nor vanities; but ufefull drugs and materialls wherewith to temper and compofe effective and ftrong med'cins, which mans life cannot want. The reft, as children and childish men, who have not the art to qualifie and prepare these working mineralls, well may be exhorted to forbear, but hinder'd forcibly they cannot be by all the licencing that Sainted Inquifition could ever yet contrive; which is what I promis'd to deliver next, That this order of licencing conduces nothing to the end for which it was fram'd; and hath almoft prevented me by being clear already while thus much hath bin explaining. See the ingenuity of Truth, who when she gets a free and willing hand, opens her felf fafter, then

the

the pace of method and difcours can overtake her. It was the task which I began with, To fhew that no Nation or well instituted State, if they valu'd books at all, did ever ufe this way of licencing; and it might be anfwer'd, that this is a piece of prudence lately dif cover'd. To which I return, that as it was a thing flight and obvious to think on, so if it had bin difficult to finde out, there wanted not among them long fince, who fuggefted fuch a cours; which they not following, leave us a pattern of their judgement, that it was not the not knowing, but the not approving, which was the cause of their not ufing it. Plato, a man of high autority indeed, but leaft of all for his Commonwealth, in the

book of his laws, which no City ever yet receiv'd, fed his fancie with making many edicts to his ayrie Burgomafters, which they who otherwife admire him, wifh had bin rather buried and excus'd in the genial cups of an Academick nightfitting. By which laws he seems to tolerat no kind of learning, but by unalterable decree, confifting moft of practicall traditions, to the attainment whereof a Library of fmaller bulk then his own dialogues would be abundant. And there alfo enacts that no Poet fhould fo much as read to any privat man, what he had writt'n, untill the Judges and Law-keepers had feen it, and allow'd it: But that Plato meant this Law peculiarly to that Commonwealth which he had

I

imagin'd,

imagin'd, and to no other, is evident. Why was he not elfe a Law-giver to himfelf, but a tranfgreffor, and to be expell'd by his own Magiftrates; both for the wanton epigrams and dialogues which he made, and his perpetuall reading of Sophron, Mimus, and Ariftophanes, books of groffeft infamy, and alfo for commending the latter of them. though he were the malicious libeller of his chief friends, to be read by the Tyrant Dionyfius, who had little need of fuch trafh to spend his time on? But that he knew this licencing of Poems had reference and dependence to many other provifo's there fet down in his fan-. cied republic, which in this world could have no place and fo neither he him-:

felf, nor any Magiftrat, or City ever imitated that cours, which tak'n apart from those other collaterall injunctions muft needs be vain and fruitleffe. For if they fell upon one kind of ftrictneffe, unleffe their care were equall to regulat all other things of like aptnes to corrupt the mind, that fingle endeavour they knew would be but a fond labour; to shut and fortifie one gate against corruption, and be neceffitated to leave others round about wide open. If we think to regulat Printing, thereby to rectifie manners, we must regulat all recreations and pastimes, all that is delightfull to man. No mufick muft be heard, no fong be fet or fung, but what is grave and Dorick. There must be licencing dancers,

that