24. It is not mere honesty and godliness, that will suffice to save ministers or people from this ignorance, injudiciousness, and error; there having ever been among the very godly ministers, a few judicious men, that are fit to investigate a difficult truth, or to defend it against a subtle adversary, or to see the system of theological verities in their proper method, harmony, and beauty.
25. Morality hath innumerable difficulties, as well as school divinity; because that moral good and evil are ordinarily such by preponderating accidents (actions as actions, being neither; but only of physical consideration). And the work of a true casuist is to compare so many accidents, and to discern in the comparison which preponderateth, that it requireth both an acute and a large, capacious, farseeing wit, to make a man a true resolver of cases of conscience. And consequently to be a judicious pastor, that shall not lead the people into errors.
26. As few teachers have natural capacity for exactness, and a willingness and patience for long, laborious studies; so many by their pastoral oversight of souls, and many by the wants of their families, (especially in times of persecution, when all their public maintenance is gone, and they must live, with their families, on the charity of people, perhaps poor and persecuted as well as they,) are hindered from those studies, which else they would undergo.
27. It is few that grow to much exactness of judgment without much writing (for themselves or others); for study which is to be exactly ordered and expressed by the pen, is usually (at last) the exactest study: as the Lord Bacon saith, "Much reading maketh a man full; much conference maketh a man ready; and much writing maketh a man exact." There are few Cameros, men of clear judgment, and abhorring to write. And there are few divines comparatively that have opportunity to write much.
28. They that err in divinity, do think their falsehoods to be God's truth; and so will honour that which he hates, with the pretence of his authority and name.
29. Therefore they will call up their own and other men's zeal, to defend those falsehoods as for God, and think that in so doing they do God service.
30. And the interest of their own place, and honour, and ends, will secretly insinuate when they discern it not, and will increase their zeal against opposers.
31. Therefore, seeing they are usually many, and wise men but few, they will expect that number should give the precedency to their opinions, and will call those proud, or heretical, that gainsay them, and labour to defame them, as self-conceited, opinionative men.
32. Therefore too many godly ministers will be great opposers of many of those truths of God, which they know not, and which they err about, and will help on the service of Satan in the world; and will be the authors of factions and contentions in the churches; whilst too many are "proud, knowing nothing," (in those matters when they think they are most orthodox,) "but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railing, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, (in this,) and destitute of the truth," 1 Tim. vi. 4, 5.
33. And if many good men will erroneously stand up against that truth which any man wiser than themselves maketh known, the worldly and malicious, that have a manifold enmity against it, will be ready to strengthen them by their concurrence, and to join in the opposition.