CHAP. VIII. _Of the_ +Academy+. In this Empire there are three great Schools or Universities, one at _Potu_, another at _Keba_, and a third at _Nahami_. The Studies pursued there are History, Œconomy, Mathematicks, and Law. As to their Divinity, since it is so short and concise, as that the Whole is contain’d in the Compass of a couple of Pages, importing, That we ought to love and adore Almighty God, the Creator and Governor of Things, who in some State of Existence hereafter will reward Virtue and punish Vice; as this, I say, is the Main of their Divinity, so it is no academical Study, nor indeed can it be, since it is prohibited by Law to have any Controversy about the Essence or Attributes of God. Physick, in like Manner, is not reckon’d among the Studies of the University; for since these Trees live all sober Lives, internal Diseases are almost wholly unknown. I say nothing of Metaphysicks, and such transcendental Learning, since it has been observ’d above, that to dispute about the Essence of the Divine Being, about the Qualities of Angels, or the Nature of Spirits, incurr’d the Punishment of _the Arm_, and Confinement in their _Bedlam_. The academical Exercises are these: The young Students, during the Time of their Probation, are oblig’d to give Solutions of certain difficult and curious Questions, which are propos’d at stated Times, with a Reward to those who give the most ingenious and elegant Expositions. By these Means, the true Genius of the Students is discover’d, what the utmost Reach of their Capacity is, and in what Branch of Knowledge they are most likely to shine. Every one imploys himself in one only Science. An universal Scholar is a Chimæra; and the Affectation of such a Character is a Mark of a loose and unsettled Genius. Hence it is, that the Sciences, confin’d within such narrow Bounds, are soon brought to Perfection. The several Doctors likewise exhibit yearly Specimens of their Learning. The moral Philosopher clears some abstruse speculative Point. The Historian compiles a History, or some Part of History. The Mathematician throws fresh Light upon his Science by some new and ingenious Hypothesis. The Lawyers are oblig’d to make some eloquent Harangues: And these alone study Rhetoric or Oratory, because it is to these alone such a Study will be advantageous when they come to be Advocates. When I told them, that all our academical Specimens of all Sorts were in the labour’d and oratorical Style, they freely condemn’d such an Institution, replying, that if every Artisan were oblig’d to make a Shoe, and exhibit Specimens of such their Work, ’tis certain that Shoemakers alone would bear away the Prize. I purposely omitted to speak of our scholastic Disputations, because such Exercises were there but in equal Estimation with dramatical Performances. Their Doctors and publick Teachers never deliver their Instructions in a harsh,