164
NOTES AND QUERIES.- [9 th s. VIL MARCH 2, 1901.
"The merchant sailing on large and terrible seas
may reape profite by his trafficke, but bought with
the perill of his life, and hazard of his certaine
patrimonie. Neither can this be done except he
have first laide a good ground of his voiage upon a
sure discourse of reason, and upon the direction ot
a good and wise pilot."
"The most sensible, common and true opinion which the wisest amongst the Philosophers had ot the soule, is that which divideth it into two parts onely, under which all the rest are comprised: the one being spiritual and intelligible, where the discourse of reason is : the other brutish, which is the sensuall will of itself wandering and disordered where all motions contrarie to reason, and all evill desires have their dwelling."
" The soule of man (as Pythagoras said) is com- pounded of understanding, knowledge, opinion and sence, from which things all knowledge and arts proceed, and of which man is called reasonable, that is apt to discourse by reason"
"The nature of man is like to a paire of balance. For if he be not guided with knowledge and reason unto the better part, of it selfe it is carried to the woorse. And although a man be well borne, yet if he have not his judgement fined, and the discoursing part of his mind purged with the reasons of philosophic, it will fall often into grosse faults such as beseem not a prudent man."
I have now quoted a few of the many passages in Primaudaye's book in which this phrase occurs. Primaudaye also uses " discourse " in connexion with other words, such as "discourses of philosophy," "dis- coursing of the mind," " discourse of reason and -judgement": and Hooker uses " discourse ofwit":-
"Our lives in this world are partly guided by rules, and partly directed by examples. To con- clude out of general rules and axioms by discourse of ivit our duties in every particular action, is both troublesome and many times so full of difficulty, that it maketh deliberations hard and tedious to the wisest men." ' Ecclesiastical Polity,' book v.
Discourse of reason may mean the use or exercise of reason, and the line in ' Hamlet ' in which it occurs,
O God ! a beast that wants discourse of reason, may signify
O God ! a beast that wants the use of reason.
Although in many of the books published during the reign of Queen Elizabeth " dis- course of reason " often occurs, in others it never appears. Now, as this phrase is found frequently in many old authors long before Shakespeare wrote any of his plays, I think it is reasonable to conclude that at that time " discourse of reason " was often used in conversation by educated men and women. At some future time I intend to give my reason for believing that this phrase was known to Hooker before he went to Oxford, and to Shakespeare in the days of his youth at Stratford-on-Avon. W. L. RUSHTON. (To be continued.)
'NOTES AND QUEEIES': CORRECTIONS IN
GENERAL INDEXES. (See ante, p. 43.) Many
thanks are due to W. C. B. for this list.
About eight years ago I sent a similar
list, but it never appeared. I now forward a
few additional errors and omissions :
FIRST SERIES.
P. 1. Classified Articles, add London, Medals, Milton, Newspapers.
P. 53 b. Twenty-one references (Fable to Falconer) are misplaced. They should head the letter F, and not Families, as at pre- sent.
P. 64 b. Hampstead, for v. 8 read v. 9.
P. 77 a. Lady-Bird, insert 254.
P. 133 b. In Memoriam, read 227 in lieu of 277.
P. 140 a. Warrington, for 249 read 248.
P. 144 a. Witchcraft, after Huntingdon insert x. 144.
SECOND SERIES.
P. 1. Classified Articles, add American, Bible, Irish, Junius, London, Milton.
P. 48 a. D'Auvergne, for 195 read 194.
P. 90 b. City arms, for ix. read x.
P. 97 a. Medals, Pretender, add ii. 494; v. 148, 417; ix. 152, 412.
P. 121 a. Not lost, but gone before, add 507.
P. 141 b. Stella and Dean Swift, add ix. 44.
THIRD SERIES.
P. 1. Classified Articles, add London. P. 83 a. Knives, their history, for 296 read 297.
P. 107 b. Pinnock, for 499 read 449.
P. 128 a. Serjeants' rings, iv. 252 omitted.
FOURTH SERIES.
P. 1. Classified Articles, add Bells, Bible, Coins, Hymns, Inscriptions, Ireland, Irish, Junius, London, Marriage, Medals, Mil toniana, Mottoes, Scottish.
P. 14 a. Belsoni, read Belzoni.
P. 35 a. Caricatures, for iv. 294 read iv. 494. American, ix. 37 omitted.
P. 64 a. Rheumatism recipes, add i. 470.
P. 65 a. Font at Dunino, for 429 read 439.
P. 121 a. Prujean, ii. 408 incorrect both in vol. ii. and Fourth Series.
P. 130 b. Bedesdale, read Redesdale. _
P. 133 b. St. Cyriacus, for vii. read viii.
FIFTH SERIES.
P. 1. Classified Articles, add Hymns, Lon- don, Miltoniana, Tavern Signs.
SIXTH SERIES.
P. 1. Classified Articles, add Hymns, Medals, Mottoes, Tavern Signs.
P. 36 a. Busby, ii. 455 omitted.
P. 43 a. Clarke or Clark, Jeremiah, for vi. read v.
