Page:Two tracts on the founding and maintaining of parochial libraries in Scotland.djvu/24

20 to many Degrees of their Posterity.

But Men abusing this Blessing of long Life, and exercising their Thoughts only upon Evil and that continually: God in his Justice, was provoked to shorten their Lives, and to confound their Languages, whereby this way of conveying Knowledge by Word of Mouth, and Tradition became very imperfect, and lyable to many Inconveniencies: and therefore that these Means of encreasing Knowledge, and of searching out all the Works of God might be still continued amongst Men; God in his Infinite Mercy, was graciously pleased to teach Men a new Way of communicating their