Examen de ingenios, or, The tryal of wits discovering the great difference of wits among men, and what sort of learning suits best with each genius / published originally in Spanish by Doctor Juan Huartes ; and made English from the most correct edition by Mr. Bellamy.

CHAP. XI. That Eloquence and Politeness of Speech are not to be found in Men of great Understanding.

* 1.1ONE of the Graces that inclines the Vulgar to think a Man very Wise and Prudent, is to hear him speak with great Elo∣quence, to observe his Discourse adorn'd and embelish'd with Choice of select and signifi∣cant Words, to bring many pertinent In∣stances of the Subject in Question; though in effect this happens not but where there is an Union of the Memory and Imagination in a degree and medium of Heat, that cannot resolve the Moisture of the Brain, but serves only to raise the Figures, and make them boil, by means of which many things are re∣presented to the Mind to be said. It is im∣possible that the Understanding should be found in this Union,* 1.2 because as we have al∣ready said and proved, that Faculty abhors the Heat extreamly, and can no more consist with Moisture. Which Doctrin had the Athenians known, they would not have been so much surprized to see so wise and knowing a Man as Socrates, not to have the Gift of Utterance, insomuch as they who were Ig∣norant of his Worth, said, That his Speeches

and Expressions resembled a Chest,* 1.3 plain, and unpolished without, but when opened, had within it exquisite Carving and admirable Figures. In the same Error were they, who pretending to give a reason of the Obscurity and bad Stile of Aristotle, said, That industriously, and to gain to his Works the greater Authortiy, he affected that Jargon, with so few Fi∣gures, and Ornaments of Speech. And if we consider also the Difficulties of Plato, and his Concise Sentences, the Obscurity of his Rea∣sons, and the ill Connexion of his Discourses, we shall find, that nought else save this al∣ready mentioned, occasioned the same: But what shall we say to Hippocrates's Works,* 1.4 how he left out the Nouns and Verbs, the ill Disposition of his Sayings and Sentences, the ill Connexion of his Reasons, and, in a word, how few things present∣ed to his Mind to clear up, and lay the Foun∣dation of his Doctrin? What would you more? unless when he was about to give a very large Account to his Friend Damagetes, how Artaxerxes King of Persia solicited him to come to him, with a promise of giving him as much Gold and Silver as he could wish, and of ranking him amongst the Gran∣dees of his Kingdom; (without a distinct Answer to every Proposal) said only thus:

The King of Persia has sent for me to come to him, not knowing that Wisdom is of more ac∣count with me than Gold. Farewel. Had this Subject fallen into the Hands of Erasmus, or of any other Man provided with as good an In∣vention and Memory as he, how many Sheets of Paper would it have cost to dilate upon it? And who would dare to confirm this Do∣ctrin by such an Instance of St. Paul's, and affirm, that he was a Man of vast Under∣standing and bad Memory, but such a one with all his Natural Abilities as could not learn the Tongues, nor speak with any Orna∣ment and Politeness, had he not owned it himself, in these Words; * 1.5 I surpose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest Apostles; but tho' I be rude in Speech, yet not in Knowledge. Which difference of Wit was so accommo∣dated to the Preaching of the Gospel, that it was scarce possible to chuse a better, because there was no need on that occasion of much Eloquence, or great Ornaments of Speech, since the Skill of the Orators of those Times lay most in imposing upon their Auditors Fal∣sities for Truths, to perswade the People by the force and Subtilty of Rhetoric, that what they received for good and profitable was quite contrary as to maintain that it was better to be Poor than Rich, Sick than well, Ignorant than Knowing, and a Thousand other such things, which were manifestly op∣posite to the received Opinion. For which

reason they were call'd by the Jews, Gevanin, as much as to say, Sophisters. Cato Major was of the same Sentiment, finding that it was dangerous to retain them at Rome, be∣cause the strength of that Empire was found∣ed in Arms, and that those Men already be∣gan to perswade them that it would be bet∣ter for the Roman Youth to quit them, and apply themselves to the other Exercises, and Sciences. They were forthwith banished Rome, never more to return thither.

Say then, that God had made choice of an Eloquent Preacher, possessed of all the Or∣naments of Speech, who should go to Athens or Rome, and teach, that at Jerusalem the Jews had Crucified a Man, who was the True God, and that he died of his own good Will and Pleasure to redeem Sinners, and that he rose again the third day, and ascended into Heaven, where he now is; what would the Auditory think, but that this Proposition was in the number of those Vain and Foolish ones used by the Orators to perswade by the Power of their Art? For thus much St. Paul says, * 1.6 Christ sent me not to Baptize, but to Preach the Gospel; not with Wisdom of Words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect. St. Paul's Wit was very proper for this Mi∣nistry, because he had a Capacious Under∣standing, to defend and prove in the Syna∣gogues, and amongst the Gentiles, that Jesus Christ was the Messiah promis'd in the Law, and

that no other was to be expected; but with this he had but an indifferent Memory, so that he could not embelish his Discourse with persuasive and moving Speeches; and this was the difference of Wit the Preaching of the Gospel required. Nevertheless I shall not go about to infer from hence, that St. Paul had not the Gift of Tongues, for it is certain, that he spoke them all as readily as his own. Neither shall I maintain, that to defend the Name of Jesus Christ, the strength of his Un∣derstanding was sufficient of it self, without the Gifts and particular Assistance that God gave him for that purpose. All that I pre∣tend, is, to affirm that Supernatural Gifts are much more efficacious when they meet with a suitable Disposition, than when they fall upon a Sot and a Blockhead. To this alludes the Doctrin of St. Jerome in his Proem upon Esay and Jeremy, demanding what is the reason,* 1.7 that though it was the same Holy Spirit which spoke in both their Mouths; Esay deli∣vered what he Writ with so much Elegance, and Jeremy hardly knew how to speak? He answer'd, that the Holy Spirit accommodates it self to the natural manner of Proceeding of each Pro∣phet, unless Grace changes their Nature, or teaches them a new Language to deliver their Prophecies in. You must know then, that Esay was a Nobleman, bred at Court, and in

the City of Jerusalem, for which reason his Dis∣course was more Elegant and Polite; but Je∣remy was Born and brought up in a Village near Jerusalem, call'd Anathoth, so that in his Stile he was Course and Rude as a Peasant, and such a Stile the Holy Ghost made use of in the Prophecy he Inspired him with. The same may be said of St. Paul's Epistles, that the Truth of the Holy Spirit presided in him when he writ them, to the end that he might not Err, but that the Language and Manner of Speech was no other than the Language and Manner of Speech natural to St. Paul, accommodated to the Doctrin he taught; because the Truth of School-Divinity abhors a multiplicity of Words.

The Knowledge of Tongues, and the Or∣naments and Politeness of Speech accord ad∣mirably with Positive-Divinity, because that Faculty belongs to the Memory, and is no other than a Mass of Catholic Sayings, and Sentences, cull'd out of the Holy Fathers, and from Sacred Writ, and treasured up in that Faculty, in like manner as a Gramma∣rian selects the fine Flowers of Virgil, Horace, Terence, and other Latin Poets he reads, and as occasion presents, sets himself to deliver them, or pertinently cites some Passages from Cicero, or Quintilian, to make show of his Reading to his Auditors.

They that are furnished with this Union of Imagination and Memory, and diligently Collect whatever has been said and Writ,

that is considerable in the Science they profess, and quote them at due time, and place, with the Ornaments of good Lan∣guage; as having already found in all the Sci∣ences so many things, appear very profound in the Opinion of those who are Ignorant of our Doctrin, though in effect, they are but superficial, and will discover their defect as soon as they are sifted to the bottom, of what they deliver with so much Assurance. And the reason is, that the Understanding, to which appertains the Knowlege of the Truth of things, from their Root, is not agreeable with the abundance of fine Speeches. 'Tis of these the Holy Scripture speaks, * 1.8The talk of the lips tendeth to Penury?

Such as have these two Faculties, the Ima∣gination and Memory joined together, bold∣ly attempt the Interpretation of Holy Scrip∣tures, conceiting, because they understand a great deal of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, it is easy for them to give the true Sense of the Letter; but after all they are out. First, be∣cause the Words of Holy Scripture, and its manner of speaking have many other Signi∣fications more than Cicero knew in his Tongue. Secondly, Because such People want Under∣standing, which is the Faculty that discerns whether the Sense be Catholic or not. 'Tis this Faculty which, with the Assistance of Supernatural Grace, of two or three several Meanings drawn from one Text, can make

choice of that which is the Truest and most Catholic.

It never happens, said Plato, that Men are deceived in things that are very distinguisha∣ble, so easily as when many of the like Nature present themselves together; for if we set before the most clear-sighted Eyes in the World a little Salt, Sugar, Meal and Chalk, all finely powder'd and sifted, and each by it self, what should he do who wanted his Taste, to be able to distinguish upon sight each of these Powders, without any mistake, so as to point in particular which is Salt, which Sugar, which Meal, and which Chalk. Without doubt no Man but would be mista∣ken, because of the great Affinity between these things. But were there a heap of Wheat, another of Oats, another of Chaff, another of Earth, and another of Stones, it is no less certain, because of the great diversity of each Object, this Man whose sight was not very good, could never fail to name each heap. We see the same happen every day in the Sense and Meaning the Divines give of the Holy Scripture; for you may observe two or three which at first sight seem to be Catholic, and to agree well with the Letter; whereas in truth, they are not such, nor does the Holy Spirit say so. To chuse the best of all the Meanings, and reject that which is bad, it is certain that the Divine makes use of neither Memory nor Imagination, but of

the Understanding only. And accordingly I assert, that the Positive-Divine ought to consult the Scholastic, and desire him to chuse which of all the meanings he shall find best, if he would not be sent some fair Morning to the Inquisition: For which reason the He∣resies are in such dread of School-Divinity, and would have it absolutely rooted out of the World, because by Distinguishing, Infer∣ring, Reasoning, and Judging, the Truth at last comes to be distinguished from Falhood.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Cicero says that the Honour of a Man is to have Wit, but the Ho∣nor of Wit it self is to be adapted to Eloquence De Claris Orator.
• * 1.2

  Plato re∣counts it in his Dial. de Scientia & in Con∣vivio.
• * 1.3

  Donatus a very learned Man, writing the Life of the Famous Poet Virgil, said, That he was so slow in Speech, that he was accounted a Blockhead.
• * 1.4

  Cicero, in Praise of Plato's Eloquence, said, That if Jupiter had a mind to speak Greek, he would chuse to speak like Plato. De Claris Orator.
• * 1.5

  II Corin. chap. XI.
• * 1.6

  I Cor. chap. I.
• * 1.7

  The Epistle to the He∣brews, though it be St. Paul's, yet by reason of the difference of Stile, was by some believed not to be his; but those the Church has Condemned as Here∣tics.
• * 1.8

  Proverbs XIV.