KNOWLEDGE. BOOK I. TEXTS CHIEFLY ALLUDED TO IN THIS BOOK. THE words of the Preacher, the son of David, king of Jerusalem, Eccles. chap. i. ver. 1. Vanity of vanities, (saith the Preacher) vanity of vanities; all is vanity, ver. 2. I communed with mine own heart, saying, 'Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge, ver. 16. He spake of trees, from the cedar-tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes, 1 Kings, chap. iv. ver. 33. I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever; nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him, Eccles. chap. iii. ver. 14. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart; so that no man can find out the work that God maketh. TEXTS ALLUDED TO IN THIS BOOK. 27 from the beginning to the end, Eccles. chap. iii. ver. 11. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow, chap. i. ver. 18. And further, by these, my son, be admonished; of making many books there is no end: and much study is a weariness of the flesh, chap. xii, ver. 12. KNOWLEDGE. BOOK I. Ὁ Βίος γαρ ονομ εχει πονος δ ̓ ἔργῳ πελει. Eurip. Siquis Deus mihi largiatur, ut ex hac ætate repuerascam, et in cunis vagiam, valde recusem. Cic. de Senect. The bewailing of man's miseries hath been elegantly and copiously set forth by many, in the writings as well of philosophers as divines; and it is both a pleasant and a profitable contemplation. Lord Bacon's Advancement of Learning. THE ARGUMENT. Solomon, seeking happiness from knowledge, convenes the learned men of his kingdom; requires them to explain to him the various operations and effects of Nature; discourses of vegetables, animals, and man; proposes some questions concerning the origin and situation of the habitable earth; proceeds to examine the system of the visible heaven; doubts if there may not be a plurality of worlds; inquires into the nature of spirits and angels; and wishes to be more fully informed as to the attributes of the Supreme Being. He is imperfectly answered by the Rabbins and Doctors; blames his own curiosity; and concludes that, as to human science, ALL IS VANITY, YE sons of men with just regard attend, O'er rocks of perils and through vales of tears Destin'd to march, our doubtful steps we tend, That from the womb we take our fatal shares And by tradition nurs'd; fallacious fire, Born as I was, great David's favourite son, C? Arise (I commun'd with myself) arise, Think to be happy; to be great be wise; Content of spirit must from science flow, For 'tis a godlike attribute to know.' I said, and sent my edict through the land, A thousand doubts oppose the searching mind. "I know not why the beach delights the glade, While in the lower marsh the gourd is found, |