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THE SECOND BOOKE 273
Iovis incunabula Creten, 1
The He of famous Creet,
For Jove a cradle meet.
Behold the excuse that Screvola, chiefe Bishop, and
Varro, a great Divine, in their dayes, give us upon the
consideration of this subject. It is necessary (say they)
that man be altogether ignorant of true things, and
beleeve many false. Quum veritatem qua liberetur,
inquirat; credatur ei expedite, quod fallitur : ' Since
they seeke the truth, whereby they may be free, let us
beleeve it is expedient for them to be deceived.' Mans
eye cannot perceive things but by the formes of his
knowledge. And we remember not the downfall of
miserable Phaeton, forsomuch as he undertooke to
guide the reins of his fathers steeds with a mortall
hand. Our minde doth still relapse into the same
depth, and by her owne temeritie doth dissipate and
bruise it selfe. If you enquire of Philosophy what
matter the Sun is composed of, what will it answer ?
but of yron and stone, or other stuffe for his use.
Demand of Zeno what Nature is ? A fire (saith he), an
Artist, fit to engender, and proceeding orderly. Archimedes,
master of this Science, and who in truth and
certaintie assumeth unto himselfe a precedencie above
all others, saith the Sunne is a God of enflamed yron.
Is not this a quaint imagination, produced by the
inevitable necessitie of Geometricall demonstrations ?
Yet not so unavoidable and beneficiall, but Socrates
hath beene of opinion that it sufficed to know so much
of it as that a man might measure out the land he
either demized or tooke to rent: and that Polyeenus,
who therein had beene a famous and principall Doctor,
after he had tasted the sweet fruits of the lazie, idle
and delicious gardens of Epicurus, did not contemne
them as full of falsehood and apparent vanity. Socrates,
in Xenophon, upon this point of Anaxagoras, allowed
and esteemed of antiquitie, well seene and expert above
all others in heavenly and divine matters, saith, that he
1 OVID. METAM. 1. viii. 99.
II. T