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THE SECOND BOOKE 355
Let a Philosopher be put in a cage made of small
and thin-set iron wire, and hanged on the top of our
Ladies Church steeple in Paris; he shall, by evident
reason, perceive that it is impossible he should fall
down out of it: yet can he not choose (except he have
beene brought up to the trade of tilers or thatchers)
but the sight of that exceeding height must needs dazle
his sight, and amaze or turne his senses. For we have
much ado to warrant our selves in the walks or battlements
of a high tower or steeple, if they be battlemented
and wrought with pillars, and somewhat wide
one from another, although of stone and never so
strong. Nay, some there are that can scarcely think
or heare of such heights Let a beame or planke be
laid acrosse from one of those two steeples to the other,
as big, as thick, as strong, and as broad as would suffice
any man to walke safely upon it, there is no philosophicall
wisdome of so great resolution and constancie
that is able to encourage and perswade us to march
upon it, as we would were it below on the ground. I
have sometimes made triall of it upon our mountaines
on this side of Italie, yet am I one of those that will
not easily be affrighted with such things, and I could
not without horror to my minde and trembling of legs
and thighes endure to looke on those infinite precipices
and steepy downe-fals, though I were not neere the
brim, nor any danger within my length and more;
and unlesse I had willingly gone to the perill, I could
not possibly have falne. Where I also noted that how
deep soever the bottome were, if but a tree, a shrub,
or any out-butting crag of a rock presented it selfe
unto our eyes upon those steepe and high Alpes, somewhat
to uphold the sight; and divide the same, it doth
somewhat ease and assure us from feare, as if it were a
thing which in our fall might either helpe or uphold
us: and that we cannot without some dread and giddinesse
in the head so much as abide to looke upon one
of those even and downe-right precipices: Vt despici
sine vertigine simul ocuhrum animique nan possit: ' So
as they cannot looke downe without giddinesse both of