Learning is a thing that hath been much cried up, and
coveted in all ages, especially in this last century of years, by people
of all sorts, though never so mean and mechanical; every man strains his
fortune to keep his children at school; the cobbler will clout it till
midnight, the porter will carry burdens till his bones crack again, the
ploughman will pinch both back and belly to give his son _learning_, and I
find that this ambition reigns no where so much as in this island. But,
under favour, this word, _learning_, is taken in a narrower sense among us
than among other nations: we seem to restrain it only to the _book_,
whereas, indeed, any artisan whatsoever (if he knew the secret and mystery
of his trade) may be called a learned man: a good mason; a good shoemaker,
that can manage St. Crispin's lance handsomely; a skilful yeoman; a good
ship-wright, &c. may be all called learned men, and indeed the usefullest
sort of learned men.
"The extravagant humour of our country is not to be altogether
commended--that all men should aspire to book-learning; there is not a
simpler animal, and a more superfluous member of a state than a mere
scholar, a self-pleasing student.
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