oe man can keep the law in
thought, word, and deed: and therfoer noe man befoer the judg of the
hart, word, and deed, can be justifyed be the law.

5. Because inferres the reason; as, I wil spew the out, because thou art
nether hoat nor cald.

OF DISTINCTIONES.

Cap. 13.

1. A distinction is quherbe sentences are distinguished in wryting and
reading. And this is perfect or imperfect.

2. A perfect distinction closes a perfect sense, and is marked with a
round punct, thus . or a tailed punct, thus ?

3. The round punct concludes an assertion; as, if Abraham was justifyed
be workes, he had quherof to glorie.

4. The tailed punct concludes an interrogation; as, sal we, quha are
dead to syn, leve to it?

5. The imperfect distinction divydes the partes of a period, and is
marked with tuoe punctes, the one under the other, thus : and is red
with half the pause of a perfect punct; as, al have synned, and fallen
from the glorie of god: but are justifyed frelie be his grace.

6. The com_m_a divydes the least partes of the period, and is pronunced
in reading with a short sob.

7. The parenthesis divydes in the period a sentence interlaced on sum
occurrences q_uhi_lk coheres be noe syntax w_i_th that q_uhi_lk
preceedes and followes; as, for exemple of beath, and to conclud this
treatesse:

Bless, guyd, advance, preserve, prolong Lord (if thy pleasur be)
Our King _and_ Queen, and keep their seed thy name to magnifie.

* * * * *

NOTES.

The foregoing Tract is one of great interest, not only on account of its
intrinsic merit, but also for the racy style of writing adopted by its
author. We find him continually garnishing his language with such
idiomatic and colloquial expressions as the following:--"Quhae's sillie
braine will reache no farther then the compas of their cap" (page 2);
and again, "but will not presume to judge farther then the compasse of
my awn cap" (p. 20). He observes of the printers and writers of his age
that they care "for noe more arte then may win the pennie" (p. 2), and
on the same page he says, "quhiles I stack in this claye," which appears
to be equivalent to our term "stuck in the mud." At p. 3 he says, "and
it wer but a clod;" at p. 14, "neither daer I, with al the oares of
reason, row against so strang a tyde;" and again, on p. 18, we find
reason under another aspect, thus, "noe man I trow can denye that ever
suked the paepes of reason."