum est, ut ilia, quae ex Aristotele praelegunt ad- 
 olescentibus, ocius paulo absolvant, addito semper 
 rerum quas produnt usu. Meminerint, pueris 
 longum superesse iter, antequam ad metam perve- 
 nerint. Postremum, utnon modo Dialecticen, et 
 Pbysicen, queis duos tresve annos tribuunt, doce- 
 ant : verum alia quoque non minus necessaria, ele- 
 menta Grsecae linguae, Rhetoricen, ac rationem 
 «cribendi. Utpueri, quemadmodum Fabiusmonet, 
 nonnunquam declament, proposito singulis mensi- 
 Kllf, ant praemio, aut honore aliquo illi, qui vicis- 
 «et. Si tunc docendi modum baberent, et uberio- 
 n in iortasse referrent fructum, etjuventutirectius 
 («'lisiilcrent. 
 
CAP. IX. 
 
 Qua ratione vitare possis in scribendi tadium. 
 
 Si tsedium mentem a scribendo averterit, hoc 
 utere remedio. Statue ac vove voluntate firma, 
 te eo die non coenaturum, quo non tot paginas, 
 non tot versus, ut decreveras, scripseris. Quod 
 si accideri delinquere, tu tibi ignoscere noli, volo 
 ceena careas. Abstinere a cibo, non parum quan- 
 doque ad corporis valetudinem facit, et alacriorem 
 reddit animum. Vel si mavis, alia tibi interdi- 
 cere potes, quorum voluptate plus senseris te ad- 
 fici. Quia difficile scribere est, quia taediosum, 
 quia paucis datum, eo rem debes expetere. Si 
 facile esset, si obvium omnibus, quam hac indus- 
 tria laudem posses consequi ? Certe nullam. Ea 
 utique sum natura, (non id gloriandi causa, sed 
 excitandi alios dico) ut petam nihil, quod non vi- 
 
154 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 detur arduum. Si sine negotio id fieret, nun- 
 quam me hercule scriberem. Mihi rem principio 
 molestam fuisse judicabit, qui viderit, quando in 
 ipsa coeperim elaborare. Nam ante paucos annos 
 nihil scripseram unquam, nisi forte quatuor aut 
 quinque paginas, si colligas omnia, quae exercendi 
 causa cogebat in ludo componere. Intra annos 
 duos vix unam Latine epistolam scribebam, tracta- 
 bam nugas alias, quae nihil ad stylum conferunt, 
 ut obiter exponam. Circa decimum septimum 
 aetatis annum regiam deserui. Didici Lovanii 
 Latinae linguse rudimenta. Inde Aristotelis Dia- 
 lecticen, ac Physicen. In quibus paedagogum 
 habui Petrum Curtium in omni literarum genere 
 apprime eruditum. Atqui dum disciplinis hisce 
 operam darem, ad res inanes menteni abduxi. In- 
 itio modum scribendi aulicum profitebar, quern 
 habent in aula imperatoris. Tantopere me turn 
 delectabant characteres apte compositi, pulchri, et 
 varii, ut quindecim diversas scribendi formas col- 
 legerim. Postea relictis iis, in pingendi arte 
 grassari coepi. Literas descripsi majusculas, non 
 simplici ductu linearum, ut vulgaris typorum spe- 
 cies est, sed e frondium, arborum, rerumque alia- 
 rum, qua litera patet, protractione. Sic apud me 
 litera A est magnitudine palmorum trium aut qua- 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 155 
 
 tuor, quam ad hunc composui moduni. In dextera 
 typi parte frondes ducuntur coloribus distinctae. 
 In sinistra arbor est, e cujus specu paulum infra 
 verticem puer feram jacentem liumi nititur confi- 
 gere. Sic pingebam mala, pira, flores, ac res alias. 
 Post haec sum aggressus artificum caelandi pictu- 
 ras in aere levigato, conversa imaginis forma, ut 
 apposito atramento eadem in ciiartis multis premi 
 possit, Inde apud me est species puella; regiae 
 ornataa gemmis, atque vestitu eximio, quam in 
 83rea tabula sculpseram. Postea per annos ali- 
 quot didici etpublice professus sum Arithmeticen, 
 Astronomiam, et Graecam linguam. Postremo 
 animum adjunxi ad curam Latine ac polite scri- 
 bendi, cujus gloria inter humanos conatus omnes 
 summum tenere locum videtur. In hac finire vi- 
 tam decrevi. Quae si dabitur mediocriter longa, 
 in animo est opuscula millena (idque summa, 
 quantum in nobis fuerit, adhibita cura Latini 
 sermonis) ante mortem conscribere : quorum cor- 
 pori universo inde titulus erit, Chilias. Nee prius 
 desistere certum est, quam istaec, quae dixi, per- 
 fecero, nisi mors invitum opprimat. Ex hoc nu- 
 mero libellos nuper undeviginti absolvimus : spe- 
 ramusque, nos brevi ad centum, hoc est, decimam 
 Chiliados partem perventuros. Haec ideo recen- 
 
15G JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 seo, ne juventa desperetusquam, sciatque, homini 
 nihil esse arduuni, si labor non defuerit. Mittu 
 di versa Musicorum organa, quae tantuni temporis 
 abstulerunt, ut interea facile sermonem Romanum 
 perdisceres. Nihil magis doleo, quam quod hac 
 voluptate vita mihi perierit. Scio, artem labore 
 fessos instaurare, atqui si bene studiosoruni tur- 
 bam inspicias, nimium omnes, quae mentem refi- 
 ciant, quaerimus. Scilicet is, qui in rebus gerendis 
 impetu vacat, et semper languet, et exiguo labore 
 facile opprimitur. Mala mille molestant aflligunt- 
 que hominem, cui segne atque inutile corpus. 
 Taceo lites, quae per biennium mihi fuere in ju- 
 dicio, dum opera daretur artibus. Praetereo oc- 
 cupationes alias, quas longum esset hie enarrare. 
 Sed relicta vanitate ad remeamus, unde plus satis 
 digressa est oratio. Admonui qua solertia te ip- 
 sum ad scribendum incitabis. Alterum est, ut 
 alios quaeras, qui ad laborem te provocent, hoc 
 niodo. Die chalcographis, parent sese, librum te 
 dare velle excudendum, etiam si.ne paginam qui- 
 dem paraveris. Turn facile totam voluminis spe- 
 ciem animo concipere, inde singulas parteis 
 leviter in comoediarum argumenti modum descri- 
 bere : denique quotidie, quantum illis satis erit, 
 absolvere poteris. Q U um sic inceperis aliquid, 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 157 
 
 perficere debes, velis, nolis. Id ego in omnibus 
 pene libris feci, ac etiam isto. Sed qua ratione, 
 infra dicam. Facillime scribo pedetentim, dum 
 quotidie typographus suas exigit chartas. Malim 
 sic quinquaginta edere libros, quam ratione alia 
 unum. Ubi Horatius inquit, scripta inn ovum ser- 
 vari annum debere, non tempus, sed diligentia 
 praescribitur. Verum ne tale quicquam audeas, 
 nisi in ea re, quam scribere tentabis, satis sis ver- 
 satus, alioqui omnium dignus risu eris. Porro 
 istuc consilium esse, non praeceptum volo, praeser- 
 tim illis, qui parva petunt, qui non terrae regnum 
 totius, sed urbem solum unam quaerunt. Non 
 enim displicet, editionem premi, quo commenda- 
 tior liber exeat. Mora tamen aliquid habet in- 
 commodi. Hominem facet tranquillum, desidem, 
 otiosum, ignavum, somnolentum. Et nescio quam 
 adferat superstitionem, dum dissimulat quaedam, 
 dum rogari vult, ut librum emittat. Quare animus, 
 qui grassari velit, nusquam patiens morae sit. 
 Expectent italanguido pectore ac pendula cervice 
 homines, quibus satis est, si non omnino sint im- 
 periti, si ante vitte finem quaedam ediderint non 
 minima cum laude. At imperator ille, cujus vir- 
 tus per omne aevum eminebit, novumne expectet 
 
 o 
 
J58 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 annum ? Quin potius orbem universum horae in- 
 terstitio unius sibi conabitur subjugare. Adde 
 quod nonnulli majore cum gratia, decore, digni- 
 tate, scribere quicquam cito possunt, quam alii 
 tarde. Studiosus itaque hie sequatur, quod vide- 
 bitur melius. Sua cuique sententia. Verum tu 
 qui summa petis, semper fuge moram. Plerique 
 quicquid inveniunt apud Ciceronem, Fabium, ac 
 similes autores veteres, in ore semper pro legibus 
 habent. Hi et se ignorant homines esse et judi- 
 cio nullo rationis utuntur. Horatius voluit te- 
 mere nihil vulgandum esse. Si quicquam tentaris 
 proferrein lucem mediocri scriptum cura, quoscun- 
 que videris, cantilenam eamdem occinent, diflerri 
 editionem debere. 
 
CAP. X. 
 
 Accurate notandum esse, si quid per diem 
 
 profeceris. 
 
 Id quoque perutile fuerit, ante somnum notare, 
 quaecunque luce ea peracta sunt, hoc modo. Jovis 
 die primo Martii quinquaginta in Cicerone pagi- 
 nas perlegi, decern in Plinio, Horis tribus alios 
 docui. Octoginta versus aut paginas quinque in 
 styli exercitio perscripsi. Quanto pluris feceris 
 exiguum proventum, tantum ad altiora doctrina? 
 fastigia es evasurus. Qui vilissimos quosque num- 
 mos admirantur, intuentur crebro, et servant ac- 
 curate, ad summas saspenumero divitias perve- 
 niunt. Contra qui ipsos contemnunt, ac viles 
 putant, tales ad extremam plerumque redactos 
 egestatem videmus. Pari modo si quis optarit 
 sudorum metam bene scribere, discat mirari bene 
 
160 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 scripta, discat gaudere, si vel nomina duo con- 
 junxerit venuste. 
 
 Ilia servet majore cura, quam aurum, gcmmas, 
 cseterasve opes. Equidem in libris excudendis, 
 cum speciosum aliquem vocum contextum, aut 
 verba duo ornato invenio, lsetitia exulto majore, 
 quam si aureum reperissem. Turn mirus splendor 
 pectus illustrat : hac vivimus, hoc dulci gaudio 
 mens tranquilla fruitur. Ea mihi sententia est, 
 atque uti spero ad vitae exitum permanebit, ut pro 
 singulis vocibus, nitidis, significantibus, appositis, 
 singulos recipere aureos nolim, etiam si summa 
 me premeret inopia. 
 
 Malo, dictionem esse decoram, aut voces duas 
 commissas apte, aut splendide dictum aliquid in 
 opusculis meis, quam aureum in manibus. Illud 
 namque imperatorem animum voluptate incredi- 
 bili adficit : hoc vitiorum fomes est, hoc ad corpus 
 solum, et luxum spectat. Illud perpetuo meum 
 erit : hoc ad breve tempus. 
 
CAP. XL 
 
 De exercitio corporis. 
 
 Longa quies enervat corpus, etcalculum parit, 
 ideo praecepere, ut studiosi quandoque aereum 
 globum Dianu agitent, torqueantque ad fatigatio- 
 nem. Verum hoc exercitium nonnihil aufert 
 temporis. Modum igitur alium excogitavi. In 
 vestibus interioribus aliquando consuo plumbum 
 dissectum in minutas laminas, tanti ponderis, ut 
 utraque manu universam lerare molem vix possim. 
 Has induo mane, has robur corporis commode 
 sustentat. Caveo tamen, ne inferior spinas pars 
 plus aequo prematur. Id facio ad octo fere dies, 
 donee asstu laboris nimium membra accenduntur. 
 Sed pondus dictum sensim augetur, ac minuitur. 
 Repentina namque mutatio, laedere non parum 
 
 O 2 
 
162 JOACH. FORI. RING. 
 
 naturam solet. Milonem sequor, qui qoutidie vi- 
 tulum ferre solitus, tandem gestavit tauruni. Hac 
 ratione tempore eodem et scribo, et firmo valetu- 
 dinem. Sie revera sum armatus, ut in libri exor- 
 dio descripsimus. Nee deceret, quod tanto 
 clamore alios ad dura excitarem, mollia qua3rens 
 ipse. Non erit post principia, qui primum se ur- 
 bes expugnaturum esse professus est, modo vita 
 supersit. Animum quisque sumat : ha3C belli vis 
 et summa quaerit, et summe est honesta. 
 
CAP. XII. 
 
 Mutandum esse subinde locum. 
 
 Quo vigilantiore spiritu, et artium discere pra> 
 ceptiones, et docere alios, et scribere possis, locum 
 mutare interdum oportebit. Semper enim depre- 
 hendes aliquid, quod ante nusquam videris. Ple- 
 rique manere satis ducunt, quod non sine peri- 
 culo, et grandi sumptu, et jactura temporis gravi, 
 iter facere liceat. Verum plus tamen ex hujus- 
 modi peregrinatione compendii, quam dispendii 
 tibi comparaveris. Quippe animus et varietate 
 mire excitatur : et saepenumero rerum conspectu 
 novarum permotus efficit ea, quae domi nunquam 
 agitasset. Quantulum enim audeat ille, qui in 
 eodem semper loco hasret ? Julius Caesar, quum 
 in insulum Gades venisset, animadversa in Her- 
 eulis templo Magni Alexandn imagine, ingemuit, 
 
164 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 pertaesusque ignaviam suam, quod nihil a se memo- 
 rabile actum esset ea getate, qua jam ille orbem 
 terrarum domuisset, missionem continuo efflagita- 
 \it, ad captandas majorum rerum occasiones. 
 Ad tan tarn gloriam adipiscendam commotus forsi- 
 tan non fuisset, si semper permansisset dorni. 
 Pari forma certum est ad literas qouque novitate 
 animos incitari. 
 
 Mea sententia senis fere mensiljus, aut singulis 
 annis, urbem quaeres aliam. Curas omnes, quae 
 hunc impedire morem possint, abdicabis. Equi- 
 dem infelicissimos voco, semperque vocabo, dies 
 illos, quibus usquam ultra mensem desederim. 
 Quod si profecturos metus inanis periculorum ter- 
 reat, cum Csesare dicant, nunc te Fortuna sequa- 
 nmr. Peregrinatio pra?cipue confert ad exerci- 
 tationem. 
 
 Postquam enim in una urbe continua lectione 
 fos, (jiii te audiunt, fatigaveris, transire licebit in 
 aliam, vursus novos habiturus sis. Sunt prate rea 
 Ml complures, turn incampisquosperagramus, turn 
 m ci\ Halibus, ad quas venimus, qua? nos impellunt 
 Utiora. Qttis non increpet ignaviam suam, quum 
 "I *\lvas \cstitasfrondibus, tot campos floribus 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 16-5 
 
 herbisque distinctos contuetur ? Quis non doleat 
 se tarn diu domi latuisse? Quis non miseretur eos, 
 qui jugi otio, vel, ut illorum verbo utar, tranquil- 
 litate, in urbe marcescunt ? Nee nobis tempus 
 itineris oranino perit. Tum confestim arrepto sty- 
 lo, tot miraculis exciti, aliquam naturae industriara 
 nitimur exprimere, eamque monstrare posteris. 
 Tum poenitet, sie optimos annos defluxisse. Tum 
 statuimus, nos nunquam in uno loco, nisi per dies 
 viginti, duraturos. Turn censemus, extremo im- 
 petu omnia peragenda. In agris, naturae vires • 
 in urbe, hominum opera magis contemplamur. 
 Ergo extemplo evolandum, omnia lustranda, ubi 
 Musae versantur : non semel, sed decies, vicies, 
 centies. Neque id, quo urbium magnitudines, et 
 splendores, et rerum venalium copiam, spectemus, 
 quae ad institutum nihil conferunt : sed ut omnia 
 trahamus in occasionem eruditionis. Literas ve- 
 nabimur, literarum gratia profieiscendum. Res 
 quidem aliquando adversae in itinere accidunt : fe- 
 rendi aestus, algores, pluviae, venti. Sed, ut sae~ 
 penumero dixi, dura durum faciunt, mollia mol- 
 lem. Magis optaverim leonis robur nusquam 
 cedens, quamluxummuliebrem. Palmae naturam 
 sequi jubet, nesciam succumbere. Quis perpetuo 
 secundam Fortunam toleret ? tantum ubique va- 
 
166 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 rietas juvat. Nee ego semper prosperam expertus 
 sum, Quum puer essem, ex alto loco in medium 
 flumen incidi, ita ut omnis pene vitas spes perierit. 
 Mox casu advenere, qui non sine suo periculo 
 jam ferine mortuum liberarunt. Nunc ingens 
 malorum agmen occurrit, quae fata superarunt nos- 
 tra. Verum isthasc commemoratio hue non spectat. 
 Apage ergo, stolida clea, quae immerito et bonos 
 viros opprimis, et flagitiosos blandis afflatibus in 
 altum vehis. Tua, Virtus, vestigia sequar, mille 
 laboribus, per saxa, per ignes. In liac semita, 
 nee ascensus arduus, nee minae, nee discrimina, 
 nee vulgi terrores properantem detinebunt. Hie 
 dulciores sudores cum spe summae victorias, quam 
 fortunae luxus cum perenni solicitudine. Hie in 
 laclirymis ipsis est quaedem consolatio. Hie gra- 
 tum est, inter imbres, procellas, fulmina, tonitrua, 
 per altissimas rupes manibus pedibusque niti. 
 Quippe ardens amor nullum admittit tosdium. 
 Hie jucundum, vulnerari sentibus, ex alto prse- 
 cipitari, nullis non agitari incommodis, modo in- 
 dies propior spes victoriae fiat. Ha3c alit laboran- 
 tem. Hsec efficit, ut in mediis malis pleno gau- 
 dio mens exultet. An ego queam tot labores 
 Perpeti, nunc scribendo per decern dies, nunc do- 
 cendo ab aurora ad hesperum, nunc iter faciendo 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 167 
 
 aestate persestus, fulmina, tonitrua, hyeme per fri- 
 gora, nives, grandines, nisi ipsa aliquando fatiga- 
 tio occurreret? Lateat vulgus in aedibus, sequantur 
 somnia tenebras, caveant pallentes umbrae, ne 
 levis aura faciem laedat, ne niadeant imbre, ne 
 tegulae casu intereant, donii etiam non desunt pe- 
 ricula, curent se longis conviviis, turn lioris prae- 
 scriptis deambulent, alternis diebus mentem, si 
 quam habent, in tanto contemptu temporis, in- 
 staurent lusu, ne lentae animantes labore nimio 
 consumantur. Nos in luce versari, atque sub 
 divo mundum spectare decrevimus. Certum est, 
 visere varia gentium studia. Quis semper inter 
 eosdem vultus sine taedio transigat vitam ? Sed 
 dieat aliquis, qui ex puerorum convictu colligit pe- 
 cuniam : Quid ? etiam in primis Latinae linguae 
 rudimentis sic mutandum locum censes ? Maxime : 
 Grammaticae fere quatuor annos tribuunt, et ple- 
 rumque in uno loco. Quanto satius esset, si inte 
 rea octies schola et urbe commutatis, to ties summam 
 artis, quae brevis est, puer didicisset: relictis om- 
 nibus praeceptionibus, quae non omnino sunt ne- 
 cessariae. Nunc contra, quo diu detineant ado- 
 lescentes, ea inculcant, quae me puderet hie re- 
 censere, tarn sunt humilia, tarn raro occurrunt 
 apud auc tores. Quum principio nihil docere de- 
 
10» JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 berent, quod non creberrimi usus sit. Causae 
 hujus consilii sunt, quod a multis plura, vel saltern 
 aptiore omnia ordine discent, quam ab uno- 
 Deinde, quod earn aetatem sicuti nos, non parum 
 excitabit novus conspectus eorum, inter quos ver- 
 sabitur. Haud ambigo, complures fore, qui fa- 
 ciendum secus judicent : sed his non omnino sum- 
 ma erit et temporis et victoria3 cura. 
 
CAP. XIII. 
 
 Studiosos debere esse libefos. 
 
 Haud facile emergunt, qui conducti stipendio, 
 vel pueros privatim instituunt, vel publice in 
 Academia non omnino celebri profitentur disci- 
 plinas ad spatium anhi, duorunive, vel apud typo- 
 graphos scriptores emendant. Causae mihi dua3 
 occurrunt. Quod hi non magno videantur animo, 
 iiec amplius tendere ad altiora, qui hujusmodi re- 
 bus possunt detineri. Meo judicio per campos 
 apertos laxis habenis, quacunque fortuna monstra- 
 ret iter, tendendum erat ad scopum. Altera, 
 quod ex ea tranquillitate socordia quaedam existit, 
 quae persuadeat nobis, desiderari nihil, quod ad 
 triumphi nomen faciat. Itaque, o juventae illustre 
 robur, dehinc contemptis et stipendiis, et illecebris 
 
 P 
 
170 JOACH. FORT. RING. 
 
 cunctis, quae vel liorae intercapedinem unius pos- 
 sint impedire, petamus sedem, quo nemo unquam 
 aspiravit. Ingentis est ignaviae semper alios velle 
 sequi, semper ducem quaerere. Ante mori cer- 
 tum est, quam ulli cedere mortalium. Pulchrum 
 est, sexcentos leones in pugnam spectaculo uno 
 committere: pulclirum forte, multis populis impe- 
 rare : sed pulchrius, propria virtute eo verae laudis 
 penetrare, quo nemo te sequi poterit. Victoria in 
 manu est. Magno Alexandro (quis non crebro 
 tarn animosi pectoris meminerit?) quum nuntiare- 
 tur, Darium regem triginta militum adducere 
 myriadas, Unus, inquit, lanius non timet multas 
 oves. Sicuti leo citius saevit in virum, quam 
 foeminam, pueros non sine sum ma fame coactus 
 attingit, ita et nobis, leonum more, maxima quae- 
 que maximo arripienda sudore sunt. Hominis 
 vita temporis punctum est, sed quid non vincit la- 
 bor ac sedulitas ? Fingat se quisque nudis pedi- 
 bus in medio positum igne, cogitetque quanta 
 turn agilitas in membris pigris esset, solum pro 
 salute corporis : nunc multo major sit pro salute 
 animi. Hoc spectaculum semper sit in pectore. 
 Quum aedificia quinque aut sex simul flagrant in- 
 cendio, turn cursitant, ia flammas ruunt, ut aliquid 
 igni eripiant, pars tecta conscendunt, funduntque 
 
DE RAT. STUDII. 171 
 
 aquas, pars opes e domo rapiunt, nee ea tempes- 
 tate magna somni aut ventris cura est : sic nostra 
 tractanda studia sunt. Isthic videas, quid humana 
 vis efficiat, si vires experiatur, quid intra annum, 
 imo brevissimum tempus praestare possit. Fulmi- 
 nis modo ad ea feremur quae poscimus. Sermones 
 omnes non nisi tonitrui ictus erunt. Mens mo- 
 mento urbem totum peragrabit. Quid celerius 
 mente ? Manuum usus corporisque motiones glo- 
 bos emissos pulvere accenso imitabuntur. Ocissime 
 Sol in occiduas mundi plagas tendit, nisi nunc 
 sequamur, nihil efficimus : Vix esse credam cosli 
 volatum vehementia nostra concitatiorem. Tu 
 ignava Graecia, non perpetuum dabitur decen- 
 nium Trojse, primo impetu omnia ruent. Etiam 
 mundo egredi facile est, si pavidum animal tenta- 
 verit, si semel tantum fecerit periculum. Non 
 arbitremur, deos esse qui solertia mediocri summa 
 hactenus occupavere. Quorum admiratio ita coe- 
 pit posteros, ut vix dum quisquam sequi eodem 
 contenderit. Non priscorum elevare decus, verum 
 ad majora alios impellere conamur. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
957