the Mind, when it is governed by designee, is nothing but Seeking, or the faculty of Invention, which the Latines call Sagacitas, and Solertia; a hunting out of the causes, of some effect, present or past; or of the effects, of some present or past cause. sometimes a man seeks what he hath lost; and from that place, and time, wherein hee misses it, his mind runs back, from place to place, and time to time, to find where, and when he had it; that is to say, to find some certain, and limited time and place, in which to begin a method of seeking.  Again, from thence, his thoughts run over the same places and times, to find what action, or other occasion might make him lose it.  This we call Remembrance, or Calling to mind:  the Latines call it Reminiscentia, as it were a Re-Conning of our former actions.

Sometimes a man knows a place determinate, within the compasse whereof his is to seek; and then his thoughts run over all the parts thereof, in the same manner, as one would sweep a room, to find a jewell; or as a Spaniel ranges the field, till he find a sent; or as a man should run over the alphabet, to start a rime.

Prudence Sometime a man desires to know the event of an action; and then he thinketh of some like action past, and the events thereof one after another; supposing like events will follow like actions.  As he that foresees what wil become of a Criminal, re-cons what he has seen follow on the like Crime before; having this order of thoughts, The Crime, the Officer, the Prison, the Judge, and the Gallowes.  Which kind of thoughts, is called Foresight, and Prudence, or Providence; and sometimes Wisdome; though such conjecture, through the difficulty of observing all circumstances, be very fallacious.  But this is certain; by how much one man has more experience of things past, than another; by so much also he is more Prudent, and his expectations the seldomer faile him.  The Present onely has a being in Nature; things Past have a being in the Memory onely, but things To Come have no being at all; the Future being but a fiction of the mind, applying the sequels of actions Past, to the actions that are Present; which with most certainty is done by him that has most Experience; but not with certainty enough.  And though it be called Prudence, when the Event answereth our Expectation; yet in its own nature, it is but Presumption.  For the foresight of things to come, which is Providence, belongs onely to him by whose will they are to come.  From him onely, and supernaturally, proceeds Prophecy.  The best Prophet naturally is the best guesser; and the best guesser, he that is most versed and studied in the matters he guesses at:  for he hath most Signes to guesse by.

Signes A Signe, is the Event Antecedent, of the Consequent; and contrarily, the Consequent of the Antecedent, when the like Consequences have been observed, before:  And the oftner they have been observed, the lesse uncertain is the Signe.  And therefore he that has most experience in any kind of businesse, has most Signes, whereby to guesse at the Future time, and consequently is the most prudent:  And so much more prudent than he that is new in that kind of business, as not to be equalled by any advantage of naturall and extemporary wit:  though perhaps many young men think the contrary.