Page:The Whetstone of Witte.djvu/13

 sone thinke he maie bee to wise. But he that moste feateth that, is leaste in daunger of it. Wherefore to conclude, I see moare menne to acknowledge the benifite of nomber, then I can espie willyng to studie, to attaine the benifites of it. Many praise it, but fewe dooe greately practise it: onlesse it bee fore the vulgare practice, concernyng Merchaundes trade. Wherein the desire and hope of gain, maketh many willyng to sustaine some trauell. For aide of whom, I did sette forth the firste parte of Arithmetike. But if thei knewe how farre this seconde parte, dooeth excell the firste parte, thei would not accoumpte any tyme loste, that were imploied in it. Yea thei would not thinke any tyme well bestowed, till thei had gotten soche habilitie by it, that it might be their aide in al other studies. And if Plato doe require Arithmetike, as a specialle and a necessarie qualitie in hum, whom he would admitte as a citezein in his politike toune: How maie wee thinke of our selues, that desire to gouerne other, and yet can scante skille of common nomber? So farre are many, yea moste parte of vs from cunnyugcunnyng [sic] in nomber. Plato thinketh noe manne hable to bee a good capitaine, excepte he bee skilfulle in this arte: And wee accoumpte it noe parte of those qualities, that bee required in any soche manne. Howbeit for the better trialle thereof, I haue in this Booke framed some of the questions in soche sorte, as thei maie approue the vse of this arte, not onely good for capitaines, but also moste necessarie for theim. So that without it, thei can not Marshall their battaile, nother vewe their enemies campe or forte. And if I shall saie as I thinke, without it a capitaine is noe capitaine. In this booke what I haue written, for the aide of all menne, and namely soche of my countrie menne, that vnderstand nothyng but Englishe, I neade not to repete perticularely, but remitte them to the booke it self, to see it at