Page:Colasterion - Milton (1645).djvu/21

 trick to confute by. And would you think to what a pride hee swells in the contemplation of his rare stratagem, offering to carp at the language of a book, which yet hee confesses to be generally commended; while himself will bee acknowledg'd by all that read him, the basest and the hungriest endighter, that could take the boldnes to look abroad. Observ now the arrogance of a groom, how it will mount. I had writt'n, that common adultery is a thing which the rankest Politician would think it shame and disworship that his Law should countenance. First, it offends him that rankest should signify ought but his own smell; who that knows English would not understand mee, when I say a rank Serving-man, a rank petti-fogger, to mean a meer Serving-man, a meer and arrant petti-fogger, who lately was so hardy, as to lay aside his buckram wallet, and make himself a fool in Print, with confuting books which are above him. Next, the word Politician is not us'd to his maw, and therupon he plays the most notorious hobbihors, jesting and frisking in the luxury of his non-sense with such poor fetches to cog a laughter from us, that no antic hobnaile at a Morris, but is more hansomly facetious.

Concerning that place Deut. 24. 1. which he saith to bee the main pillar of my opinion, though I rely more on the institution then on that. These two pillars I doe indeed confess are to mee as those two in the porch of the Temple, Jackin and Boaz, which names import establishment and strength; nor doe I fear who can shake them. The exposition of Deut. which I brought, is the receav'd Exposition, both ancient and modern, by all lerned men, unless it be a monkish papist heer and there: and the gloss which hee and his obscure assistant would perswade us to, is meerly new, and absurd, presuming out of his utter ignorance in the Ebrew, to interpret these words of the Text, first, in a mistakn sense of uncleanness, against all approved Writers. Secondly, in a limited sense, when as the original speaks without limitation, some uncleanness, or any; and it had bin a wise Law indeed to mean itself particular, and not to express the case which this acute Rabbie hath all this while bin hooking for. Wherby they who are most partial to him may guess that somthing is in this doctrin which I allege, that forces the adversary to such a new & strained Exposition, wherin hee does nothing for above foure pages, but founder himself to and fro in his own objections; one while denying Rh