The School of Recreation (1684 edition) Or, The Gentlemans Tutor, to those Most Ingenious Exercises of Hunting, Racing, Hawking, Riding, Cock-fighting, Fowling, Fishing

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  [Illustration:
  The School of Recreation.
  Printed for Henry Rodes near Bride Lane in Fleet Street.]




                      The
                     SCHOOL
                       of
                 +RECREATION:+

                    Or, The
                  Gentlemans
                     TUTOR,

                    To those
            Most Ingenious Exercises

                       of

          Hunting.       } { Fishing.
          Racing.        } { Shooting.
          Hawking.       } { Bowling.
          Riding.        } { Tennis.
          Cock-Fighting. } { Ringing.
          Fowling.       } { Billiards.

                    By R. H.

    _London_, Printed for _H. Rodes_,
    next door to the _Bear-Tavern_
    near _Bride-Lane_ in _Fleet-Street_, 1684.




TO THE READER.


_Man, the Abridgement of the Creation, or the _Compendium_ of all Gods
Works, having divested himself by Sin of that Original Innocence and
Angelical State of Life wherein his Creator had placed him, and thereby
Subjected his collapsed Nature to the Malediction of God, _In the sweat
of thy Face thou shalt eat thy Bread_, &c. It pleased however the
Almighty to continue and confirm that Original grand _Charter_ he had at
first granted him, of being _Lord of the Creatures_: Hereby intimating,
That tho man is now _Born to Trouble, Labour _and Cares_, as the Sparks
fly upward_; yet God has not deprived him of any Comfort or Felicity,
which the Earth or Creatures of it can afford; but has invested him with
a superior Authority and _Dominion over the Beast of the Feild, the Fowl
of the Air, and the Fish of the Sea_. Thus it comes to pass, that every
Creature payes a _Duty and a Subjection_, (as it were) to man, as to
their _Master_; and notwithstanding the Ferocity and Salvageness of
their Natures, become tame and submissive to the _Empire_ of Man. They
court his Favour and mutely supplicate his Friendship and Confederacy,
for the subduing the Enemies of their several _Species_: They readily
obey his Precepts, and ravisht with his Service willingly execute his
Commands. And thus by this prime Priviledg from God, Man is allowed the
Liberty of subduing the Creature, and recreating his Mind by _Hunting,
Fowling, Fishing_ and the like; and by observing the Natural _Instincts_
of every Species, the innate _Enmity and Cunning_ of every Creature, may
glorify the Immense Wisdom of his Creator._

_And as the Liberty of Recreation in lawful Exercises is thus
_Naturall_, so is it highly _Necessary_ and Useful too. Recreation keeps
up the strength and Alacrity of the bodily Forces, without which the
Soul cannot work: I mean those brisk and violent Exercises, which the
Following sheets specifie. They cause the Body to _transpire_ plentiful
sweats, and exhale those black and fuliginous Vapours which too much
oppress some men, and remove the Obstructions which hinder the
Circulation of Nature. _Brisk Exercises_ render a man Active, Vigorous,
Strong, and Hardy, and attenuate and disperse that _Stagnation_ of
humors, Benummedness and Dulness, which _Idleness_ contracts: Nay, (as
one excellently observes) divers bodily Infirmities, Diseases and
Undecencies are hereby regulated and amended: _Riding_ was used by the
great _Drusus_ for the Strengthening his weak and small Thighs and Legs;
and by his late _Majesty_, especially after Dinner; and is also good for
the Head: _Shooting in a long Bow_ for the Breast and Arms; and helps
Squinting: _Bowling_ for the Reins, Stone, Gravel, &c._

_Nor are the several other _Games_ commonly practised, less
_Commendable_, were they used with a _modest_ and _prudent_ Care:
I recomend them as useful as the other, were a _right use_ made of them.
I would not have them made a _Trade_, instead of a _Divertisement_. But
especially those that are managed by _Skill_, and not Fortune, may be
Learned, for these acquaint a man with _Numbring_, and quicken the Fancy
and Memory, and recreate the Mind._

_And as Recreation is thus natural and necessary, so is it _Commendable_
too, and recommended by the Practises of all Ages; as well sacred as
prophane Histories plainly testifying the Truth of it.