Page:Life of Sir William Petty 1623 – 1687.djvu/326

 nature work with them all, and plant no clove nor cinnamon trees upon them, but am content with the roses, peas and violets, and even with the hemlocks, nettles, and thistles, that grow vigorously. The one please the taste and smell of their friends, and the others sting, prick, and poison their enemies.'

Sir William was much interested at this time in a paper of Pascal's on a definition of ability, disagreeing from his views, which Sir Robert Southwell supported. He tells his friend to let the question alone till he comes to town, and promises that he 'will then roast him and Sir James Lowther on one spit.' 'As to Pascal's paper whose name I honour,' he goes on: 'I must say as followeth viz. 1st, That there be many words, phrases and sentences in it, which have not a certain, sensible signification; and therefore cannot beget any clear notion, sense, or science in the reader.2nd, He distinguisheth witts only by their learning or aptitude, either for geometry, or sagacity: whereas I think the best geometricians were the most sagacious men, or that the most sagacious men did ever make the best geometricians. Wherefore the distinction of Witts is not well made by those words, which are but the cause and effect, and consequently the same.3. He maketh the difference of the great achievements made by the severall great men undernamed to have depended upon, either their making use of many or few principles, whereas the words "many," "few," have noe real difference, no man being able to say whether the number ten be many or few, or be a small or great number.

'Those I would name among the

'Whereas the good parts of men are in generall:

'1. Good sense.

'2. Tenacious Memory of Figures, Colors, Sounds, Names, &c.