He that would acquaint himself with the former of thefe, fhould thorowly study the judicious HOOKER's firft Book of Ecclefiaftical Polity. And Property, I have no where found more clearly explain'd, than in a Book intituled, Two Treatifes of Government. But not to load your young Gentleman with too many Books on this fubject, which requires more Meditation than Reading; give me leave to recommend to him, PUFFENDORF's little Treatife, De Officio Hominis & Civis.

To get an infight into the particular Conftitution of the Government of his own Country, will require a little more reading; unless he will content himself with fuch a fuperficial knowledge of it, as is contain'd in CHAMBERLAYNE's State of England, or SMITH De Republica An glicana. Your Enquiry manifeftly looks farther than that: and to attain fuch a knowledge of it, as becomes a Gentleman. of England to have, to the purposes that you mention, I think he fhould read our ancient Lawyers; fuch as BRACTON, Fleta, the Mirror of Justice, &c; which

our

our Coufin KING* can better direct you to, than I; joining with them, the Hiftory of England under the Normans, and fo continuing it down quite to our Times; reading it always in thofe Authors, who liv'd nearest thofe times: their Names you will find, and Characters often in Mr. T Y R REL'S Hiftory of England. To which, if there be added, a ferious confideration of the Laws made in each Reign, and how far any of them influenc'd the Conftitution; all these together, will give him a full infight into what you defire.

As to the Intereft of any Country, that, 'tis manifeft, lies in its Profperity and Security. Plenty of well-imploy'd People, and Riches within; and good Alliances abroad, make its Strength. But the ways of attaining these, comprehend all the Arts of Peace and War.; the Management of Trade; the Imployment of the Poor; and all those other things, that belong to the Adminiftration of the Publick: which are fo many, fo various, and fo changeable, according to the mutable State of Men, and

Sir PETER KING.

Things in this world; that 'tis not strange, if a very fmall part of this confifts in BookLearning. He that would know it, muft have his eyes open upon the present State of Affairs; and from thence take his meafures, of what is good, or prejudicial, to the Interest of his Country.

You fee, how ready I am, to obey your commands, tho' in matters wherein I am fenfible of my own Ignorance. I am fo little acquainted with Books, efpecially on these subjects relating to Politicks, that you must forgive me, if, perhaps, I have not nam'd to you the best in every kind. And you must take it as a mark of my readinefs to ferve you, that I have ventur'd fo far out of what lay in my way of Reading, in the days that I had leisure to converse with Books. The Knowledge of the Bible, and the Bufinefs of his Calling, is enough for an ordinary Man; a Gentleman ought to go farther.

Those of this place return their fervice and thanks, for the honour of your Remembrance. I am, &c.

то

TO THE SAM E.

Oates 27 Sept. 1704.

DEAR SIR,

AM forry to find, that the Quef Ition, which was the most materi

al, and my mind was most upon, was anfwer'd fo little to your fatisfaction, that you are fain to ask it again. Since therefore you ask me a fecond time, What. is the beft Method to study Religion? I. muft ask you, What Religion you mean? For if it be, as I understood you before, the Chriftian Religion in its full extent and purity; I can make you no other Answer but what I did, viz. that the only way to attain a certain Knowledge of that, is, the Study of the Holy Scripture. And my reason is, because the Christian Religion is a Revelation from God almighty,, which is contain'd in the Bible; and fo, all the Knowledge we can have of it, must be deriv'd from thence. But if you ask, "which is the best way to get the Know"ledge of the Romish, Lutheran, or Reformed

formed Religion, of this or that particular "Church, &c." each whereof entitles it felf to be the true Chriftian Religion, with fome kind of exclufion or diminution to the reft; that will not be hard to tell you. But then it is plain, that the Books that best teach you any one of thefe, do molt remove you from all the reft; and in this way of studying, you pitch upon one as the right, before you know it to be fo: whereas that choice fhould be the refult of your study of the Chriftian Religion, in the facred Scriptures. And the method I have propos'd, would, I'préfume, bring you the fureft way to that Church, which, I imagine, you already think moft conformable to the Word of God.

I find, the Letter you laft honour'd me with, contains a new Question, and that a very material one, viz. What is the best way of interpreting the facred Scripture? Taking interpreting to mean understanding, I think the best way for understanding the Scripture, or the New Teftament (for of that the question will here be in the first place) is to read it affiduously and diligently; and, if it can be, in the original. I do A a

not