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12 and fitted for the Benefit of human Society; which consisted in the plain, and direct Rules, of good Life, and Charity, and the Belief in a Redemption by one Saviour, was miserably divided into a thousand intricate Questions, which neither advance true Piety, nor good Manners. Hence arose all the Heresies of those times. Against these, besides the force of Disputation, the Church obtain'd the Arm of the Civil Magistrate: and so at last by the help of many General Councils, got them extinguish'd; if I may say they were extinguish'd, seeing in this Age wherein we live, we have seen most of them unhappily revived. But still by this means, there was no Knowledge in Request, but the Disputative Philosophy. For while things were in this posture, and so many great Wits ingag'd in the heats of Controversy: it was not to be expected, that they should look out for farther assistance, than the Arts, which were already prepar'd; or that they should make any considerable Indeavours, about new Inventions, and the tedious Trial of Experiments. Nor can we much blame them for it: seeing in a time of War, every Man will rather match up that Armour which he finds ready made, than stay till Men go to the Mine, and dig out new Ore, and refine, and harden it a better way; in hope to have his Weapons of a stronger, and nobler Metal at last.

Nor was that Age unfit for such an Enterprize, only on the Account of these Wars of the Tongue: But also by Reason of the miserable Distempers of the civil Affairs of the World, about that time: which were chiefly occasion'd by the Roman Army's usurping the Right of chusing Emperors, and by the Invasions of Barbarous Nations, which overwhelm'd the greatest Part of Europe, Amidst these Distractions, Rh