Boston, Dec. 1713.
ITER SABRINIUM. IV.
O mitte mirari beatæ
Fumum, & opes, strepitumque Romæ. Hor.
To TANCRED ROBINSON, M. D. &c.
TO you, Sir, that have visited the boasted remains of Italy, and other transmarine parts, it would seem presumptuous to offer the trifle of the following letter, were I not sufficiently apprized of your great humanity and candour, which prompts you to encourage even the blossoms of commendable studies. You, that have made an intimate search, and happily obtained a thorough insight into Nature, consider that she proceeds regularly by successive gradations from little things to greater. The acquisition of any part of science is owing to a conversation with its elements and first principles, whose very simplicity renders them not disagreeable.