2. Concerning Mr. Mede's Communicativeness.
AS to be Communicative of Good is a Royalty and Beam of Glory even in the Divine Majesty itself: so upon what Person soever this shall be more or less shed and diffused, it must needs render him proportionably God-like. Now that such a Quality was eminently conspicuous in this divine Person is altogether as unquestio∣nable as Whether there ever was such a Man as Mr. Ioseph Mede.
I shall not instance in his Writings, wherewith he hath blest the world; concerning which (I speak of those few then extant) (if the commending of them would not be but as the Gilding of Gold and the Painting of Rubies) I could give you the opinion of* 1.1 one (among many others) who was Master of as great a Treasure of choice Learning, and of as curious a Pen and Tongue, as few Ages have seen; which he hath often expressed to me in these words, I never in all my life met with such a Vseful Critick as Mr. Mede, with many other Encomiums.
That I have now to speak to is his Communicativeness in ordinary Discourse. And this indeed he made the main of his Divertisement and Recreation. I never heard he used any other, unless it were in and upon the Fellows Orchard; the Beautifying whereof he took great delight in, and towards that he would not only lend his handsome and happy Contrivances, but also disburse Money before-hand, till the Colledge-Audit. Here he hath been found very busie (at due hours) and sometimes knuckle-deep, when he would say smiling, Why? this was Adam's work in his Innocency. But then, instantly, taking for his Theme either a Plant or a Weed, or almost any thing next hand, he would fall into some very significant discourse. All his Discourses (to speak it once for all) were extremely distant from any thing that looked like either Levity, or Vanity, or Paedantry.
These Charitable works of his Tongue, (for so I call Mr. Mede's Discourses) as well as those other of his Hand, proved no less Gainful to himself than they were Beneficial to others. A double Gain, he hath often acknowledged, came in to him this way.
One, That his Notions, by often Repeating them, became more fixed and rivetted in his Memory: And therefore he would merrily say to a Familiar, whose Studies lay quite another way, (and in that kind of Learning was confessedly incomparable and unmatchable) when he seemed not so attentive to some of his Discourses, Chuse (saith he) whether you will hear me or no; I love to repeat what I have been gathering, though it be but to the Walls, for my own Memorie's sake.
The other Gain was, That hereby his Notions were better shaped and formed, and so more accommodated to use. For (said he) every time I am imparting them to others, it is great odds but some fitter and clearer Expression will casually come out of my Mouth than at first came into my Mind. So that his Notions always lay by him ready, in good Currant Coin, whiles others (who too much affect the hoarding up) have theirs at the best but in the Barre and Ingot, and perhaps sometimes but in the Ore.
Wherefore I am apt to believe it was not a mere Complement of Mr. Mede's, when he thanked those for Hearing him, who thought they had a great deal more reason to thank him for his so Edifying them; because he knew his own Gains hereby were still multiplied.
When my Acquaintance with him was of that Standing as to take the Degree of one of his Familiars, he would treat and entertain me in this manner.
After some short prelusory talking of News and Occurrences, Come now, (saith he) what be your Questions? Which as I was never to come unprovided of, so was he al∣ways much more provided to resolve them to my unspeakable satisfaction. Yea more than that, (such was his Obligingness) he would sometimes fetch out of his Study di∣vers of his Colledge and Publick Exercises; and sometimes one peculiar Paper-book, wherein he was wont to write sundry knotty Questions and difficult Texts of Scripture, and under them set down in brief his present Conjectural thoughts, which afterwards (at better leisure) he would bring to the Test, and pursue with more accurateness. Pitch∣ing upon some of these, he hath done me the honour to promote me to be his Amanu∣ensis: And then first causing me to turn to Texts in the Hebrew Fountain and in