Plus ultra, or, The progress and advancement of knowledge since the days of Aristotle in an account of some of the most remarkable late improvements of practical, useful learning, to encourage philosophical endeavours : occasioned by a conference with one of the notional way / by Jos. Glanvill.

CHAP. XI. The Advantages of late Ages for spreading and communicating Knowledge. Three great Instances of it, in Printing, the Compass, and the Royal Society. (Book 11)

THus, Sir, I have dispatch'd the FIRST Part of my Method pro∣posed in the beginning; but stand yet in∣gaged for the other, which is to shew,

(II.) That the later Ages since Aristotle have had great advantages of him, in re∣spect of Opportunities and Helps for the spreading and communicating Knowledge,

and thereby of improving and enlarging it And methinks the very mention of Age•• and Aristotle, by way of comparison in this case, hath so much of absurdity in it, tha•• I am almost ashamed to proceed further in the proof of such a Proposition as this, viz. That the Advantages of Mankind in the Succession of two thousand years, are more than those of a single Person who lived but sixty three. Certainly those that have the fondness to think the contrary, have a Faith that exceeds all the Extravagancies of Fiction: For never any Romance was so absurdly vain, as to feign an Heroe whose single strength and valour exceeded Armies of other Mortals. And 'tis not less absurd to suppose the Wit of one man, and he an Idolater and an Heathen, to transcend the joynt Understandings of all the wiser World, though assisted by his Knowledge, the Light of Christianity, and the aggrega∣ted Informations and Endeavours of many Learned Ages: But my Reverend Op∣posite had this belief, and hath thereby out-done the largest excesses of Poetry. For his sake therefore, and those others that are of this more than hyperbolical Faith, I add the SECOND Part of my proposed Method, though what I have said already

upon the First, is, I judge, more than suf∣ficient for that purpose; And yet I think it not impertinent to subjoyn those other Considerations, both because they will fur∣ther discover the unreasonable vanity of the doating Spirits, that oppose all gene∣rous Endeavours for the advance and im∣provement of Knowledge; and (which may signifie more) will excite and encourage Hopes of Modern Attempts: and Hope is the fuel of Activity and Endeavour.

I descend to demonstrate then by pal∣pable and undeniable Instances, That we have Advantages above Aristotle, and, which is much more, above all elder Times, for mutual Communications, and impart∣ments of our Notices, Observations, Expe∣riments, and Performances for the increase of Science. My Instances are THREE, PRINTING, the COMPASS, and the ROYAL SOCIETY.

For the FIRST, PRINTING, It was, according to Polydore Vergil, the In∣vention of Iohn Cuthenberg of Mentz in Germany, though others give the honour to one Fust of the same City, and some to Laurentius a Burger of Haerlem. But who∣ever was the Author, this is agreed, That this excellent Art was first practiced about

the year 1440. and was utterly unknown i•• elder Times; at least in all the parts of th•• World that are on this side the Kingdom o•• China, which they say had it more early but it signifies not to our purpose. Now by reason of the Ancients want of this In∣vention, Copies of excellent things could not be so much dispersed, nor so well pre∣serv'd either from the Corruptions of Tim•••• or Design. The Charge of Books was very great, forgeries frequent, and mistakes o•• Transcribers numerous. They were quickly swept away out of those few Libraries in which they were, by Fire and Violence, o•• spoiled by Dust and Rottenness. And in th•• absence of this Art, 'twas easie enough fo•• one Aristotle to destroy the most considera∣ble Remains of the Ancients, that the power of his great Scholar put into his hands which, 'tis credibly reported of him, tha•• he did, to procure more Fame for his own Performances: as also to conceal his thefts and injurious dealings with those venerable Sages, whom he seems to take a great de∣light to contradict and expose, as I have else∣where proved. But now, by this excel∣lent Invention, the Knowledge that is lodged in Books, is put beyond the danger of such Corruptions, Forgeries, or any fatal

inconvenience. We communicate upon easie ••terms at the remotest distance, converse with the Wisemen that went before us, and se∣••••rely convey down our Conceptions to the Ages that shall follow. So that by this means Knowledge is advantageously spread and improved; especially since the Assi∣stance modern Ingenuity hath brought us, in that other admirable Invention,

(2.) The COMPASS. How defe∣ctive the Art of Navigation was in elder Times, when they Sailed by the observati∣on of the Stars, is easie to be imagin'd: For in dark weather, when their Pleiades, Helice, and Cynosura were hidden from them by the intervening Clouds, the Mari∣••ner was at a loss for his Guide, and exposed to the casual conduct of the Winds and Tides. For which reason the Ancients sel∣dom or never durst venture into the Ocean, but steer'd along within sight of the safer Shore. So that the Commerce and Commu∣nications of those Days were very narrow; Their famed Travels in comparison were but domestick; and a whole World was to them unknown. But it hath been the happy pri∣viledge of later Days to find the way to ap∣ply the wonderful Vertues of the Loadstone to Navigation; and by the direction of the

Compass we securely commit our selves t•• the immense Ocean, and find our path i•• the vastest Wilderness of Waters. So tha•• Commerce and Traffique is infinitely impro∣ved, the other half of the Globe disclosed and that on this side the great Sea better un∣derstood. The Religions, Laws, Customs and all the Rarities and Varieties of Art and Nature, which any the most distant Clim•• knows and enjoys, are laid open and made common; and thereby the History of Nature is wonderfully inlarged, and knowledge is both propagated and improved.

Who it was that first discovered this excellent Mystery, is not certainly known •• But one Flavius Goia of Amalphis in the Kingdom of Naples, is said to be the Au∣thor; and to have found this incomparable Rarity about 300 years ago. 'Tis pity that one of the greatest Benefactors to man∣kind that ever was, should lie hid in so ne∣glected an obscurity; when the great Trou∣blers of the World, who have vex'd it by the Wars of the Hand and of the Brain, have so dear and so precious a Memory. For my part I think there is more acknowledgment due to the name of this obscure Fellow, that hath scarce any left, than to a thou∣sand Alexanders and Caesars, or to ten times

the number of Aristotles. And he really did more for the increase of Knowledge, and advantage of the World by this one Ex∣periment, than the numerous subtile Di∣sputers that have lived ever since the erection of the School of talking.

And methinks it may not be improper for me here to take notice of that other great German Invention, that useth to be mentioned in the Company, viz. That of GVNPOWDER and ARTILLE∣RY, which hath done its Service also for the help and propagation of Knowledge, as you will perceive, when you shall consider; that by the assistance of these terrible En∣gins of Death, the great Western Indies were presently subdued, which likely had not been so easily effected by the ancient and ordinary Methods of War. 'Twas this Thun∣der and Lightning, and the invisible Instru∣ments of Ruine, that destroyed the Courage of those numerous and hardy People, took away the hearts of the strongest Resisters, and made them an easie prey to the Conquer∣ing Invaders.

And now by the gaining that mighty Continent, and the numerous fruitful Isles beyond the Atlantick, we have obtained a larger Field of Nature, and have thereby

an advantage for more Phaenomena, and more helps both for Knowledge and for Life, which 'tis very like that future Ages will make better use of to such purposes, than those hitherto have done; and that Science also may at last travel into those parts, and inrich Peru with a more precious Treasure than that of its golden Mines, is not im∣probable. And so these Engines of Destru∣ction, in a sense too are Instruments of Knowledge. Of the first Author of this Experiment we know no more, but that he was a German Monke, who lighted on it chance, when he was making some Chymi∣cal Tryals with Nitre, near about the time of the Invention of the Compass; but his Name and other Circumstances are lost.

Now whoever considers, with the Noble Verulam, how much the state of things in the World hath been altered and advanced by these THREE EXPERIMENTS alone, will conceive great hopes of Mo∣dern Experimental Attempts, from which greater matters may be looked for, than those which were the Inventions of single Endeavourers, or the results of Chance.

And of all the Combinations of Men that ever met for the Improvement of Science, therewere never any whose Designes were

••etter laid, whose Encouragements were greater, whose Abilities were more pro∣mising, or whose Constitution was more ju∣diciously or advantageously formed, than the ROYAL SOCIETY.