The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 05 (of 11) — Thomas Hobbes — John Shaqi
The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 05 (of 11)
Thomas Hobbes · en
This word, _particular men_, is put here, in my opinion, with little
judgment, especially by a man that pretendeth to be learned. Does the
Bishop think that he himself is, or that there is any universal man? It
may be he means a private man. Does he then think there is any man not
private, besides him that is endued with sovereign power? But it is most
likely he calls me a particular man, because I have not had the
authority he has had, to teach what doctrine I think fit. But now, I am
no more particular than he; and may with as good a grace despise the
Schoolmen and some of the old Philosophers, as he can despise me, unless
he can shew that it is more likely that he should be better able to look
into these questions sufficiently, which require meditation and
reflection upon a man’s own thoughts, he that hath been obliged most of
his time to preach unto the people, and to that end to read those
authors that can best furnish him with what he has to say, and to study
for the rhetoric of his expressions, and of the spare time (which to a
good pastor is very little) hath spent no little part in seeking
preferment and increasing of riches; than I, that have done almost
nothing else, nor have had much else to do but to meditate upon this and
other natural questions. It troubles him much that I style
School-learning jargon. I do not call all School-learning so, but such
as is so; that is, that which they say in defending of untruths, and
especially in the maintenance of free-will, when they talk of _liberty
of exercise, specification, contrariety, contradiction, acts elicite and
exercite_ and the like; which, though he go over again in this place,
endeavouring to explain them, are still both here and there but jargon,
or that (if he like it better) which the Scripture in the first chaos
calleth _Tohu_ and _Bohu_.