THE

EPISTLE

TO THE

REA DE R.

READER,

Here put into thy Hands, what has been the Diverfion of fome of my idle and heavy Hours: If it has the good Luck to prove fo of any of thine, and thou haft but half

fo much Pleasure in reading, as I had in writing it, thou wilt as little think thy Money, as I do my Pains, ill beftowed. Miftake not this, for a Commendation of my Work; nor conclude, because I was pleafed with the Doing of it, that therefore I am fondly taken with it now it is done. He that hawks at Larks and Sparrows, has no lefs Sport, though a much lefs confiderable Quarry, than he that flies at nobler Game: And he is little acquainted with the Subject of this Treatife, the UNDERSTANDING, who does not know, that as it is the most elevated Faculty of the Soul, fo it is employed with a greater and more conftant Delight, than any of the other. Its Searches after Truth, are a Sort of Hawking and Hunting, wherein the very Purfuit makes a great Part of the Pleasure. Every Step the Mind takes in its Progrefs towards Knowledge, makes fome Lifcovery, which is not only new, but the beft too, for the Time at least.

For the Understanding, like the Eye, judging of Cb. jects only by its own Sight, cannot but be pleased with what it discovers, having less Regret for what has escap

ed it, because it is unknown. Thus he who has raifed himself above the Alms-Basket, and not content to live lazily on Scraps of begged Opinions, fets his own Thoughts on work, to find and follow Truth, will (whatever he lights on) not mifs the Hunter's Satisfaction; every Moment of his Pursuit will reward his Pains with fome Delight, and he will have Reason to think his Time not ill-fpent, even when he cannot much boaft of any great Acquifition.

This, Reader, is the Entertainment of those who let loose their own Thoughts, and follow them in writing; which thou oughteft not to envy them, fince they afford thee an Opportunity of the like Diverfion, if thou wilt make use of thy own Thoughts in reading. 'Tis to them, if they are thy own, that I refer myfelf: But if they are taken upon Truft from others, 'tis no great Matter what they are, they not following Truth, but fome meaner Confideration: And 'tis not worth while to be concerned, what he fays or thinks, who fays or thinks only as he is directed by another. If thou judgeft for thyfelf, I know thou wilt judge candidly; and then I fhall not be harmed or offended, whatever be thy Cenfure. For though it be certain, that there is nothing in this Treatife, of the Truth whereof I am not fully perfuaded; yet I confider myself as liable to Miftakes, as I can think thee, and know that this Book must stand or fall with thee, not by any Opinion I have of it, but thy own. If thou findeft little in it new or inftructive to thee, thou art not to blame me for it. It was not meant for thofe that had already mastered this Subject, and made a thorough Acquaintance with their own Understandings; but for my own Information, and the Satisfaction of a few Friends, who acknowledged themfelves not to have fufficiently confidered it. Were it fit to trouble thee with the Hiftory of this Elay, I fhould tell thee, that five or fix Friends meeting at my Chamber, and difcourfing on a Subject very remote from this, found themfelves quickly at a Stand, by the Difficulties that rofe on every Side. After we had a while puzzled ourfelves, without coming any nearer a Refolution

Refolution of thofe Doubts which perplexed us, it came into my Thoughts, that we took a wrong Course; and that before we fet ourfelves upon Enquiries of that Nature, it was neceffary to examine our own Abilities, and fee what Objects our Understandings were, or were not fitted to deal with. This I propofed to the Company, who all readily affented; and thereupon it was agreed, that this should be our first Enquiry. Some hafty, and undigested Thoughts on a Subject I had never before confidered, which I fet down against our next Meeting, gave the first Entrance into this Difcourfe; which having been thus begun by Chance, was continued by Intreaty; written by incoherent Parcels; and after long Intervals of Neglect, refumed again, as my Humour or Occafions permitted; and at laft, in a Retirement, where an Attendance on my Health gave me Leifure, it was brought into that Order thou now feeft it.

This discontinued Way of Writing may have occafioned, befides others, two contrary Faults, viz. that too little and too much may be faid in it. If thou findeít any thing wanting, I fhall be glad, that what I have writ gives thee any Defire, that I fhould have gone farther: If it feems too much to thee, thou mayft blame the Subject; for when I first put Pen to Paper, I thought all I fhould have to say on this Matter, would have been contained in one Sheet of Paper; but the farther I went, the larger Profpect I had: New Discoveries led me still on, and fo it grew infenfibly to the Bulk it now appears in. I will not deny, but poffibly it might be reduced to a narrower Compafs than it is; and that fome Parts of it might be contracted; the Way it has been writ in, by Catches, and many long Intervals of Interruption, being apt to cause fome Repetitions. But to confefs the Truth, I am now too lazy, or too buty to make it fhorter.

I am not ignorant how little I herein confult my own Reputation, when I knowingly let it go with a Fault, fo apt to difguft the most judicious, who are always the niceft Readers. But they who know Sloth is apt to content itself with any Excufe, will pardon me, if mine has prevailed on me, where, I think, I have a very

good

good one. I will not therefore alledge in my Defence, that the fame Notion, having different Refpects, may be convenient or neceffary to prove or illuftrate feveral Parts of the fame Difcourfe; and that fo it has happened in many Parts of this: But waving that, I fhall frankly avow, that I have sometimes dwelt long upon the fame Argument, and expreffed it different Ways, with a quite different Defign. I pretend not to publish this Effay for the Information of Men of large Thoughts, and quick Apprehenfions; to fuch Mafters of Knowledge, I profefs myself a Scholar, and therefore warn them before-hand not to expect any Thing here, but what, being spun out of my own coarse Thoughts, is fitted to Men of my own Size, to whom, perhaps, it will not be unacceptable, that I have taken fome Pains to make plain and familiar to their Thoughts fome Truths, which established Prejudice, or the Abstractednefs of the Ideas themfelves, might render difficult. Some Objects had need be turned on every Side: And when the Notion is new, as I confefs fome of these are to me, or out of the ordinary Road, as I fufpect they will appear to others; 'tis not one fimple View of it, that will gain it Admittance into every Understanding, or fix it there with a clear and lasting Impreffion. There are few, I believe, who have not obferved in themselves or others, that what in one Way of propofing was very obfcure, another Way of expreffing it has made very clear and intelligible: Though afterward the Mind found little Difference in the Phrafes, and wondered why one failed to be understood more than the other. But every Thing does not hit alike upon every Man's Imagination. We have our Understandings no lefs different than our Palates; and he that thinks the fame Truth fhall be equally relifhed by every one in the fame Drefs, may as well hope to feaft every one with the fame fort of Cookery: The Meat may be the fame, and the Nourishment good, yet every one not be able to receive it with that Seasoning; and it must be dreffed another Way, if you will have it go down with fome, even of Strong Conftitutions. The Truth is, thofe who advi

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fed me to publish it, advised me, for this Reason, to pub lifh it as it is: And fince I have been brought to let it go Abroad, I defire it fhould be understood by whoever gives himself the Pains to read it. I have fo little Af, fectation to be in Print, that if I were not flattered this Effay might be of fome Ufe to others, as I think it has been to me, I fhould have confined it to the View of fome Friends, who gave the first Occafion to it. My appearing therefore in Print, being on Purpose to be as ufeful as I may, I think it neceffary to make what I have to fay, as easy and intelligible to all Sorts of Readers, as I can. And I had much rather the Speculative and Quick-fighted fhould complain of my being in fome Parts tedious, than that any one, not accustomed to abstract Speculations, or prepoffeffed with different Notions, fhould mistake, or not comprehend my Meaning.

It will poffibly be cenfured as a great Piece of Vanity or Infolence in me, to pretend to inftruct this our knowing Age; it amounting to little lefs, when I own, that I publish this Effay with Hopes it may be useful to others. But if it may be permitted to speak freely of thofe, who with a feigned Modefty condemn as ufelefs, what they themselves write, methinks it favours much more of Vanity or Infolence, to publifh a Book for any other End, and he fails very much of that Respect he owes the Publick, who prints, and confequently expects Men fhould read that, wherein he intends not they should meet with any Thing of Ufe to themselves or others: And should nothing else be found allowable in this Treatife, yet my Defign will not ceafe to be fo; and the Goodness of my Intention ought to be fome Excufe for the Worthleffness of my Prefent. 'Tis that chiefly which fecures me from the Fear of Cenfure, which I expect not to escape more than better Writers. Men's Principles, Notions, and Relishes are so different, that it is hard to find a Book which pleafes or difpleafes all Men. I acknowledge the Age we live in is not the leaft knowing, and therefore not the most easy to be fatisfied. If I have not the good Luck to please, yet no-body ought to be offended with me. I plainly tell

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