22. This should teach us moderation in imposing our own sense of old authors.
Sure I am that the signification of
words in all languages, depending very much on the thoughts, notions, and ideas of him that uses them, must
unavoidably be of great uncertainty to men of the same language and country. This is so evident in the Greek
authors, that he that shall peruse their writings will find in almost every one of them, a distinct language, though
the same words. But when to this natural difficulty in every country, there shall be added different countries and
remote ages, wherein the speakers and writers had very different notions, tempers, customs, ornaments, and
figures of speech, etc., every one of which influenced the signification of their words then, though to us now they
are lost and unknown; it would become us to be charitable one to another in our interpretations or
misunderstandings of those ancient writings; which, though of great concernment to be understood, are liable to
the unavoidable difficulties of speech, which (if we except the names of simple ideas, and some very obvious
things) is not capable, without a constant defining the terms, of conveying the sense and intention of the speaker,
without any manner of doubt and uncertainty to the hearer. And in discourses of religion, law, and morality, as
they are matters of the highest concernment, so there will be the greatest difficulty.
