one Link be feeble and doubtful, the whole Chain of Arguments feels the Weakness of it, and lie expofed to every Objector, and the original Queftion remains undetermined.

4. Draw up all your Propofitions and Arguments with fo much Caution, and express your Ideas with fuch a juft Limitation as may preclude or anticipate any Objections. Yet remember this is only to be done as far as it is poffible, without too much entangling the Queftion, or introducing complicated Ideas, and obfcuring the Senfe. But if fuch a cautious and limited Drefs of the Queftion fhould render the Ideas too much complicated, or the Senfe obfcure, then it is better to keep the Argument more fimple, clear and eafy to be underftood, and afterwards mention the Objections diftinctly in their full Strength, and give a diftin&t Answer to them,

II RULE. Let your Method be plain and easy, fo that your Hearers or Readers, as well as your felf may run thro' it without Embarrassment, and may take a clear and comprehenfive View of the whole Scheme. To this End the following particular Directions will be ufeful.

1. Begin always with thofe Things which are best known, and most obvious, whereby the Mind may have no Difficulty or Fatigue. and proceed by regular and eafy Steps to Things that are more difficult. And as far as poffible, let not the Understanding, or the Proof of any of our Pofitions, depend on the Pofitions that follow, but always on those which go before. It is a Matter of Wonder that in fo knowing an Age as this, there fhould be fo many Perfons offering Violence daily to this Rule by teaching the Latin Language by a Grammar written in Latin, which Method feems to require a perfect

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perfect Knowledge of an unknown Tongue, in order to learn the firft Rudiments of it.

2. Do not affect exceffive Haste in learning or teaching any Science, nor hurry at once in the midft of it, left you be too foon involved in feveral new and strange Ideas and Propofitions, which cannot be well understood without a longer and clofer Attention to those which go before. Such fort of Speed is but a waste of Time, and will constrain you to take many Steps backward again, if you would arrive at a regular and compleat Knowledge of the Subject.

3. Be not fond of crowding too many Thoughts and Reafonings into one Sentence or Paragraph, beyond the Apprehenfion or Capacity of your Readers or Hearers. There are fome Perfons of a good Genius, and a capacious Mind, who write and speak very obfcurely upon this Account; they affect a long Train of Dependencies, before they come to a Period; they imagine that they can never fill their Page with too much Senfe; but they little think how they bury their own beft Ideas in the Croud, and render them in a manner invisible and ufelefs, to the greatest Part of Mankind. Such Men may be great Scholars, yet they are but poor Teachers.

4. For the fame Reafon avoid too many Subdivifions. Contrive your Scheme of Thoughts in fuch a manner as may finish your whole Argument with as few inferior Branchings as Reason will admit; and let them be fuch as are obvious and open to the Understanding, that they may come within one fingle View of the Mind. This will not only affift the Understanding to receive, but it will aid the Memory alfo to retain Truth: whereas a Difcourfe cut out into a vaft Multitude of gradual Subordinations, has many Inconveni

encies in it; it gives Pain to the Mind and Memory, in furveying and retaining the Scheme of Difcourfe, and expofes the unfkilful Hearers to mingle the fuperior and inferior Particulars together, it leads them into a thick Wood instead of open Day-light, and places them in a Labyrinth instead of a plain Path.

5. Give all Diligence in your younger Years to obtain a clear and eafy Way of expreffing your Conceptions, that your Words, as fast as you utter them, may stamp your own Ideas exactly on the Mind of the Hearer. This is a moft happy Talent for the Conveyance of Truth, and an excellent Security against Mistakes and needlefs Controverfies.

III RULE. Let your Method be diftinct, and without the perplexing Mixture of Things that ought to be kept feparate, and this will be eafily practifed by four Directions.

1. Don't bring unnecessary heterogeneous * Matter in your Difcourfe on any Subject; that is, don't mingle an Argument on one Subject with Matters that relate entirely to another, but juft fo far as is neceffary to give a clearer Knowledge of the Subject in hand. Examples in Logick may be borrowed from any of the Sciences to illuftrate the Rules: But long Interpofitions of natural Philofophy, of the Imagination and Paffions, of Agency of Spirits united to Bodies, &c. break the Thread of Discourse, and perplex the Subject.

2. Let every complicated Theme or Idea be divided into its diftinct fingle Parts, as far as the Nature of the Subject and your prefent Defign requires it. Tho

*Things of one Kind are called homogeneous, Things of different Kinds are beterogeneous.

you must not abound in needlefs Subdivifions, yet fomething of this Work is very neceffary; and it is a good Judgment alone can dictate how far to proceed in it, and when to stop.

Compound Ideas must be reduced to a fimple Form in order to understand them well. You may easily mafter that Subject in all the Parts of it by a regular Succeffion, which would confound the Understanding to furvey them at once. So we come to the Knowledge of a very perplexed Diagram in Geometry, or a complicated Machine in Mechanics, by having it parcelled out to us into its feveral Parts and Principles, according to this, and the foregoing Rule of Method,

3. Call every Idea, Propofition and Argument to its proper Class, and keep each Part of the Subject in its own Place. Put thofe things all together that belong to one Part or Property, one Confideration or View of your Subject. This will prevent needlefs Repetitions, and keep you from intermixing Things which are different. We muft maintain this Diftinction of Things and Places if we would be fafe from Error. It is Confufion that leads us into endless Mistakes, which raturally arise from a Variety of Ideas ill-joined, forted, or ill-difpofed. It is one great ufe of Method, that a Multitude of Thoughts and Propofitions may be fo diftinctly ranged in their proper Situations, that the Mind may not be overwhelmed with a confufed Attention to them all at once, nor be distracted with their Variety, nor be tempted to unite Things which ought to be feparated, nor to disjoin Things which should be united.

4. In the Partition of your Difcourfe into diftinct Heads, take heed that your Particulars do not interfere with the General, nor with each other. Think

it is not enough that you make use of diftinct Expreffions in each Particular, but take care that the Ideas be diftinct alfo. It is mere Foolery to multiply distinct Particulars in treating of Things, where the Difference of your Particulars lies only in Names and Words.

IVth RULE. The Method of treating a Subject fhould be plenary or full, fo that nothing may be wanting; nothing which is neceffary or proper fhould be omitted.

When you are called to explain a Subject, don't pafs by, nor skip over any thing in it which is very difficult or obfcure.

When you enumerate the Parts or the Properties of any Subject, do it in a complete and comprehensive manner,

When you are afferting or proving any Truth, fee that every doubtful or difputable Part of the Argument be well fupported and confirmed.

If you are to illuftrate or argue a Point of Difficulty, be not too fcanty of Words, but rather become a little copious and diffufive in your Language: Set the Truth before the Reader in feveral Lights, turn the various Sides of it to view, in order to give a full Idea and firm Evidence of the Propofition,

When you are drawing up a Narrative of any Matter of Fact, fee that no important Circumftance be omitted.

When you propofe the Solution of any Difficulty, confider all the various Cafes wherein it can happen, and fhew how they may be folved.

In fhort, let your Enumerations, your Divifions and Distributions of Things be fo accurate, that no needful Part or Idea may be left out,