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| THIS is learning;—to have skill to throw | |
| Reins on your bodie’s powers that nothing knowe, | |
| And fill the soule’s powers so with act and art | |
| That she can curbe the bodie’s angrie part; | |
| All perturbations, all effects that stray | 5 |
| From their one object, which is to obey | |
| Her soveraigne empire; as herselfe should force | |
| Their functions only, to serve her discourse; | |
| And that, to beat the streight path of one ende, | |
| Which is—to make her substance still contend | 10 |
| To be God’s image, in informing it | |
| With knowledge, holy thoughts, and all forms fit | |
| For that eternitie ye seeke in way | |
| Of his sole imitation, and to sway | |
| Your life’s love too, that He may still be center | 15 |
| To all your pleasures; and you (here) may enter | |
| The next life’s peace, in governing so well | |
| Your sensual parts, that you as free may dwell | |
| Of vulgare raptures here as when calme death | |
| Dissolves that learned empire with your breath. | 20 |
| To teach and live thus, is the only use | |
| And end of learning. Skill, that doth produce | |
| But tearmes and tongues, and parroting of arte, | |
| Without that powre to rule the errant part, | |
| Is that which some call learned ignorance, | 25 |
| A serious trifle, error in a trance; | |
| And let a scholar all earthy volumes carrie, | |
| He will be but a walking dictionarie,— | |
| A mere articulate clocke, that doth but speake | |
| By other’s arts. | 30 |
| So that as travaylers seeke their peace through storms, | |
| In passing many sees for many forms | |
| Of forraigne government, indure the paine | |
| Of many faces seeing, and the gaine | |
| That strangers make of their strange loving humors, | 35 |
| Learn tongues, keep note-books, all to feed the tumors | |
| Of vaine discourse at home, or serve the course | |
| Of state employment, never having force | |
| T’employ themselves; but idle compliments | |
| Must pay their pains, costs, slaveries, all their rents, | 40 |
| And, though they many men know, get few friends. | |
| So covetous readers, setting many ends | |
| To their much skill to talke, studiers of phrase, | |
| Shifters in art, to flutter in the blaze | |
| Of ignorant count’nance; to obtain degrees, | 45 |
| And lye in learning’s bottome, like the lees; | |
| To be accounted deepe by shallow men, | |
| And carve all language in one glorious pen, | |
| May have much fame for learning; but th’ effect | |
| Proper to perfect learning, to direct | 50 |
| Reason in such an art, as that it can | |
| Turn blood to soule, and make both one calme man. | |
| So making peace with God, doth differ farre | |
| From clerkes that goe with God and man to warre. | |
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