Novum Organum
{"WorkMasterId":5749,"WpPageId":270353,"ParentWpPageId":193799,"Slug":"novum-organum","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/francis-bacon/novum-organum/","RelativeUrl":"theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/francis-bacon/novum-organum/","HasFullText":true,"RawHtmlLength":692212,"CleanHtmlLength":636102,"Kicker":"Philosophy Work","Title":"Novum Organum","Deck":"Bacon replaces inherited syllogistic confidence with eliminative induction, tables, experiments, and graded axioms.","BackLink":{"Text":"Back to Francis Bacon","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/francis-bacon/"},"AuthorCard":{"Label":"Author","Title":"Francis Bacon","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/francis-bacon/","MediaHref":"","ImageSrc":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/francis-bacon-01-npg-portrait.jpg","ImageAlt":"Francis Bacon portrait","FilterTerra":"Western Europe","ClickText":"Francis Bacon","ClickHref":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/philosophers/francis-bacon/","Copies":["1561 CE – 1626 CE","York House, Strand, London","English philosopher-statesman whose reform of learning, critique of idols, and experimental natural history helped shape early modern empiricism and the philosophy of science."]},"ContextCards":[{"Label":"Period","Key":"Period:3","Title":"Early Modern History","DateText":"1500 CE – 1799 CE","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/eras-of-thought/philosophers-of-early-modern-history/"},{"Label":"Era","Key":"Era:8","Title":"Scientific Revolution and State Formation","DateText":"1600 CE – 1699 CE","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/theos/humanities/philosophy/eras-of-thought/philosophers-of-early-modern-history/philosophers-of-the-scientific-revolution-and-state-formation/"},{"Label":"Composition","Title":"1620 CE","Url":"","DateText":""}],"DateNote":"Published in 1620 CE as part of Instauratio Magna; HasFullText remains false.","GeoCards":[{"Label":"Region","Key":"Region:1"},{"Label":"Terra Avita","Key":"TerraAvita:1"},{"Label":"Terra Avita Region","Key":"TerraAvitaRegion:2"},{"Label":"Modern Country","Key":"Country:GBR:1"}],"OriginalTitle":"Novum Organum","Language":"English / Latin","DisciplineCards":[{"Label":"Primary Discipline","Key":"Discipline:logic"},{"Label":"Secondary Discipline","Key":"Discipline:philosophy-of-science"}],"Tradition":"Early modern empiricism / Protestant natural philosophy","FullText":{"Title":"Full Text","Copy":"Public-domain full text from Project Gutenberg eBook #45988 .","Url":"","Label":"","Kicker":"","Cards":[]},"CoreThesis":["Bacon replaces inherited syllogistic confidence with eliminative induction, tables, experiments, and graded axioms."],"Classification":{"AlternateTitles":"New Organon","KeyConcepts":"Francis Bacon; induction; idols of the mind; natural history; experiment; Great Instauration; Novum Organum; aphorism; civil counsel; natural philosophy; scientific reform; knowledge and power","Methodology":"Aphoristic argument, critique of inherited logic, experimental natural history, tables of inquiry, civil-historical analysis, and programmatic reform of learning.","Structure":"The page records an approved Francis Bacon work with visible date, transmission, embedded-part, posthumous, or status notes."},"Arguments":["Bacon replaces inherited syllogistic confidence with eliminative induction, tables, experiments, and graded axioms."],"Influence":{"InfluencedBy":"Aristotle as a critical target, Cicero, Seneca, Niccolo Machiavelli, Bernardino Telesio, and Renaissance natural philosophy.","InfluenceOn":""},"Significance":["Included as one of the direct Bacon work pages approved for the full-process update.","The work documents Bacon\u0027s role in reshaping method, experiment, natural history, political counsel, and the philosophy of science."],"EvidenceNote":["Direct work page approved in the Francis Bacon update. Collected Works, modern editions or translations, individual essay titles, legal tracts unless separately approved, Baconian authorship controversy material, Roger Bacon material, Francis Bacon artist material, catalog rows, and scholarship remain evidence/Other Voices."],"MainSections":[{"Kind":"RawSection","Title":"Full Versions","BodyHtml":"\u003cdiv class=\"dz-philo__full-version-grid\"\u003e\n \u003carticle class=\"dz-philo__full-version-card\"\u003e\n \u003cp class=\"dz-philo__full-version-provider\"\u003eProject Gutenberg\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003ch3 class=\"dz-philo__full-version-title\"\u003eProject Gutenberg eBook #45988\u003c/h3\u003e\n \u003cp class=\"dz-philo__full-version-meta\"\u003eHtmlText · Imported\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003ca class=\"dz-philo__full-version-link\" href=\"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45988\"\u003eOpen full version\u003c/a\u003e\n \u003c/article\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e"},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Core Thesis","Paragraphs":["Bacon replaces inherited syllogistic confidence with eliminative induction, tables, experiments, and graded axioms."]},{"Kind":"FieldSection","Title":"Classification","Fields":[{"Label":"Alternate Titles","Value":"New Organon"},{"Label":"Key Concepts","Value":"Francis Bacon; induction; idols of the mind; natural history; experiment; Great Instauration; Novum Organum; aphorism; civil counsel; natural philosophy; scientific reform; knowledge and power"},{"Label":"Methodology","Value":"Aphoristic argument, critique of inherited logic, experimental natural history, tables of inquiry, civil-historical analysis, and programmatic reform of learning."},{"Label":"Structure","Value":"The page records an approved Francis Bacon work with visible date, transmission, embedded-part, posthumous, or status notes."}]},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Arguments","Paragraphs":["Bacon replaces inherited syllogistic confidence with eliminative induction, tables, experiments, and graded axioms."]},{"Kind":"FieldSection","Title":"Influence","Fields":[{"Label":"Influenced By","Value":"Aristotle as a critical target, Cicero, Seneca, Niccolo Machiavelli, Bernardino Telesio, and Renaissance natural philosophy."},{"Label":"Influence On","Value":"Thomas Hobbes, Robert Boyle, the Royal Society, John Locke, Diderot and d\u0027Alembert, and modern philosophy of science."}]},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Significance","Paragraphs":["Included as one of the direct Bacon work pages approved for the full-process update.","The work documents Bacon\u0027s role in reshaping method, experiment, natural history, political counsel, and the philosophy of science."]},{"Kind":"TextSection","Title":"Evidence Note","Paragraphs":["Direct work page approved in the Francis Bacon update. Collected Works, modern editions or translations, individual essay titles, legal tracts unless separately approved, Baconian authorship controversy material, Roger Bacon material, Francis Bacon artist material, catalog rows, and scholarship remain evidence/Other Voices."]},{"Kind":"RawSection","Title":"Full Text","BodyHtml":"\u003cp class=\"dz-philo__section-copy dz-philo__full-text-source\"\u003ePublic-domain full text from \u003ca href=\"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45988\"\u003eProject Gutenberg eBook #45988\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003carticle class=\"dz-philo__full-text-body\"\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"transnote epub-hide\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntitle\"\u003eTranscriber’s Note\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tnpara\"\u003e\r\nGreek text with transliteration has a dotted underline.\r\nTo see the transliteration, hover your mouse over the Greek text:\r\n\u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"biblos\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eβιβλος\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_1\"\u003e[1]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch1 lang=\"la\"\u003eNOVUM ORGANUM\u003c/h1\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"byline\"\u003e\u003csmall\u003eBY\u003c/small\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"loose\"\u003eLORD BACON\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"editor\"\u003e\u003csmall\u003eEDITED BY JOSEPH DEVEY, M.A.\u003c/small\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"pub-logo\"\u003e\r\n\u003cimg alt=\"Publisher’s logo\" class=\"pub-logo\" src=\"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/gutenberg-novum-organum-publisher-logo.jpg\" title=\"P. F. Collier \u0026amp; Son (publisher)\" id=\"img_images_publisher_logo.jpg\"\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"publisher\"\u003eNEW YORK\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"pub-name\"\u003eP. F. COLLIER \u0026amp; SON\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\nMCMII\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003csmall\u003e22\u003c/small\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_2\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Page_3\"\u003e[3]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"series\"\u003eSCIENCE\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_4\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Page_5\"\u003e[5]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"half-title\" lang=\"la\"\u003eNOVUM ORGANUM\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"subtitle\"\u003e\u003csmall\u003eOR\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\r\nTRUE SUGGESTIONS FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF NATURE\r\n\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch2\u003e \u003ca id=\"Preface\"\u003ePREFACE\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"chap-start\"\u003eThey\u003c/span\u003e who have presumed to dogmatize\r\n on nature, as on some well\r\ninvestigated subject, either from self-conceit or arrogance, and in the\r\nprofessorial style, have inflicted the greatest injury on philosophy\r\nand learning. For they have tended to stifle and interrupt inquiry\r\nexactly in proportion as they have prevailed in bringing others to\r\ntheir opinion: and their own activity has not counterbalanced the\r\nmischief they have occasioned by corrupting and destroying that of\r\nothers. They again who have entered upon a contrary course, and\r\nasserted that nothing whatever can be known, whether they have fallen\r\ninto this opinion from their hatred of the ancient sophists, or from\r\nthe hesitation of their minds, or from an exuberance of learning, have\r\ncertainly adduced reasons for it which are by no means contemptible.\r\nThey have not, however, derived their opinion from true sources,\r\nand, hurried on by their zeal and some affectation, have certainly\r\nexceeded due moderation. But the more ancient Greeks (whose writings\r\nhave perished), held a more prudent mean, between the arrogance of\r\ndogmatism, and the despair of scepticism; and though too frequently\r\nintermingling complaints and\r\n indignation\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_6\"\u003e[6]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n at the difficulty of inquiry,\r\nand the obscurity of things, and champing, as it were, the bit, have\r\nstill persisted in pressing their point, and pursuing their intercourse\r\nwith nature; thinking, as it seems, that the better method was not to\r\ndispute upon the very point of the possibility of anything being known,\r\nbut to put it to the test of experience. Yet they themselves, by only\r\nemploying the power of the understanding, have not adopted a fixed\r\nrule, but have laid their whole stress upon intense meditation, and a\r\ncontinual exercise and perpetual agitation of the mind.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOur method, though difficult in its operation, is easily explained.\r\nIt consists in determining the degrees of certainty, while we, as it\r\nwere, restore the senses to their former rank, but generally reject\r\nthat operation of the mind which follows close upon the senses, and\r\nopen and establish a new and certain course for the mind from the first\r\nactual perceptions of the senses themselves. This, no doubt, was the\r\nview taken by those who have assigned so much to logic; showing clearly\r\nthereby that they sought some support for the mind, and suspected its\r\nnatural and spontaneous mode of action. But this is now employed too\r\nlate as a remedy, when all is clearly lost, and after the mind, by\r\nthe daily habit and intercourse of life, has come prepossessed with\r\ncorrupted doctrines, and filled with the vainest idols. The art of\r\nlogic therefore being (as we have mentioned), too late a\r\nprecaution,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-1\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-1\" title=\"Go to Footnote 1\"\u003e[1]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nand in no way remedying\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_7\"\u003e[7]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n the matter, has tended more to confirm errors,\r\nthan to disclose truth. Our only remaining hope and salvation is to\r\nbegin the whole labor of the mind again; not leaving it to itself,\r\nbut directing it perpetually from the very first, and attaining our\r\nend as it were by mechanical aid. If men, for instance, had attempted\r\nmechanical labors with their hands alone, and without the power and aid\r\nof instruments, as they have not hesitated to carry on the labors of\r\ntheir understanding with the unaided efforts of their mind, they would\r\nhave been able to move and overcome but little, though they had exerted\r\ntheir utmost and united powers. And just to pause awhile on this\r\ncomparison, and look into it as a mirror; let us ask, if any obelisk of\r\na remarkable size were perchance required to be moved, for the purpose\r\nof gracing a triumph or any similar pageant, and men were to attempt it\r\nwith their bare hands, would not any sober spectator avow it to be an\r\nact of the greatest madness? And if they should increase the number of\r\nworkmen, and imagine that they could thus succeed, would he not think\r\nso still more? But if they chose to make a selection, and to remove\r\nthe weak, and only employ the strong and vigorous, thinking by this\r\nmeans, at any rate, to achieve their object, would he not say that they\r\nwere more fondly deranged? Nay, if not content with this, they were\r\nto determine on consulting the athletic art, and were to give orders\r\nfor all to appear with their hands, arms, and muscles regularly oiled\r\nand prepared, would he not exclaim that they were taking pains to rave\r\nby method and design? Yet men are hurried on with the same senseless\r\nenergy and useless combination in intellectual matters, as long as\r\nthey expect great results either from the number and agreement, or the\r\nexcellence and acuteness of their wits; or\r\n even\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_8\"\u003e[8]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e strengthen their minds\r\nwith logic, which may be considered as an athletic preparation, but yet\r\ndo not desist (if we rightly consider the matter) from applying their\r\nown understandings merely with all this zeal and effort. While nothing\r\nis more clear, than that in every great work executed by the hand of\r\nman without machines or implements, it is impossible for the strength\r\nof individuals to be increased, or for that of the multitude to combine.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHaving premised so much, we lay down two points on which we would\r\nadmonish mankind, lest they should fail to see or to observe them. The\r\nfirst of these is, that it is our good fortune (as we consider it), for\r\nthe sake of extinguishing and removing contradiction and irritation of\r\nmind, to leave the honor and reverence due to the ancients untouched\r\nand undiminished, so that we can perform our intended work, and yet\r\nenjoy the benefit of our respectful moderation. For if we should\r\nprofess to offer something better than the ancients, and yet should\r\npursue the same course as they have done, we could never, by any\r\nartifice, contrive to avoid the imputation of having engaged in a\r\ncontest or rivalry as to our respective wits, excellences, or talents;\r\nwhich, though neither inadmissible nor new (for why should we not blame\r\nand point out anything that is imperfectly discovered or laid down by\r\nthem, of our own right, a right common to all?), yet however just and\r\nallowable, would perhaps be scarcely an equal match, on account of\r\nthe disproportion of our strength. But since our present plan leads\r\nup to open an entirely different course to the understanding, and one\r\nunattempted and unknown to them, the case is altered. There is an end\r\nto party zeal, and we only take upon ourselves the character of a\r\nguide, which requires a moderate share of authority and good\r\n fortune,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_9\"\u003e[9]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nrather than talents and excellence. The first admonition relates to\r\npersons, the next to things.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe make no attempt to disturb the system of philosophy that now\r\nprevails, or any other which may or will exist, either more correct or\r\nmore complete. For we deny not that the received system of philosophy,\r\nand others of a similar nature, encourage discussion, embellish\r\nharangues, are employed, and are of service in the duties of the\r\nprofessor, and the affairs of civil life. Nay, we openly express and\r\ndeclare that the philosophy we offer will not be very useful in such\r\nrespects. It is not obvious, nor to be understood in a cursory view,\r\nnor does it flatter the mind in its preconceived notions, nor will\r\nit descend to the level of the generality of mankind unless by its\r\nadvantages and effects.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet there exist then (and may it be of advantage to both), two sources,\r\nand two distributions of learning, and in like manner two tribes, and\r\nas it were kindred families of contemplators or philosophers, without\r\nany hostility or alienation between them; but rather allied and united\r\nby mutual assistance. Let there be in short one method of cultivating\r\nthe sciences, and another of discovering them. And as for those who\r\nprefer and more readily receive the former, on account of their haste\r\nor from motives arising from their ordinary life, or because they\r\nare unable from weakness of mind to comprehend and embrace the other\r\n(which must necessarily be the case with by far the greater number),\r\nlet us wish that they may prosper as they desire in their undertaking,\r\nand attain what they pursue. But if any individual desire, and is\r\nanxious not merely to adhere to, and make use of present discoveries,\r\nbut to penetrate still further, and not to overcome his adversaries\r\nin disputes, but nature by labor, not in short to give\r\n elegant\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_10\"\u003e[10]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e and\r\nspecious opinions, but to know to a certainty and demonstration, let\r\nhim, as a true son of science (if such be his wish), join with us; that\r\nwhen he has left the antechambers of nature trodden by the multitude,\r\nan entrance may at last be discovered to her inner apartments. And\r\nin order to be better understood, and to render our meaning more\r\nfamiliar by assigning determinate names, we have accustomed ourselves\r\nto call the one method the anticipation of the mind, and the other the\r\ninterpretation of nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have still one request left. We have at least reflected and taken\r\npains in order to render our propositions not only true, but of easy\r\nand familiar access to men’s minds, however wonderfully prepossessed\r\nand limited. Yet it is but just that we should obtain this favor from\r\nmankind (especially in so great a restoration of learning and the\r\nsciences), that whosoever may be desirous of forming any determination\r\nupon an opinion of this our work either from his own perceptions, or\r\nthe crowd of authorities, or the forms of demonstrations, he will not\r\nexpect to be able to do so in a cursory manner, and while attending\r\nto other matters; but in order to have a thorough knowledge of the\r\nsubject, will himself by degrees attempt the course which we describe\r\nand maintain; will be accustomed to the subtilty of things which is\r\nmanifested by experience; and will correct the depraved and deeply\r\nrooted habits of his mind by a seasonable, and, as it were, just\r\nhesitation: and then, finally (if he will), use his judgment when he\r\nhas begun to be master of himself.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch3\u003eFOOTNOTE\u003c/h3\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-1\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-1\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[1]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBecause it was idle to draw a logical conclusion from\r\nfalse principles, error being propagated as much by false premises,\r\nwhich logic does not pretend to examine, as by illegitimate inference.\r\nHence, as Bacon says further on, men being easily led to confound\r\nlegitimate inference with truth, were confirmed in their errors by the\r\nvery subtilty of their genius.—\u003ci\u003e\u003cabbr title=\"Editor\"\u003eEd.\u003c/abbr\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch2\u003e \u003ca id=\"Contents\"\u003eCONTENTS\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"contents\"\u003e\r\n\u003cul class=\"toc\"\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"smcap\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#Preface\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ePreface\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"smcap\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"#Book-I\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAphorisms—Book I\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"book-subtitle\"\u003eOn the Interpretation of Nature and the\r\n Empire of Man\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"#Book-II\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"smcap\"\u003eAphorisms—Book II\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"book-subtitle\"\u003eOn the Interpretation of Nature, or the\r\n Reign of Man\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003c/ul\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_11\"\u003e[11]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003ca id=\"Book-I\"\u003eAPHORISMS—BOOK I\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"subtitle\"\u003eON THE INTERPRETATION OF NATURE AND THE EMPIRE OF MAN\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eI. \u003cspan class=\"chap-start\"\u003eMan\u003c/span\u003e, as the minister and\r\n interpreter of nature, does and understands\r\nas much as his observations on the order of nature, either with regard\r\nto things or the mind, permit him, and neither knows nor is capable of\r\nmore.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eII. The unassisted hand and the understanding left to itself possess\r\nbut little power. Effects are produced by the means of instruments and\r\nhelps, which the understanding requires no less than the hand; and as\r\ninstruments either promote or regulate the motion of the hand, so those\r\nthat are applied to the mind prompt or protect the understanding.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIII. Knowledge and human power are synonymous, since the ignorance\r\nof the cause frustrates the effect; for nature is only subdued by\r\nsubmission, and that which in contemplative philosophy corresponds with\r\nthe cause in practical science becomes the rule.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIV. Man while operating can only apply or withdraw natural bodies;\r\nnature internally performs the rest.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eV. Those who become practically versed in nature are, the mechanic, the\r\nmathematician, the physician, the alchemist, and the\r\n\u003cem\u003emagician\u003c/em\u003e,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-2\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-2\" title=\"Go to Footnote 2\"\u003e[2]\u003c/a\u003e but\r\nall (as matters now stand) with faint efforts and meagre success.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_12\"\u003e[12]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eVI. It would be madness and inconsistency to suppose that things which\r\nhave never yet been performed can be performed without employing some\r\nhitherto untried means.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eVII. The creations of the mind and hand appear very numerous, if we\r\njudge by books and manufactures; but all that variety consists of\r\nan excessive refinement, and of deductions from a few well known\r\nmatters—\u003cem\u003enot of a number of\r\n axioms\u003c/em\u003e.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-3\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-3\" title=\"Go to Footnote 3\"\u003e[3]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eVIII. Even the effects already discovered are due to chance and\r\nexperiment rather than to the sciences; for our present sciences are\r\nnothing more than peculiar arrangements of matters already discovered,\r\nand not methods for discovery or plans for new operations.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIX. The sole cause and root of almost every defect in the sciences is\r\nthis, that while we falsely admire and extol the powers of the human\r\nmind, we do not search for its real helps.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eX. The subtilty of nature is far beyond that of sense or of the\r\nunderstanding: so that the specious meditations, speculations, and\r\ntheories of mankind are but a kind of insanity, only there is no one to\r\nstand by and observe it.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXI. As the present sciences are useless for the discovery of effects,\r\nso the present system of logic\u003ca id=\"Anchor-4\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-4\" title=\"Go to Footnote 4\"\u003e[4]\u003c/a\u003e is useless for the discovery of the\r\nsciences.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_13\"\u003e[13]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXII. The present system of logic rather assists in confirming and\r\nrendering inveterate the errors founded on vulgar notions than in\r\nsearching after truth, and is therefore more hurtful than useful.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXIII. The syllogism is not applied to the principles of the sciences,\r\nand is of no avail in intermediate axioms,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-5\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-5\" title=\"Go to Footnote 5\"\u003e[5]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n as\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_14\"\u003e[14]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n being very unequal to\r\nthe subtilty of nature. It forces assent, therefore, and not things.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXIV. The syllogism consists of propositions; propositions of words;\r\nwords are the signs of notions. If, therefore, the notions (which form\r\nthe basis of the whole) be confused and carelessly abstracted from\r\nthings, there is no solidity in the superstructure. Our only hope,\r\nthen, is in genuine induction.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXV. We have no sound notions either in logic or physics; substance,\r\nquality, action, passion, and existence are not clear notions; much\r\nless weight, levity, density, tenuity, moisture, dryness, generation,\r\ncorruption, attraction,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_15\"\u003e[15]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n repulsion, element, matter, form, and the\r\nlike. They are all fantastical and ill-defined.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXVI. The notions of less abstract natures, as man, dog, dove, and the\r\nimmediate perceptions of sense, as heat, cold, white, black, do not\r\ndeceive us materially, yet even these are sometimes confused by the\r\nmutability of matter and the intermixture of things. All the rest which\r\nmen have hitherto employed are errors, and improperly abstracted and\r\ndeduced from things.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXVII. There is the same degree of licentiousness and error in forming\r\naxioms as in abstracting notions, and that in the first principles,\r\nwhich depend on common induction; still more is this the case in axioms\r\nand inferior propositions derived from syllogisms.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXVIII. The present discoveries in science are such as lie immediately\r\nbeneath the surface of common notions. It is necessary, however, to\r\npenetrate the more secret and remote parts of nature, in order to\r\nabstract both notions and axioms from things by a more certain and\r\nguarded method.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-19\"\u003eXIX.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n There are and can exist but two ways of investigating and\r\ndiscovering truth. The one hurries on rapidly from the senses and\r\nparticulars to the most general axioms, and from them, as principles\r\nand their supposed indisputable truth, derives and discovers the\r\nintermediate axioms. This is the way now in use. The other constructs\r\nits axioms from the senses and particulars, by ascending continually\r\nand gradually, till it finally arrives at the most general axioms,\r\nwhich is the true but unattempted way.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXX. The understanding when left to itself proceeds by the same way as\r\nthat which it would have adopted under the guidance of logic, namely,\r\nthe first; for the mind is fond of starting off to generalities, that\r\nit may avoid labor, and\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_16\"\u003e[16]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n after dwelling a little on a subject is\r\nfatigued by experiment. But those evils are augmented by logic, for the\r\nsake of the ostentation of dispute.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXI. The understanding, when left to itself in a man of a steady,\r\npatient, and reflecting disposition (especially when unimpeded by\r\nreceived doctrines), makes some attempt in the right way, but with\r\nlittle effect, since the understanding, undirected and unassisted,\r\nis unequal to and unfit for the task of vanquishing the obscurity of\r\nthings.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXII. Each of these two ways begins from the senses and particulars,\r\nand ends in the greatest generalities. But they are immeasurably\r\ndifferent; for the one merely touches cursorily the limits of\r\nexperiment and particulars, while the other runs duly and regularly\r\nthrough them—the one from the very outset lays down some abstract and\r\nuseless generalities, the other gradually rises to those principles\r\nwhich are really the most common in\r\nnature.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-6\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-6\" title=\"Go to Footnote 6\"\u003e[6]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-23\"\u003eXXIII.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n There is no small difference between the idols of the human mind\r\nand the ideas of the Divine mind—that is to say, between certain idle\r\ndogmas and the real stamp and impression of created objects, as they\r\nare found in nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXIV. Axioms determined upon in argument can never assist in the\r\ndiscovery of new effects; for the subtilty of nature is vastly superior\r\nto that of argument. But axioms properly and regularly abstracted from\r\nparticulars easily\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_17\"\u003e[17]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n point out and define new particulars, and therefore\r\nimpart activity to the sciences.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXV. The axioms now in use are derived from a scanty handful, as it\r\nwere, of experience, and a few particulars of frequent occurrence,\r\nwhence they are of much the same dimensions or extent as their origin.\r\nAnd if any neglected or unknown instance occurs, the axiom is saved by\r\nsome frivolous distinction, when it would be more consistent with truth\r\nto amend it.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXVI. We are wont, for the sake of distinction, to call that human\r\nreasoning which we apply to nature the anticipation of nature (as being\r\nrash and premature), and that which is properly deduced from things the\r\ninterpretation of nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXVII. Anticipations are sufficiently powerful in producing unanimity,\r\nfor if men were all to become even uniformly mad, they might agree\r\ntolerably well with each other.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXVIII. Anticipations again, will be assented to much more readily\r\nthan interpretations, because being deduced from a few instances, and\r\nthese principally of familiar occurrence, they immediately hit the\r\nunderstanding and satisfy the imagination; while, on the contrary,\r\ninterpretations, being deduced from various subjects, and these widely\r\ndispersed, cannot suddenly strike the understanding, so that in common\r\nestimation they must appear difficult and discordant, and almost like\r\nthe mysteries of faith.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXIX. In sciences founded on opinions and dogmas, it is right to make\r\nuse of anticipations and logic if you wish to force assent rather than\r\nthings.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXX. If all the capacities of all ages should unite and combine and\r\ntransmit their labors, no great progress will\r\n be\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_18\"\u003e[18]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e made in learning\r\nby anticipations, because the radical errors, and those which occur\r\nin the first process of the mind, are not cured by the excellence of\r\nsubsequent means and remedies.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXI. It is in vain to expect any great progress in the sciences by the\r\nsuperinducing or ingrafting new matters upon old. An instauration must\r\nbe made from the very foundations, if we do not wish to revolve forever\r\nin a circle, making only some slight and contemptible progress.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXII. The ancient authors and all others are left in undisputed\r\npossession of their honors; for we enter into no comparison of capacity\r\nor talent, but of method, and assume the part of a guide rather than of\r\na critic.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXIII. To speak plainly, no correct judgment can be formed either of\r\nour method or its discoveries by those anticipations which are now in\r\ncommon use; for it is not to be required of us to submit ourselves to\r\nthe judgment of the very method we ourselves arraign.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXIV. Nor is it an easy matter to deliver and explain our sentiments;\r\nfor those things which are in themselves new can yet be only understood\r\nfrom some analogy to what is old.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXV. Alexander Borgia\u003ca id=\"Anchor-7\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-7\" title=\"Go to Footnote 7\"\u003e[7]\u003c/a\u003e said of the expedition of the\r\n French into\r\nItaly that they came with chalk in their hands to mark up their\r\nlodgings, and not with weapons to force their passage. Even so do we\r\nwish our philosophy to make its way quietly into those minds that are\r\nfit for it, and of good capacity; for we have no need of contention\r\nwhere we\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_19\"\u003e[19]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n differ in first principles, and in our very notions, and even\r\nin our forms of demonstration.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXVI. We have but one simple method of delivering our sentiments,\r\nnamely, we must bring men to particulars and their regular series and\r\norder, and they must for a while renounce their notions, and begin to\r\nform an acquaintance with things.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXVII. Our method and that of the sceptics\u003ca id=\"Anchor-8\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-8\" title=\"Go to Footnote 8\"\u003e[8]\u003c/a\u003e agree in some respects\r\nat first setting out, but differ most widely, and are completely\r\nopposed to each other in their conclusion; for they roundly assert that\r\nnothing can be known; we, that but a small part of nature can be known,\r\nby the present method; their next step, however, is to destroy the\r\nauthority of the senses and understanding, while we invent and supply\r\nthem with assistance.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXVIII. The idols and false notions which have already preoccupied the\r\nhuman understanding, and are deeply rooted in it, not only so beset\r\nmen’s minds that they become difficult of access, but even when access\r\nis obtained will again meet and trouble us in the instauration of the\r\nsciences, unless mankind when forewarned guard themselves with all\r\npossible care against them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXIX. Four species of idols beset the human\r\n mind,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_20\"\u003e[20]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca id=\"Anchor-9\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-9\" title=\"Go to Footnote 9\"\u003e[9]\u003c/a\u003e to which (for\r\ndistinction’s sake) we have assigned names, calling the first Idols of\r\nthe Tribe, the second Idols of the Den, the third Idols of the Market,\r\nthe fourth Idols of the Theatre.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXL. The formation of notions and axioms on the foundation of true\r\ninduction is the only fitting remedy by which we can ward off and expel\r\nthese idols. It is, however, of great service to point them out; for\r\nthe doctrine of idols bears the same relation to the interpretation of\r\nnature as that of the confutation of sophisms does to common\r\nlogic.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-10\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-10\" title=\"Go to Footnote 10\"\u003e[10]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLI. The idols of the tribe are inherent in human nature and the very\r\ntribe or race of man; for man’s sense is falsely asserted to be the\r\nstandard of things; on the contrary, all the perceptions both of the\r\nsenses and the mind bear reference to man and not to the universe,\r\nand the human mind resembles those uneven mirrors which impart their\r\n own\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_21\"\u003e[21]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nproperties to different objects, from which rays are emitted and\r\ndistort and disfigure them.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-11\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-11\" title=\"Go to Footnote 11\"\u003e[11]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLII. The idols of the den are those of each individual; for everybody\r\n(in addition to the errors common to the race of man) has his own\r\nindividual den or cavern, which intercepts and corrupts the light of\r\nnature, either from his own peculiar and singular disposition, or from\r\nhis education and intercourse with others, or from his reading, and\r\nthe authority acquired by those whom he reverences and admires, or\r\nfrom the different impressions produced on the mind, as it happens to\r\nbe preoccupied and predisposed, or equable and tranquil, and the like;\r\nso that the spirit of man (according to its several dispositions), is\r\nvariable, confused, and as it were actuated by chance; and Heraclitus\r\nsaid well that men search for knowledge in lesser worlds, and not in\r\nthe greater or common world.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLIII. There are also idols formed by the reciprocal intercourse and\r\nsociety of man with man, which we call idols of the market, from the\r\ncommerce and association of men with each other; for men converse by\r\nmeans of language, but words are formed at the will of the generality,\r\nand there arises from a bad and unapt formation of words a wonderful\r\nobstruction to the mind. Nor can the definitions and explanations with\r\nwhich learned men are wont to guard and protect themselves in some\r\ninstances afford a complete remedy—words still manifestly force the\r\nunderstanding, throw everything into confusion, and lead mankind into\r\nvain and innumerable controversies and fallacies.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLIV. Lastly, there are idols which have crept\r\n into\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_22\"\u003e[22]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e men’s minds from\r\nthe various dogmas of peculiar systems of philosophy, and also from the\r\nperverted rules of demonstration, and these we denominate idols of the\r\ntheatre: for we regard all the systems of philosophy hitherto received\r\nor imagined, as so many plays brought out and performed, creating\r\nfictitious and theatrical worlds. Nor do we speak only of the present\r\nsystems, or of the philosophy and sects of the ancients, since numerous\r\nother plays of a similar nature can be still composed and made to agree\r\nwith each other, the causes of the most opposite errors being generally\r\nthe same. Nor, again, do we allude merely to general systems, but also\r\nto many elements and axioms of sciences which have become inveterate by\r\ntradition, implicit credence, and neglect. We must, however, discuss\r\neach species of idols more fully and distinctly in order to guard the\r\nhuman understanding against them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLV. The human understanding, from its peculiar nature, easily supposes\r\na greater degree of order and equality in things than it really finds;\r\nand although many things in nature be \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003esui generis\u003c/i\u003e and most irregular,\r\nwill yet invent parallels and conjugates and relatives, where no\r\nsuch thing is. Hence the fiction, that all celestial bodies move in\r\nperfect circles, thus rejecting entirely spiral and serpentine lines\r\n(except as explanatory terms).\u003ca id=\"Anchor-12\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-12\" title=\"Go to Footnote 12\"\u003e[12]\u003c/a\u003e Hence also the\r\n element\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_23\"\u003e[23]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e of fire\r\nis introduced with its peculiar orbit,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-13\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-13\" title=\"Go to Footnote 13\"\u003e[13]\u003c/a\u003e to keep square with those\r\nother three which are objects of our senses. The relative rarity of the\r\nelements (as they are called) is arbitrarily made to vary in tenfold\r\nprogression, with many other dreams of the like\r\n nature.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-14\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-14\" title=\"Go to Footnote 14\"\u003e[14]\u003c/a\u003e Nor is this\r\nfolly confined to theories, but it is to be met with even in simple\r\nnotions.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLVI. The human understanding, when any proposition has been once\r\nlaid down (either from general admission and belief, or from the\r\npleasure it affords), forces everything else to add fresh support and\r\nconfirmation; and although most cogent and abundant instances may\r\nexist to the contrary, yet either does not observe or despises them,\r\nor gets rid of and rejects them by some distinction, with violent\r\nand injurious prejudice, rather than sacrifice the authority of its\r\nfirst conclusions. It was well answered by\r\n him\u003ca id=\"Anchor-15\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-15\" title=\"Go to Footnote 15\"\u003e[15]\u003c/a\u003e who\r\n was\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_24\"\u003e[24]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n shown in a\r\ntemple the votive tablets suspended by such as had escaped the peril of\r\nshipwreck, and was pressed as to whether he would then recognize the\r\npower of the gods, by an inquiry, But where are the portraits of those\r\nwho have perished in spite of their vows? All superstition is much\r\nthe same, whether it be that of astrology, dreams, omens, retributive\r\njudgment, or the like, in all of which the deluded believers observe\r\nevents which are fulfilled, but neglect and pass over their failure,\r\nthough it be much more common. But this evil insinuates itself still\r\nmore craftily in philosophy and the sciences, in which a settled maxim\r\nvitiates and governs every other circumstance, though the latter be\r\nmuch more worthy of confidence. Besides, even in the absence of that\r\neagerness and want of thought (which we have mentioned), it is the\r\npeculiar and perpetual error of the human understanding to be more\r\nmoved and excited by affirmatives than negatives, whereas it ought duly\r\nand regularly to be impartial; nay, in establishing any true axiom the\r\nnegative instance is the most powerful.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLVII. The human understanding is most excited by that which strikes\r\nand enters the mind at once and suddenly, and by which the imagination\r\nis immediately filled and inflated. It then begins almost imperceptibly\r\nto conceive and suppose that everything is similar to the few objects\r\nwhich have taken possession of the mind, while it is very slow and\r\nunfit for the transition to the remote and heterogeneous instances by\r\nwhich axioms are tried as by fire, unless the office be imposed upon it\r\nby severe regulations and a powerful authority.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLVIII. The human understanding is active and cannot halt or rest, but\r\neven, though without effect, still presses forward. Thus we cannot\r\nconceive of any end or\r\n external\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_25\"\u003e[25]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n boundary of the world, and it seems\r\nnecessarily to occur to us that there must be something beyond. Nor can\r\nwe imagine how eternity has flowed on down to the present day, since\r\nthe usually received distinction of an infinity, a\r\n \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eparte ante\u003c/span\u003e and a\r\n\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eparte\r\n post\u003c/span\u003e,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-16\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-16\" title=\"Go to Footnote 16\"\u003e[16]\u003c/a\u003e cannot hold good;\r\n for it would thence follow that one\r\ninfinity is greater than another, and also that infinity is wasting\r\naway and tending to an end. There is the same difficulty in considering\r\nthe infinite divisibility of lines, arising from the weakness of our\r\nminds, which weakness interferes to still greater disadvantage with the\r\ndiscovery of causes; for although the greatest generalities in nature\r\nmust be positive, just as they are found, and in fact not causable,\r\nyet the human understanding, incapable of resting, seeks for something\r\nmore intelligible. Thus, however, while aiming at further progress, it\r\nfalls back to what is actually less advanced, namely, final causes;\r\nfor they are clearly more allied to man’s own nature, than the system\r\nof the universe, and from this source they have wonderfully corrupted\r\nphilosophy. But he would be an unskilful and shallow philosopher who\r\nshould seek for causes in the greatest\r\n generalities,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_26\"\u003e[26]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n and not be\r\nanxious to discover them in subordinate objects.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLIX. The human understanding resembles not a dry light, but admits\r\na tincture of the will\u003ca id=\"Anchor-17\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-17\" title=\"Go to Footnote 17\"\u003e[17]\u003c/a\u003e and passions,\r\n which generate their own\r\nsystem accordingly; for man always believes more readily that which\r\nhe prefers. He, therefore, rejects difficulties for want of patience\r\nin investigation; sobriety, because it limits his hope; the depths of\r\nnature, from superstition; the light of experiment, from arrogance\r\nand pride, lest his mind should appear to be occupied with common\r\nand varying objects; paradoxes, from a fear of the opinion of the\r\nvulgar; in short, his feelings imbue and corrupt his understanding in\r\ninnumerable and sometimes imperceptible ways.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eL. But by far the greatest impediment and aberration of the human\r\nunderstanding proceeds from the dulness, incompetence, and errors\r\nof the senses; since whatever strikes the senses preponderates over\r\neverything, however superior, which does not immediately strike them.\r\nHence contemplation mostly ceases with sight, and a very scanty, or\r\nperhaps no regard is paid to invisible objects. The entire operation,\r\ntherefore, of spirits inclosed in tangible\r\n bodies\u003ca id=\"Anchor-18\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-18\" title=\"Go to Footnote 18\"\u003e[18]\u003c/a\u003e is concealed,\r\nand escapes us. All that more delicate change of formation in the\r\nparts of coarser substances\r\n (vulgarly\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_27\"\u003e[27]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n called alteration, but in fact\r\na change of position in the smallest particles) is equally unknown;\r\nand yet, unless the two matters we have mentioned be explored and\r\nbrought to light, no great effect can be produced in nature. Again,\r\nthe very nature of common air, and all bodies of less density (of\r\nwhich there are many) is almost unknown; for the senses are weak and\r\nerring, nor can instruments be of great use in extending their sphere\r\nor acuteness—all the better interpretations of nature are worked out\r\nby instances, and fit and apt experiments, where the senses only judge\r\nof the experiment, the experiment of nature and the thing itself.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-51\"\u003eLI.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n The human understanding is, by its own nature, prone to\r\nabstraction, and supposes that which is fluctuating to be fixed. But\r\nit is better to dissect than abstract nature: such was the method\r\nemployed by the school of Democritus,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-19\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-19\" title=\"Go to Footnote 19\"\u003e[19]\u003c/a\u003e which made greater progress\r\nin penetrating nature than the rest. It is best to consider matter, its\r\nconformation, and the changes of that conformation, its own\r\n action,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-20\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-20\" title=\"Go to Footnote 20\"\u003e[20]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nand the law of this action or motion; for forms are a mere fiction\r\nof the human mind, unless you will call the laws of action by that\r\nname.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-21\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-21\" title=\"Go to Footnote 21\"\u003e[21]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_28\"\u003e[28]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLII. Such are the idols of the tribe, which arise either from the\r\nuniformity of the constitution of man’s spirit, or its prejudices, or\r\nits limited faculties or restless agitation, or from the interference\r\nof the passions, or the incompetence of the senses, or the mode of\r\ntheir impressions.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLIII. The idols of the den derive their origin from the peculiar nature\r\nof each individual’s mind and body, and also from education, habit, and\r\naccident; and although they be various and manifold, yet we will treat\r\nof some that require the greatest caution, and exert the greatest power\r\nin polluting the understanding.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLIV. Some men become attached to particular sciences and\r\ncontemplations, either from supposing themselves the authors and\r\ninventors of them, or from having bestowed the greatest pains upon\r\nsuch subjects, and thus become most habituated to\r\n them.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-22\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-22\" title=\"Go to Footnote 22\"\u003e[22]\u003c/a\u003e If men of\r\nthis description apply themselves to philosophy and contemplations of\r\na universal\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_29\"\u003e[29]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n nature, they wrest and corrupt them by their preconceived\r\nfancies, of which Aristotle affords us a single instance, who made\r\nhis natural philosophy completely subservient to his logic, and thus\r\nrendered it little more than useless and disputatious. The chemists,\r\nagain, have formed a fanciful philosophy with the most confined views,\r\nfrom a few experiments of the furnace.\r\n Gilbert,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-23\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-23\" title=\"Go to Footnote 23\"\u003e[23]\u003c/a\u003e too, having\r\nemployed himself most assiduously in the consideration of the magnet,\r\nimmediately established a system of philosophy to coincide with his\r\nfavorite pursuit.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLV. The greatest and, perhaps, radical distinction between different\r\nmen’s dispositions for philosophy and the sciences is this, that\r\nsome are more vigorous and active in observing the differences of\r\nthings, others in observing their resemblances; for a steady and acute\r\ndisposition can fix its thoughts, and dwell upon and adhere to a point,\r\nthrough all the refinements of differences, but those that are sublime\r\nand discursive recognize and compare even the most delicate and general\r\nresemblances; each of them readily falls into excess, by catching\r\neither at nice distinctions or shadows of resemblance.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLVI. Some dispositions evince an unbounded admiration of antiquity,\r\nothers eagerly embrace novelty, and but few can preserve the just\r\nmedium, so as neither to tear\r\n up\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_30\"\u003e[30]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n what the ancients have correctly laid\r\ndown, nor to despise the just innovations of the moderns. But this\r\nis very prejudicial to the sciences and philosophy, and instead of a\r\ncorrect judgment we have but the factions of the ancients and moderns.\r\nTruth is not to be sought in the good fortune of any particular\r\nconjuncture of time, which is uncertain, but in the light of nature\r\nand experience, which is eternal. Such factions, therefore, are to be\r\nabjured, and the understanding must not allow them to hurry it on to\r\nassent.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLVII. The contemplation of nature and of bodies in their individual\r\nform distracts and weakens the understanding; but the contemplation\r\nof nature and of bodies in their general composition and formation\r\nstupefies and relaxes it. We have a good instance of this in the school\r\nof Leucippus and Democritus compared with others, for they applied\r\nthemselves so much to particulars as almost to neglect the general\r\nstructure of things, while the others were so astounded while gazing\r\non the structure that they did not penetrate the simplicity of nature.\r\nThese two species of contemplation must, therefore, be interchanged,\r\nand each employed in its turn, in order to render the understanding at\r\nonce penetrating and capacious, and to avoid the inconveniences we have\r\nmentioned, and the idols that result from them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLVIII. Let such, therefore, be our precautions in contemplation, that\r\nwe may ward off and expel the idols of the den, which mostly owe their\r\nbirth either to some predominant pursuit, or, secondly, to an excess\r\nin synthesis and analysis, or, thirdly, to a party zeal in favor\r\nof certain ages, or, fourthly, to the extent or narrowness of the\r\nsubject. In general, he who contemplates nature should suspect whatever\r\nparticularly takes and fixes his\r\n understanding,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_31\"\u003e[31]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n and should use so much\r\nthe more caution to preserve it equable and unprejudiced.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLIX. The idols of the market are the most troublesome of all, those\r\nnamely which have entwined themselves round the understanding from the\r\nassociations of words and names. For men imagine that their reason\r\ngoverns words, while, in fact, words react upon the understanding; and\r\nthis has rendered philosophy and the sciences sophistical and inactive.\r\nWords are generally formed in a popular sense, and define things by\r\nthose broad lines which are most obvious to the vulgar mind; but when\r\na more acute understanding or more diligent observation is anxious to\r\nvary those lines, and to adapt them more accurately to nature, words\r\noppose it. Hence the great and solemn disputes of learned men often\r\nterminate in controversies about words and names, in regard to which it\r\nwould be better (imitating the caution of mathematicians) to proceed\r\nmore advisedly in the first instance, and to bring such disputes to\r\na regular issue by definitions. Such definitions, however, cannot\r\nremedy the evil in natural and material objects, because they consist\r\nthemselves of words, and these words produce\r\n others;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-24\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-24\" title=\"Go to Footnote 24\"\u003e[24]\u003c/a\u003e so that we\r\nmust necessarily have recourse to particular instances, and their\r\nregular series and arrangement, as\r\n we\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_32\"\u003e[32]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n shall mention when we come to\r\nthe mode and scheme of determining notions and axioms.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLX. The idols imposed upon the understanding by words are of two\r\nkinds. They are either the names of things which have no existence\r\n(for as some objects are from inattention left without a name, so\r\nnames are formed by fanciful imaginations which are without an\r\nobject), or they are the names of actual objects, but confused, badly\r\ndefined, and hastily and irregularly abstracted from things. Fortune,\r\nthe \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eprimum mobile\u003c/i\u003e, the planetary\r\n orbits,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-25\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-25\" title=\"Go to Footnote 25\"\u003e[25]\u003c/a\u003e the element of fire,\r\nand the like fictions, which owe their birth to futile and false\r\ntheories, are instances of the first kind. And this species of idols\r\nis removed with greater facility, because it can be exterminated by\r\nthe constant refutation or the desuetude of the theories themselves.\r\nThe others, which are created by vicious and unskilful abstraction,\r\nare intricate and deeply rooted. Take some word, for instance, as\r\nmoist, and let us examine how far the different significations of this\r\nword are consistent. It will be found that the word moist is nothing\r\nbut a confused sign of different actions admitted of no settled and\r\ndefined uniformity. For it means that which easily diffuses itself\r\nover another body; that which is indeterminable and cannot be brought\r\nto a consistency; that\r\n which\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_33\"\u003e[33]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n yields easily in every direction; that\r\nwhich is easily divided and dispersed; that which is easily united and\r\ncollected; that which easily flows and is put in motion; that which\r\neasily adheres to, and wets another body; that which is easily reduced\r\nto a liquid state though previously solid. When, therefore, you come\r\nto predicate or impose this name, in one sense flame is moist, in\r\nanother air is not moist, in another fine powder is moist, in another\r\nglass is moist; so that it is quite clear that this notion is hastily\r\nabstracted from water only, and common ordinary liquors, without any\r\ndue verification of it.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere are, however, different degrees of distortion and mistake\r\nin words. One of the least faulty classes is that of the names of\r\nsubstances, particularly of the less abstract and more defined species\r\n(those then of chalk and mud are good, of earth bad); words signifying\r\nactions are more faulty, as to generate, to corrupt, to change; but the\r\nmost faulty are those denoting qualities (except the immediate objects\r\nof sense), as heavy, light, rare, dense. Yet in all of these there must\r\nbe some notions a little better than others, in proportion as a greater\r\nor less number of things come before the senses.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-61\"\u003eLXI.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n The idols of the theatre are not innate, nor do they introduce\r\nthemselves secretly into the understanding, but they are manifestly\r\ninstilled and cherished by the fictions of theories and depraved rules\r\nof demonstration. To attempt, however, or undertake their confutation\r\nwould not be consistent with our declarations. For since we neither\r\nagree in our principles nor our demonstrations, all argument is out\r\nof the question. And it is fortunate that the ancients are left in\r\npossession of their honors. We detract nothing from them, seeing our\r\nwhole doctrine relates only to\r\n the\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_34\"\u003e[34]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n path to be pursued. The lame (as\r\nthey say) in the path outstrip the swift who wander from it, and it\r\nis clear that the very skill and swiftness of him who runs not in the\r\nright direction must increase his aberration.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOur method of discovering the sciences is such as to leave little to\r\nthe acuteness and strength of wit, and indeed rather to level wit and\r\nintellect. For as in the drawing of a straight line, or accurate circle\r\nby the hand, much depends on its steadiness and practice, but if a\r\nruler or compass be employed there is little occasion for either; so\r\nit is with our method. Although, however, we enter into no individual\r\nconfutations, yet a little must be said, first, of the sects and\r\ngeneral divisions of these species of theories; secondly, something\r\nfurther to show that there are external signs of their weakness; and,\r\nlastly, we must consider the causes of so great a misfortune, and so\r\nlong and general a unanimity in error, that we may thus render the\r\naccess to truth less difficult, and that the human understanding may\r\nthe more readily be purified, and brought to dismiss its idols.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXII. The idols of the theatre, or of theories, are numerous, and may,\r\nand perhaps will, be still more so. For unless men’s minds had been now\r\noccupied for many ages in religious and theological considerations, and\r\ncivil governments (especially monarchies), had been averse to novelties\r\nof that nature even in theory (so that men must apply to them with some\r\nrisk and injury to their own fortunes, and not only without reward,\r\nbut subject to contumely and envy), there is no doubt that many other\r\nsects of philosophers and theorists would have been introduced, like\r\nthose which formerly flourished in such diversified abundance among the\r\nGreeks. For as many imaginary theories of the heavens can be deduced\r\nfrom the phenomena of the sky,\r\n so\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_35\"\u003e[35]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n it is even more easy to found many\r\ndogmas upon the phenomena of philosophy—and the plot of this our\r\ntheatre resembles those of the poetical, where the plots which are\r\ninvented for the stage are more consistent, elegant, and pleasurable\r\nthan those taken from real history.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn general, men take for the groundwork of their philosophy either\r\ntoo much from a few topics, or too little from many; in either case\r\ntheir philosophy is founded on too narrow a basis of experiment and\r\nnatural history, and decides on too scanty grounds. For the theoretic\r\nphilosopher seizes various common circumstances by experiment, without\r\nreducing them to certainty or examining and frequently considering\r\nthem, and relies for the rest upon meditation and the activity of his\r\nwit.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere are other philosophers who have diligently and accurately\r\nattended to a few experiments, and have thence presumed to deduce and\r\ninvent systems of philosophy, forming everything to conformity with\r\nthem.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eA third set, from their faith and religious veneration, introduce\r\ntheology and traditions; the absurdity of some among them having\r\nproceeded so far as to seek and derive the sciences from spirits and\r\ngenii. There are, therefore, three sources of error and three species\r\nof false philosophy; the sophistic, empiric, and superstitious.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-63\"\u003eLXIII.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Aristotle affords the most eminent instance of the first; for\r\nhe corrupted natural philosophy by logic—thus he formed the world of\r\ncategories, assigned to the human soul, the noblest of substances, a\r\ngenus determined by words of secondary operation, treated of density\r\nand rarity (by which bodies occupy a greater or lesser space), by the\r\nfrigid distinctions of action and power, asserted that there was a\r\npeculiar and proper motion in all bodies,\r\n and\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_36\"\u003e[36]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n that if they shared\r\nin any other motion, it was owing to an external moving cause, and\r\nimposed innumerable arbitrary distinctions upon the nature of things;\r\nbeing everywhere more anxious as to definitions in teaching and the\r\naccuracy of the wording of his propositions, than the internal truth\r\nof things. And this is best shown by a comparison of his philosophy\r\nwith the others of greatest repute among the Greeks. For the similar\r\nparts of Anaxagoras, the atoms of Leucippus and Democritus, the heaven\r\nand earth of Parmenides, the discord and concord of\r\n Empedocles,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-26\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-26\" title=\"Go to Footnote 26\"\u003e[26]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nthe resolution of bodies into the common nature of fire, and their\r\ncondensation according to Heraclitus, exhibit some sprinkling of\r\nnatural philosophy, the nature of things, and experiment; while\r\nAristotle’s physics are mere logical terms, and he remodelled the\r\nsame subject in his metaphysics under a more imposing title, and more\r\nas a realist than a nominalist. Nor is much stress to be laid on his\r\nfrequent recourse to experiment in his books on animals, his problems,\r\nand other treatises; for he had already decided, without having\r\nproperly consulted experience as the basis of his decisions and axioms,\r\nand after having so decided, he drags experiment along as a captive\r\nconstrained to accommodate herself to his decisions: so that he is even\r\nmore to be blamed than his modern followers (of the scholastic school)\r\nwho have deserted her altogether.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_37\"\u003e[37]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXIV. The empiric school produces dogmas of a more deformed and\r\nmonstrous nature than the sophistic or theoretic school; not being\r\nfounded in the light of common notions (which, however poor and\r\nsuperstitious, is yet in a manner universal, and of a general\r\ntendency), but in the confined obscurity of a few experiments. Hence\r\nthis species of philosophy appears probable, and almost certain to\r\nthose who are daily practiced in such experiments, and have thus\r\ncorrupted their imagination, but incredible and futile to others. We\r\nhave a strong instance of this in the alchemists and their dogmas; it\r\nwould be difficult to find another in this age, unless perhaps in the\r\nphilosophy of Gilbert.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-27\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-27\" title=\"Go to Footnote 27\"\u003e[27]\u003c/a\u003e We could not,\r\n however, neglect to caution\r\nothers against this school, because we already foresee and augur, that\r\nif men be hereafter induced by our exhortations to apply seriously\r\nto experiments (bidding farewell to the sophistic doctrines), there\r\nwill then be imminent danger from empirics, owing to the premature\r\nand forward haste of the understanding, and its jumping or flying to\r\ngeneralities and the principles of things. We ought, therefore, already\r\nto meet the evil.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXV. The corruption of philosophy by the mixing of it up with\r\nsuperstition and theology, is of a much wider extent, and is\r\nmost injurious to it both as a whole and in parts. For the human\r\nunderstanding is no less exposed to the impressions of fancy, than\r\nto those of vulgar notions. The disputatious and sophistic school\r\nentraps the understanding, while the fanciful, bombastic, and, as it\r\nwere, poetical school, rather flatters it.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor correction\" title=\"No paragraph break in the original\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-65_para-2\"\u003eThere\u003c/a\u003e\r\n is a clear example of this\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_38\"\u003e[38]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n among the Greeks, especially in\r\nPythagoras, where, however, the superstition is coarse and overcharged,\r\nbut it is more dangerous and refined in Plato and his school. This\r\nevil is found also in some branches of other systems of philosophy,\r\nwhere it introduces abstracted forms, final and first causes, omitting\r\nfrequently the intermediate and the like. Against it we must use the\r\ngreatest caution; for the apotheosis of error is the greatest evil\r\nof all, and when folly is worshipped, it is, as it were, a plague\r\nspot upon the understanding. Yet some of the moderns have indulged\r\nthis folly with such consummate inconsiderateness, that they have\r\nendeavored to build a system of natural philosophy on the first chapter\r\nof Genesis, the book of Job, and other parts of Scripture; seeking\r\nthus the dead among the living.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-28\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-28\" title=\"Go to Footnote 28\"\u003e[28]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n And this folly is the more to be\r\nprevented and restrained, because not only fantastical philosophy, but\r\nheretical religion spring from the absurd mixture of matters divine\r\nand human. It is therefore most wise soberly to render unto faith the\r\nthings that are faith’s.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXVI. Having spoken of the vicious authority of the systems founded\r\neither on vulgar notions, or on a few experiments, or on superstition,\r\nwe must now consider the faulty subjects for contemplation, especially\r\nin natural philosophy. The human understanding is perverted by\r\nobserving the power of mechanical arts, in which bodies are very\r\nmaterially changed by composition or separation, and is induced to\r\nsuppose that something similar takes place in the universal nature\r\nof things. Hence the fiction of\r\n elements,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_39\"\u003e[39]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n and their co-operation in\r\nforming natural bodies.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-29\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-29\" title=\"Go to Footnote 29\"\u003e[29]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Again, when man reflects upon the entire\r\nliberty of nature, he meets with particular species of things, as\r\nanimals, plants, minerals, and is thence easily led to imagine that\r\nthere exist in nature certain primary forms which she strives to\r\nproduce, and that all variation from them arises from some impediment\r\nor error which she is exposed to in completing her work, or from the\r\ncollision or metamorphosis of different species. The first hypothesis\r\nhas produced the doctrine of elementary properties, the second that\r\nof occult properties and specific powers; and both lead to trifling\r\ncourses of reflection, in which the mind acquiesces, and is thus\r\ndiverted from more important subjects. But physicians exercise a much\r\nmore useful labor in the consideration of the secondary qualities of\r\nthings, and the operations of attraction, repulsion, attenuation,\r\ninspissation, dilatation, astringency, separation, maturation, and the\r\nlike; and would do still more if they would not corrupt these proper\r\nobservations by the two systems I have alluded to, of elementary\r\nqualities and specific powers, by which they either reduce the\r\nsecondary to first qualities, and their subtile and\r\n immeasurable\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_40\"\u003e[40]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\ncomposition, or at any rate neglect to advance by greater and\r\nmore diligent observation to the third and fourth qualities, thus\r\nterminating their contemplation prematurely. Nor are these powers (or\r\nthe like) to be investigated only among the medicines for the human\r\nbody, but also in all changes of other natural bodies.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eA greater evil arises from the contemplation and investigation rather\r\nof the stationary principles of things from which, than of the active\r\nby which things themselves are created. For the former only serve for\r\ndiscussion, the latter for practice. Nor is any value to be set on\r\nthose common differences of motion which are observed in the received\r\nsystem of natural philosophy, as generation, corruption, augmentation,\r\ndiminution, alteration, and translation. For this is their meaning:\r\nif a body, unchanged in other respects, is moved from its place, this\r\nis translation; if the place and species be given, but the quantity\r\nchanged, it is alteration; but if, from such a change, the mass and\r\nquantity of the body do not continue the same, this is the motion\r\nof augmentation and diminution; if the change be continued so as to\r\nvary the species and substance, and transfuse them to others, this is\r\ngeneration and corruption. All this is merely popular, and by no means\r\npenetrates into nature; and these are but the measures and bounds of\r\nmotion, and not different species of it; they merely suggest how far,\r\nand not how or whence. For they exhibit neither the affections of\r\nbodies nor the process of their parts, but merely establish a division\r\nof that motion, which coarsely exhibits to the senses matter in its\r\nvaried form. Even when they wish to point out something relative to\r\nthe causes of motion, and to establish a division of them, they most\r\nabsurdly introduce natural and violent motion, which is also a popular\r\nnotion,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_41\"\u003e[41]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n since every violent motion is also in fact natural, that is to\r\nsay, the external efficient puts nature in action in a different manner\r\nto that which she had previously employed.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut if, neglecting these, any one were, for instance, to observe\r\nthat there is in bodies a tendency of adhesion, so as not to suffer\r\nthe unity of nature to be completely separated or broken, and a\r\n\u003cem\u003evacuum\u003c/em\u003e\u003ca id=\"Anchor-30\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-30\" title=\"Go to Footnote 30\"\u003e[30]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n to be formed, or that they have a tendency to return to\r\ntheir natural dimensions or tension, so that, if compressed or extended\r\nwithin or beyond it, they immediately strive to recover themselves, and\r\nresume their former volume and extent; or that they have a tendency to\r\ncongregate into masses with similar bodies—the dense, for instance,\r\ntoward the circumference of the earth, the thin and rare toward that of\r\nthe heavens. These and the like are true physical genera of motions,\r\nbut the others are clearly logical and scholastic, as appears plainly\r\nfrom a comparison of the two.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnother considerable evil is, that men in their systems and\r\ncontemplations bestow their labor upon the investigation and discussion\r\nof the principles of things and the extreme limits of nature, although\r\nall utility and means of action consist in the intermediate objects.\r\nHence men cease not to abstract nature till they arrive at potential\r\nand shapeless matter,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-31\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-31\" title=\"Go to Footnote 31\"\u003e[31]\u003c/a\u003e and still persist in their\r\n dissection, till\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_42\"\u003e[42]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nthey arrive at atoms; and yet were all this true, it would be of little\r\nuse to advance man’s estate.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXVII. The understanding must also be cautioned against the\r\nintemperance of systems, so far as regards its giving or withholding\r\nits assent; for such intemperance appears to fix and perpetuate idols,\r\nso as to leave no means of removing them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThese excesses are of two kinds. The first is seen in those who\r\ndecide hastily, and render the sciences positive and dictatorial. The\r\nother in those who have introduced scepticism, and vague unbounded\r\ninquiry. The former subdues, the latter enervates the understanding.\r\nThe Aristotelian philosophy, after destroying other systems (as the\r\nOttomans\u003ca id=\"Anchor-32\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-32\" title=\"Go to Footnote 32\"\u003e[32]\u003c/a\u003e do their brethren)\r\n by its disputatious confutations,\r\ndecided upon everything, and Aristotle himself then raises up questions\r\nat will, in order to settle them; so that everything should be certain\r\nand decided, a method now in use among his successors.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe school of Plato introduced scepticism, first, as it were in joke\r\nand irony, from their dislike to Protagoras,\r\n Hippias,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-33\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-33\" title=\"Go to Footnote 33\"\u003e[33]\u003c/a\u003e and others,\r\nwho were ashamed of appearing\r\n not\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_43\"\u003e[43]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n to doubt upon any subject. But the\r\nnew academy dogmatized in their scepticism, and held it as their tenet.\r\nAlthough this method be more honest than arbitrary decision (for its\r\nfollowers allege that they by no means confound all inquiry, like\r\nPyrrho and his disciples, but hold doctrines which they can follow as\r\nprobable, though they cannot maintain them to be true), yet when the\r\nhuman mind has once despaired of discovering truth, everything begins\r\nto languish. Hence men turn aside into pleasant controversies and\r\ndiscussions, and into a sort of wandering over subjects rather than\r\nsustain any rigorous investigation. But as we observed at first, we\r\nare not to deny the authority of the human senses and understanding,\r\nalthough weak, but rather to furnish them with assistance.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXVIII. We have now treated of each kind of idols, and their qualities,\r\nall of which must be abjured and renounced with firm and solemn\r\nresolution, and the understanding must be completely freed and cleared\r\nof them, so that the access to the kingdom of man, which is founded\r\non the sciences, may resemble that to the kingdom of heaven, where no\r\nadmission is conceded except to children.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXIX. Vicious demonstrations are the muniments and support of idols,\r\nand those which we possess in logic, merely subject and enslave the\r\nworld to human thoughts, and thoughts to words. But demonstrations\r\nare in some manner themselves systems of philosophy and science; for\r\nsuch as they are, and accordingly as they are regularly or\r\n improperly\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_44\"\u003e[44]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nestablished, such will be the resulting systems of philosophy and\r\ncontemplation. But those which we employ in the whole process leading\r\nfrom the senses and things to axioms and conclusions, are fallacious\r\nand incompetent. This process is fourfold, and the errors are in equal\r\nnumber. In the first place the impressions of the senses are erroneous,\r\nfor they fail and deceive us. We must supply defects by substitutions,\r\nand fallacies by their correction. Secondly, notions are improperly\r\nabstracted from the senses, and indeterminate and confused when they\r\nought to be the reverse. Thirdly, the induction that is employed is\r\nimproper, for it determines the principles of sciences by simple\r\nenumeration,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-34\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-34\" title=\"Go to Footnote 34\"\u003e[34]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n without adopting exclusions and resolutions, or just\r\nseparations of nature. Lastly, \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027The\u0027\" id=\"p44_the\"\u003ethe\u003c/a\u003e usual method of discovery and proof,\r\nby first establishing the most general propositions, then applying and\r\nproving the intermediate axioms according to them, is the parent of\r\nerror and the calamity of every science. But we will treat more\r\n fully\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_45\"\u003e[45]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nof that which we now slightly touch upon, when we come to lay down the\r\ntrue way of interpreting nature, after having gone through the above\r\nexpiatory process and purification of the mind.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXX. But experience is by far the best demonstration, provided it\r\nadhere to the experiment actually made, for if that experiment be\r\ntransferred to other subjects apparently similar, unless with proper\r\nand methodical caution it becomes fallacious. The present method of\r\nexperiment is blind and stupid; hence men wandering and roaming without\r\nany determined course, and consulting mere chance, are hurried about\r\nto various points, and advance but little—at one time they are happy,\r\nat another their attention is distracted, and they always find that\r\nthey want something further. Men generally make their experiments\r\ncarelessly, and as it were in sport, making some little variation\r\nin a known experiment, and then if they fail they become disgusted\r\nand give up the attempt; nay, if they set to work more seriously,\r\nsteadily, and assiduously, yet they waste all their time on probing\r\nsome solitary matter, as Gilbert on the magnet, and the alchemists on\r\ngold. But such conduct shows their method to be no less unskilful than\r\nmean; for nobody can successfully investigate the nature of any object\r\nby considering that object alone; the inquiry must be more generally\r\nextended.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eEven when men build any science and theory upon experiment, yet they\r\nalmost always turn with premature and hasty zeal to practice, not\r\nmerely on account of the advantage and benefit to be derived from\r\nit, but in order to seize upon some security in a new undertaking of\r\ntheir not employing the remainder of their labor unprofitably, and by\r\nmaking themselves conspicuous, to acquire a greater\r\n name\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_46\"\u003e[46]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e for their\r\npursuit. Hence, like Atalanta, they leave the course to pick up the\r\ngolden apple, interrupting their speed, and giving up the victory. But\r\nin the true course of experiment, and in extending it to new effects,\r\nwe should imitate the Divine foresight and order; for God on the first\r\nday only created light, and assigned a whole day to that work without\r\ncreating any material substance thereon. In like manner we must first,\r\nby every kind of experiment, elicit the discovery of causes and true\r\naxioms, and seek for experiments which may afford light rather than\r\nprofit. Axioms, when rightly investigated and established, prepare\r\nus not for a limited but abundant practice, and bring in their train\r\nwhole troops of effects. But we will treat hereafter of the ways of\r\nexperience, which are not less beset and interrupted than those of\r\njudgment; having spoken at present of common experience only as a\r\nbad species of demonstration, the order of our subject now requires\r\nsome mention of those external signs of the weakness in practice of\r\nthe received systems of philosophy and\r\n contemplation\u003ca id=\"Anchor-35\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-35\" title=\"Go to Footnote 35\"\u003e[35]\u003c/a\u003e which we\r\nreferred to above, and of the causes of a circumstance at first sight\r\nso wonderful and incredible. For the knowledge of these external\r\nsigns prepares the way for assent, and the explanation of the causes\r\nremoves the wonder; and these two circumstances are of material use in\r\nextirpating more easily and gently the idols from the understanding.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXI. The sciences we possess have been principally derived from\r\nthe Greeks; for the addition of the Roman, Arabic, or more modern\r\nwriters, are but few and of small importance, and such as they are,\r\nare founded on the\r\n basis\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_47\"\u003e[47]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n of Greek invention. But the wisdom of the\r\nGreeks was professional and disputatious, and thus most adverse to\r\nthe investigation of truth. The name, therefore, of sophists, which\r\nthe contemptuous spirit of those who deemed themselves philosophers,\r\nrejected and transferred to the\r\n rhetoricians—Gorgias,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-36\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-36\" title=\"Go to Footnote 36\"\u003e[36]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nProtagoras, Hippias, Polus—might well suit the whole tribe, such\r\nas Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, Epicurus, Theophrastus, and their\r\nsuccessors—Chrysippus, Carneades, and the rest. There was only\r\nthis difference between them—the former were mercenary vagabonds,\r\ntravelling about to different states, making a show of their wisdom,\r\nand requiring pay; the latter more dignified and noble, in possession\r\nof fixed habitations, opening schools, and teaching philosophy\r\ngratuitously. Both, however (though differing in other respects), were\r\nprofessorial, and reduced every subject to controversy, establishing\r\nand defending certain sects and dogmas of philosophy, so that their\r\ndoctrines were nearly (what Dionysius not unaptly objected to Plato)\r\nthe talk of idle old men to ignorant youths. But the more ancient\r\nGreeks, as Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Leucippus, Democritus, Parmenides,\r\nHeraclitus, Xenophanes, Philolaus, and the\r\n rest\u003ca id=\"Anchor-37\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-37\" title=\"Go to Footnote 37\"\u003e[37]\u003c/a\u003e (for I omit\r\nPythagoras as being\r\n superstitious),\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_48\"\u003e[48]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n did not (that we are aware) open\r\nschools, but betook themselves to the investigation of truth with\r\ngreater silence and with more severity and simplicity, that is, with\r\nless affectation and ostentation. Hence in our opinion they acted\r\nmore advisedly, however their works may have been eclipsed in course\r\nof time by those lighter productions which better correspond with\r\nand please the apprehensions and passions of the vulgar; for time,\r\nlike a river,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-38\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-38\" title=\"Go to Footnote 38\"\u003e[38]\u003c/a\u003e bears down to us\r\n that\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_49\"\u003e[49]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n which is light and inflated,\r\nand sinks that which is heavy and solid. Nor were even these more\r\nancient philosophers free from the national defect, but inclined too\r\nmuch to the ambition and vanity of forming a sect, and captivating\r\npublic opinion, and we must despair of any inquiry after truth when it\r\ncondescends to such trifles. Nor must we omit the opinion, or rather\r\nprophecy, of an Egyptian priest with regard to the Greeks, that they\r\nwould forever remain children, without any antiquity of knowledge or\r\nknowledge of antiquity; for they certainly have this in common with\r\nchildren, that they are prone to talking, and incapable of generation,\r\ntheir wisdom being loquacious and unproductive of effects. Hence the\r\nexternal signs derived from the origin and birthplace of our present\r\nphilosophy are not favorable.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXII. Nor are those much better which can be deduced from the\r\ncharacter of the time and age, than the former from that of the country\r\nand nation; for in that age the knowledge both of time and of the world\r\nwas confined and meagre, which is one of the worst evils for those who\r\nrely entirely on experience—they had not a thousand years of history\r\nworthy of that name, but mere fables and ancient traditions; they were\r\nacquainted with but a small portion of the regions and countries of the\r\nworld, for they indiscriminately called all nations situated far toward\r\nthe north Scythians, all those to the west Celts; they knew nothing of\r\nAfrica but the nearest part of Ethiopia, or of Asia\r\n beyond\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_50\"\u003e[50]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e the Ganges,\r\nand had not even heard any sure and clear tradition of the regions of\r\nthe New World. Besides, a vast number of climates and zones, in which\r\ninnumerable nations live and breathe, were pronounced by them to be\r\nuninhabitable; nay, the travels of Democritus, Plato, and Pythagoras,\r\nwhich were not extensive, but rather mere excursions from home, were\r\nconsidered as something vast. But in our times many parts of the New\r\nWorld, and every extremity of the Old, are well known, and the mass of\r\nexperiments has been infinitely increased; wherefore, if external signs\r\nwere to be taken from the time of the nativity or procreation (as in\r\nastrology), nothing extraordinary could be predicted of these early\r\nsystems of philosophy.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXIII. Of all signs there is none more certain or worthy than that\r\nof the fruits produced, for the fruits and effects are the sureties\r\nand vouchers, as it were, for the truth of philosophy. Now, from the\r\nsystems of the Greeks, and their subordinate divisions in particular\r\nbranches of the sciences during so long a period, scarcely one single\r\nexperiment can be culled that has a tendency to elevate or assist\r\nmankind, and can be fairly set down to the speculations and doctrines\r\nof their philosophy. Celsus candidly and wisely confesses as much,\r\nwhen he observes that experiments were first discovered in medicine,\r\nand that men afterward built their philosophical systems upon them,\r\nand searched for and assigned causes, instead of the inverse method of\r\ndiscovering and deriving experiments from philosophy and the knowledge\r\nof causes; it is not, therefore, wonderful that the Egyptians (who\r\nbestowed divinity and sacred honors on the authors of new inventions)\r\nshould have consecrated more images of brutes than of men, for the\r\nbrutes by their natural instinct made many\r\n discoveries,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_51\"\u003e[51]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e while men\r\nderived but few from discussion and the conclusions of reason.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe industry of the alchemists has produced some effect, by chance,\r\nhowever, and casualty, or from varying their experiments (as mechanics\r\nalso do), and not from any regular art or theory, the theory they have\r\nimagined rather tending to disturb than to assist experiment. Those,\r\ntoo, who have occupied themselves with natural magic (as they term it)\r\nhave made but few discoveries, and those of small import, and bordering\r\non imposture; for which reason, in the same manner as we are cautioned\r\nby religion to show our faith by our works, we may very properly apply\r\nthe principle to philosophy, and judge of it by its works, accounting\r\nthat to be futile which is unproductive, and still more so if, instead\r\nof grapes and olives, it yield but the thistle and thorns of dispute\r\nand contention.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXIV. Other signs may be selected from the increase and progress of\r\nparticular systems of philosophy and the sciences; for those which are\r\nfounded on nature grow and increase, while those which are founded\r\non opinion change and increase not. If, therefore, the theories we\r\nhave mentioned were not like plants, torn up by the roots, but grew\r\nin the womb of nature, and were nourished by her, that which for the\r\nlast two thousand years has taken place would never have happened,\r\nnamely, that the sciences still continue in their beaten track, and\r\nnearly stationary, without having received any important increase,\r\nnay, having, on the contrary, rather bloomed under the hands of their\r\nfirst author, and then faded away. But we see that the case is reversed\r\nin the mechanical arts, which are founded on nature and the light\r\nof experience, for they (as long as they are popular) seem full of\r\nlife, and uninterruptedly thrive\r\n and\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_52\"\u003e[52]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n grow, being at first rude, then\r\nconvenient, lastly polished, and perpetually improved.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-75\"\u003eLXXV.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n There is yet another sign (if such it may be termed, being\r\nrather an evidence, and one of the strongest nature), namely, the\r\nactual confession of those very authorities whom men now follow; for\r\neven they who decide on things so daringly, yet at times, when they\r\nreflect, betake themselves to complaints about the subtilty of nature,\r\nthe obscurity of things, and the weakness of man’s wit. If they would\r\nmerely do this, they might perhaps deter those who are of a timid\r\ndisposition from further inquiry, but would excite and stimulate those\r\nof a more active and confident turn to further advances. They are\r\nnot, however, satisfied with confessing so much of themselves, but\r\nconsider everything which has been either unknown or unattempted by\r\nthemselves or their teachers, as beyond the limits of possibility,\r\nand thus, with most consummate pride and envy, convert the defects of\r\ntheir own discoveries into a calumny on nature and a source of despair\r\nto every one else. Hence arose the New Academy, which openly professed\r\nscepticism,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-39\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-39\" title=\"Go to Footnote 39\"\u003e[39]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n and consigned mankind to eternal darkness; hence the\r\nnotion that forms, or the true differences of things (which are in\r\nfact the laws of simple action), are beyond\r\n man’s\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_53\"\u003e[53]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e reach, and cannot\r\npossibly be discovered; hence those notions in the active and operative\r\nbranches, that the heat of the sun and of fire are totally different,\r\nso as to prevent men from supposing that they can elicit or form, by\r\nmeans of fire, anything similar to the operations of nature; and again,\r\nthat composition only is the work of man and mixture of nature, so\r\nas to prevent men from expecting the generation or transformation of\r\nnatural bodies by art. Men will, therefore, easily allow themselves to\r\nbe persuaded by this sign not to engage their fortunes and labor in\r\nspeculations, which are not only desperate, but actually devoted to\r\ndesperation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXVI. Nor should we omit the sign afforded by the great dissension\r\nformerly prevalent among philosophers, and the variety of schools,\r\nwhich sufficiently show that the way was not well prepared that leads\r\nfrom the senses to the understanding, since the same groundwork of\r\nphilosophy (namely, the nature of things), was torn and divided into\r\nsuch widely differing and multifarious errors. And although in these\r\ndays the dissensions and differences of opinions with regard to first\r\nprinciples and entire systems are nearly\r\n extinct,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-40\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-40\" title=\"Go to Footnote 40\"\u003e[40]\u003c/a\u003e yet there remain\r\ninnumerable questions and controversies with regard to particular\r\nbranches of philosophy. So that it is manifest that there is nothing\r\nsure or sound either in the systems themselves or in the methods of\r\ndemonstration.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-41\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-41\" title=\"Go to Footnote 41\"\u003e[41]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXVII. With regard to the supposition that there is a general\r\nunanimity as to the philosophy of Aristotle,\r\n because\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_54\"\u003e[54]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e the other systems\r\nof the ancients ceased and became obsolete on its promulgation, and\r\nnothing better has been since discovered; whence it appears that it is\r\nso well determined and founded, as to have united the suffrages of both\r\nages; we will observe—1st. That the notion of other ancient systems\r\nhaving ceased after the publication of the works of Aristotle is false,\r\nfor the works of the ancient philosophers subsisted long after that\r\nevent, even to the time of Cicero, and the subsequent ages. But at a\r\nlater period, when human learning had, as it were, been wrecked in the\r\ninundation of barbarians into the Roman empire, then the systems of\r\nAristotle and Plato were preserved in the waves of ages, like planks\r\nof a lighter and less solid nature. 2d. The notion of unanimity, on\r\na clear inspection, is found to be fallacious. For true unanimity\r\nis that which proceeds from a free judgment, arriving at the same\r\nconclusion, after an investigation of the fact. Now, by far the greater\r\nnumber of those who have assented to the philosophy of Aristotle,\r\nhave bound themselves down to it from prejudice and the authority\r\nof others, so that it is rather obsequiousness and concurrence than\r\nunanimity. But even if it were real and extensive unanimity, so far\r\nfrom being esteemed a true and solid confirmation, it should even\r\nlead to a violent presumption to the contrary. For there is no worse\r\naugury in intellectual matters than that derived from unanimity, with\r\nthe exception of divinity and politics, where suffrages are allowed\r\nto decide. For nothing pleases the multitude, unless it strike the\r\nimagination or bind down the understanding, as we have observed above,\r\nwith the shackles of vulgar notions. Hence we may well transfer\r\nPhocion’s remark from morals to the intellect: “That men should\r\nimmediately examine what error or fault they have committed, when\r\n the\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_55\"\u003e[55]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nmultitude concurs with, and applauds\r\n them.”\u003ca id=\"Anchor-42\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-42\" title=\"Go to Footnote 42\"\u003e[42]\u003c/a\u003e This then is one of\r\nthe most unfavorable signs. All the signs, therefore, of the truth and\r\nsoundness of the received systems of philosophy and the sciences are\r\nunpropitious, whether taken from their origin, their fruits, their\r\nprogress, the confessions of their authors, or from unanimity.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-78\"\u003eLXXVIII.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n We now come to the causes of\r\n errors,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-43\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-43\" title=\"Go to Footnote 43\"\u003e[43]\u003c/a\u003e and of such\r\nperseverance in them for ages. These are sufficiently numerous and\r\npowerful to remove all wonder, that what we now offer should have so\r\nlong been concealed from, and have escaped the notice of mankind, and\r\nto render it more worthy of astonishment, that it should even now have\r\nentered any one’s mind, or become the subject of his thoughts; and\r\nthat it should have done so, we consider rather the gift of fortune\r\nthan of any extraordinary talent, and as the offspring of time rather\r\nthan wit. But, in the first place, the number of ages is reduced to\r\nvery narrow limits, on a proper consideration of the matter. For out\r\nof twenty-five\u003ca id=\"Anchor-44\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-44\" title=\"Go to Footnote 44\"\u003e[44]\u003c/a\u003e centuries, with which the memory and\r\n learning\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_56\"\u003e[56]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e of\r\nman are conversant, scarcely six can be set apart and selected as\r\nfertile in science and favorable to its progress. For there are deserts\r\nand wastes in times as in countries, and we can only reckon up three\r\nrevolutions and epochs of philosophy. 1. The Greek. 2. The Roman.\r\n3. Our own, that is the philosophy of the western nations of Europe:\r\nand scarcely two centuries can with justice be assigned to each. The\r\nintermediate ages of the world were unfortunate both in the quantity\r\nand richness of the sciences produced. Nor need we mention the Arabs,\r\nor the scholastic philosophy, which, in those ages, ground down the\r\nsciences by their numerous treatises, more than they increased their\r\nweight. The first cause, then, of such insignificant progress in the\r\nsciences, is rightly referred to the small proportion of time which has\r\nbeen favorable thereto.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXIX. A second cause offers itself, which is certainly of the greatest\r\nimportance; namely, that in those very ages in which men’s wit and\r\nliterature flourished considerably, or even moderately, but a small\r\npart of their industry was bestowed on natural philosophy, the great\r\nmother of the sciences. For every art and science torn from this root\r\nmay, perhaps, be polished, and put into a serviceable shape, but can\r\nadmit of little growth. It is well known, that after the Christian\r\nreligion had been acknowledged, and arrived at maturity, by far the\r\nbest wits were busied upon theology, where the highest rewards offered\r\nthemselves, and every species of assistance was abundantly supplied,\r\nand the study of which was the principal occupation of the western\r\nEuropean nations during the third epoch; the rather\r\n because\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_57\"\u003e[57]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e literature\r\nflourished about the very time when controversies concerning religion\r\nfirst began to bud forth. 2. In the preceding ages, during the second\r\nepoch (that of the Romans), philosophical meditation and labor was\r\nchiefly occupied and wasted in moral philosophy (the theology of\r\nthe heathens): besides, the greatest minds in these times applied\r\nthemselves to civil affairs, on account of the magnitude of the Roman\r\nempire, which required the labor of many. 3. The age during which\r\nnatural philosophy appeared principally to flourish among the Greeks,\r\nwas but a short period, since in the more ancient times the seven sages\r\n(with the exception of Thales), applied themselves to moral philosophy\r\nand politics, and at a later period, after Socrates had brought\r\ndown philosophy from heaven to earth, moral philosophy became more\r\nprevalent, and diverted men’s attention from natural. Nay, the very\r\nperiod during which physical inquiries flourished, was corrupted and\r\nrendered useless by contradictions, and the ambition of new opinions.\r\nSince, therefore, during these three epochs, natural philosophy has\r\nbeen materially neglected or impeded, it is not at all surprising\r\nthat men should have made but little progress in it, seeing they were\r\nattending to an entirely different matter.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXX. Add to this that natural philosophy, especially of late, has\r\nseldom gained exclusive possession of an individual free from all other\r\npursuits, even among those who have applied themselves to it, unless\r\nthere may be an example or two of some monk studying in his cell, or\r\nsome nobleman in his\r\n villa.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-45\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-45\" title=\"Go to Footnote 45\"\u003e[45]\u003c/a\u003e She has rather been made a passage and\r\nbridge to other pursuits.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_58\"\u003e[58]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThus has this great mother of the sciences been degraded most\r\nunworthily to the situation of a handmaid, and made to wait upon\r\nmedicine or mathematical operations, and to wash the immature minds\r\nof youth, and imbue them with a first dye, that they may afterward be\r\nmore ready to receive and retain another. In the meantime, let no one\r\nexpect any great progress in the sciences (especially their operative\r\npart), unless natural philosophy be applied to particular sciences,\r\nand particular sciences again referred back to natural philosophy. For\r\nwant of this, astronomy, optics, music, many mechanical arts, medicine\r\nitself, and (what perhaps is more wonderful), moral and political\r\nphilosophy, and the logical sciences have no depth, but only glide over\r\nthe surface and variety of things; because these sciences, when they\r\nhave been once partitioned out and established, are no longer nourished\r\nby natural philosophy, which would have imparted fresh vigor and\r\ngrowth to them from the sources and genuine contemplation of motion,\r\nrays, sounds, texture, and conformation of bodies, and the affections\r\nand capacity of the understanding. But we can little wonder that the\r\nsciences grow not when separated from their roots.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXXI. There is another powerful and great cause of the little\r\nadvancement of the sciences, which is this; it is impossible to advance\r\nproperly in the course when the goal is not properly fixed. But the\r\nreal and legitimate goal of the sciences is the endowment of human\r\nlife with new inventions and riches. The great crowd of teachers know\r\nnothing of this, but consist of dictatorial hirelings; unless it so\r\nhappen that some artisan of an acute genius, and ambitious of fame,\r\ngives up his time to a new discovery, which is generally attended with\r\na loss of property. The majority, so far from proposing to themselves\r\nthe augmentation\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_59\"\u003e[59]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n of the mass of arts and sciences, make no other use\r\nof an inquiry into the mass already before them, than is afforded by\r\nthe conversion of it to some use in their lectures, or to gain, or\r\nto the acquirement of a name, and the like. But if one out of the\r\nmultitude be found, who courts science from real zeal, and on his own\r\naccount, even he will be seen rather to follow contemplation, and the\r\nvariety of theories, than a severe and strict investigation of truth.\r\nAgain, if there even be an unusually strict investigator of truth, yet\r\nwill he propose to himself, as the test of truth, the satisfaction\r\nof his mind and understanding, as to the causes of things long since\r\nknown, and not such a test as to lead to some new earnest of effects,\r\nand a new light in axioms. If, therefore, no one have laid down the\r\nreal end of science, we cannot wonder that there should be error in\r\npoints subordinate to that end.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-82\"\u003eLXXXII.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n But, in like manner, as the end and goal of science is\r\nill defined, so, even were the case otherwise, men have chosen an\r\nerroneous and impassable direction. For it is sufficient to astonish\r\nany reflecting mind, that nobody should have cared or wished to open\r\nand complete a way for the understanding, setting off from the senses,\r\nand regular, well-conducted experiment; but that everything has been\r\nabandoned either to the mists of tradition, the whirl and confusion of\r\nargument, or the waves and mazes of chance, and desultory, ill-combined\r\nexperiment. Now, let any one but consider soberly and diligently\r\nthe nature of the path men have been accustomed to pursue in the\r\ninvestigation and discovery of any matter, and he will doubtless first\r\nobserve the rude and inartificial manner of discovery most familiar to\r\nmankind: which is no other than this. When any one prepares himself for\r\ndiscovery, he first inquires and\r\n obtains\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_60\"\u003e[60]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n a full account of all that\r\nhas been said on the subject by others, then adds his own reflections,\r\nand stirs up and, as it were, invokes his own spirit, after much\r\nmental labor, to disclose its oracles. All which is a method without\r\nfoundation, and merely turns on opinion.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnother, perhaps, calls in logic to assist him in discovery, which\r\nbears only a nominal relation to his purpose. For the discoveries of\r\nlogic are not discoveries of principles and leading axioms, but only\r\nof what appears to accord with\r\n them.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-46\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-46\" title=\"Go to Footnote 46\"\u003e[46]\u003c/a\u003e And when men become curious\r\nand importunate, and give trouble, interrupting her about her proofs,\r\nand the discovery of principles or first axioms, she puts them off with\r\nher usual answer, referring them to faith, and ordering them to swear\r\nallegiance to each art in its own department.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere remains but mere experience, which, when it offers itself, is\r\ncalled chance; when it is sought after,\r\n experiment.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-47\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-47\" title=\"Go to Footnote 47\"\u003e[47]\u003c/a\u003e But this kind\r\nof experience is nothing but a loose fagot; and mere groping in the\r\ndark, as men at night try all means of discovering the right road,\r\nwhile it would be better and more prudent either to wait for day, or\r\nprocure a light, and then proceed. On the contrary, the real order of\r\nexperience begins by setting up a light, and then shows the road by it,\r\ncommencing with a regulated and digested, not a misplaced and vague\r\ncourse of experiment, and thence deducing axioms, and from those axioms\r\nnew experiments: for not even the Divine Word proceeded to operate on\r\nthe general mass of things without due order.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet men, therefore, cease to wonder if the whole\r\n course\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_61\"\u003e[61]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e of science be\r\nnot run, when all have wandered from the path; quitting it entirely,\r\nand deserting experience, or involving themselves in its mazes, and\r\nwandering about, while a regularly combined system would lead them in\r\na sure track through its wilds to the open day of axioms.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXXIII. The evil, however, has been wonderfully increased by an\r\nopinion, or inveterate conceit, which is both vainglorious and\r\nprejudicial, namely, that the dignity of the human mind is lowered by\r\nlong and frequent intercourse with experiments and particulars, which\r\nare the objects of sense, and confined to matter; especially since such\r\nmatters generally require labor in investigation, are mean subjects\r\nfor meditation, harsh in discourse, unproductive in practice, infinite\r\nin number, and delicate in their subtilty. Hence we have seen the true\r\npath not only deserted, but intercepted and blocked up, experience\r\nbeing rejected with disgust, and not merely neglected or improperly\r\napplied.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXXIV. Again, the reverence for\r\n antiquity,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-48\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-48\" title=\"Go to Footnote 48\"\u003e[48]\u003c/a\u003e and the authority of\r\nmen who have been esteemed great in philosophy, and general unanimity,\r\nhave retarded men from advancing in science, and almost enchanted them.\r\nAs to unanimity, we have spoken of it above.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe opinion which men cherish of antiquity is altogether idle, and\r\nscarcely accords with the term. For the old age and increasing years\r\nof the world should in reality be considered as antiquity, and this is\r\nrather the character of our own times than of the less advanced age of\r\nthe world in those of the ancients; for the latter, with respect to\r\nourselves,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_62\"\u003e[62]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n are ancient and elder, with respect to the world modern\r\nand younger. And as we expect a greater knowledge of human affairs,\r\nand more mature judgment from an old man than from a youth, on account\r\nof his experience, and the variety and number of things he has seen,\r\nheard, and meditated upon, so we have reason to expect much greater\r\nthings of our own age (if it knew but its strength and would essay and\r\nexert it) than from antiquity, since the world has grown older, and its\r\nstock has been increased and accumulated with an infinite number of\r\nexperiments and observations.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe must also take into our consideration that many objects in nature\r\nfit to throw light upon philosophy have been exposed to our view, and\r\ndiscovered by means of long voyages and travels, in which our times\r\nhave abounded. It would, indeed, be dishonorable to mankind, if the\r\nregions of the material globe, the earth, the sea, and stars, should\r\nbe so prodigiously developed and illustrated in our age, and yet the\r\nboundaries of the intellectual globe should be confined to the narrow\r\ndiscoveries of the ancients.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWith regard to authority, it is the greatest weakness to attribute\r\ninfinite credit to particular authors, and to refuse his own\r\nprerogative to time, the author of all authors, and, therefore, of all\r\nauthority. For truth is rightly named the daughter of time, not of\r\nauthority. It is not wonderful, therefore, if the bonds of antiquity,\r\nauthority, and unanimity, have so enchained the power of man, that he\r\nis unable (as if bewitched) to become familiar with things themselves.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-85\"\u003eLXXXV.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Nor is it only the admiration of antiquity, authority, and\r\nunanimity, that has forced man’s industry to rest satisfied with\r\npresent discoveries, but, also, the admiration of the effects already\r\nplaced within his power.\r\n For\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_63\"\u003e[63]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n whoever passes in review the variety\r\nof subjects, and the beautiful apparatus collected and introduced by\r\nthe mechanical arts for the service of mankind, will certainly be\r\nrather inclined to admire our wealth than to perceive our poverty:\r\nnot considering that the observations of man and operations of nature\r\n(which are the souls and first movers of that variety) are few, and\r\nnot of deep research; the rest must be attributed merely to man’s\r\npatience, and the delicate and well-regulated motion of the hand or of\r\ninstruments. To take an instance, the manufacture of clocks is delicate\r\nand accurate, and appears to imitate the heavenly bodies in its wheels,\r\nand the pulse of animals in its regular oscillation, yet it only\r\ndepends upon one or two axioms of nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, if one consider the refinement of the liberal arts, or even that\r\nexhibited in the preparation of natural bodies in mechanical arts and\r\nthe like, as the discovery of the heavenly motions in astronomy, of\r\nharmony in music, of the letters of the\r\n alphabet\u003ca id=\"Anchor-49\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-49\" title=\"Go to Footnote 49\"\u003e[49]\u003c/a\u003e (still unadopted\r\nby the Chinese) in grammar; or, again, in mechanical operations, the\r\nproductions of Bacchus and Ceres, that is, the preparation of wine\r\nand beer, the making of bread, or even the luxuries of the table,\r\ndistillation, and the like; if one reflect also, and consider for how\r\nlong a period of ages (for all the above, except distillation, are\r\nancient) these things have been brought to their present state of\r\nperfection, and (as we instanced in clocks) to how few observations and\r\naxioms of nature they may be referred, and how easily, and as it were,\r\nby obvious chance or contemplation, they might be discovered,\r\n one\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_64\"\u003e[64]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nwould soon cease to admire and rather pity the human lot on account of\r\nits vast want and dearth of things and discoveries for so many ages.\r\nYet even the discoveries we have mentioned were more ancient than\r\nphilosophy and the intellectual arts; so that (to say the truth) when\r\ncontemplation and doctrinal science began, the discovery of useful\r\nworks ceased.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut if any one turn from the manufactories to libraries, and be\r\ninclined to admire the immense variety of books offered to our view,\r\nlet him but examine and diligently inspect the matter and contents of\r\nthese books, and his astonishment will certainly change its object: for\r\nwhen he finds no end of repetitions, and how much men do and speak the\r\nsame thing over again, he will pass from admiration of this variety to\r\nastonishment at the poverty and scarcity of matter, which has hitherto\r\npossessed and filled men’s minds.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut if any one should condescend to consider such sciences as are\r\ndeemed rather curious than sound, and take a full view of the\r\noperations of the alchemists or magii, he will perhaps hesitate whether\r\nhe ought rather to laugh or to weep. For the alchemist cherishes\r\neternal hope, and when his labors succeed not, accuses his own\r\nmistakes, deeming, in his self-accusation, that he has not properly\r\nunderstood the words of art or of his authors; upon which he listens\r\nto tradition and vague whispers, or imagines there is some slight\r\nunsteadiness in the minute details of his practice, and then has\r\nrecourse to an endless repetition of experiments: and in the meantime,\r\nwhen, in his casual experiments, he falls upon something in appearance\r\nnew, or of some degree of utility, he consoles himself with such an\r\nearnest, and ostentatiously publishes them, keeping up his hope of\r\nthe final result. Nor can it be denied that the\r\n alchemists\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_65\"\u003e[65]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e have made\r\nseveral discoveries, and presented mankind with useful inventions. But\r\nwe may well apply to them the fable of the old man, who bequeathed to\r\nhis sons some gold buried in his garden, pretending not to know the\r\nexact spot, whereupon they worked diligently in digging the vineyard,\r\nand though they found no gold, the vintage was rendered more abundant\r\nby their labor.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe followers of natural magic, who explain everything by sympathy\r\nand antipathy, have assigned false powers and marvellous operations\r\nto things by gratuitous and idle conjectures: and if they have ever\r\nproduced any effects, they are rather wonderful and novel than of any\r\nreal benefit or utility.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn superstitious magic (if we say anything at all about it) we must\r\nchiefly observe, that there are only some peculiar and definite objects\r\nwith which the curious and superstitious arts have, in every nation and\r\nage, and even under every religion, been able to exercise and amuse\r\nthemselves. Let us, therefore, pass them over. In the meantime we\r\ncannot wonder that the false notion of plenty should have occasioned\r\nwant.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXXVI. The admiration of mankind with regard to the arts and sciences,\r\nwhich is of itself sufficiently simple and almost puerile, has been\r\nincreased by the craft and artifices of those who have treated the\r\nsciences, and delivered them down to posterity. For they propose and\r\nproduce them to our view so fashioned, and as it were masked, as to\r\nmake them pass for perfect and complete. For if you consider their\r\nmethod and divisions, they appear to embrace and comprise everything\r\nwhich can relate to the subject. And although this frame be badly\r\nfilled up and resemble an empty bladder, yet it presents to the\r\n vulgar\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_66\"\u003e[66]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nunderstanding the form and appearance of a perfect science.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe first and most ancient investigators of truth were wont, on the\r\ncontrary, with more honesty and success, to throw all the knowledge\r\nthey wished to gather from contemplation, and to lay up for use, into\r\naphorisms, or short scattered sentences unconnected by any method, and\r\nwithout pretending or professing to comprehend any entire art. But\r\naccording to the present system, we cannot wonder that men seek nothing\r\nbeyond that which is handed down to them as perfect, and already\r\nextended to its full complement.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXXVII. The ancient theories have received additional support and\r\ncredit from the absurdity and levity of those who have promoted the\r\nnew, especially in the active and practical part of natural philosophy.\r\nFor there have been many silly and fantastical fellows who, from\r\ncredulity or imposture, have loaded mankind with promises, announcing\r\nand boasting of the prolongation of life, the retarding of old age,\r\nthe alleviation of pains, the remedying of natural defects, the\r\ndeception of the senses, the restraint and excitement of the passions,\r\nthe illumination and exaltation of the intellectual faculties, the\r\ntransmutation of substances, the unlimited intensity and multiplication\r\nof motion, the impressions and changes of the air, the bringing into\r\nour power the management of celestial influences, the divination of\r\nfuture events, the representation of distant objects, the revelation of\r\nhidden objects, and the like. One would not be very wrong in observing\r\nwith regard to such pretenders, that there is as much difference in\r\nphilosophy, between their absurdity and real science, as there is in\r\nhistory between the exploits of Cæsar or Alexander, and\r\n those\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_67\"\u003e[67]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e of\r\nAmadis de Gaul and Arthur of Britain. For those illustrious generals\r\nare found to have actually performed greater exploits than such\r\nfictitious heroes are even pretended to have accomplished, by the\r\nmeans, however, of real action, and not by any fabulous and portentous\r\npower. Yet it is not right to suffer our belief in true history to be\r\ndiminished, because it is sometimes injured and violated by fables. In\r\nthe meantime we cannot wonder that great prejudice has been excited\r\nagainst any new propositions (especially when coupled with any mention\r\nof effects to be produced), by the conduct of impostors who have\r\nmade a similar attempt; for their extreme absurdity, and the disgust\r\noccasioned by it, has even to this day overpowered every spirited\r\nattempt of the kind.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXXVIII. Want of energy, and the littleness and futility of the tasks\r\nthat human industry has undertaken, have produced much greater injury\r\nto the sciences: and yet (to make it still worse) that very want of\r\nenergy manifests itself in conjunction with arrogance and disdain.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor, in the first place, one excuse, now from its repetition become\r\nfamiliar, is to be observed in every art, namely, that its promoters\r\nconvert the weakness of the art itself into a calumny upon nature:\r\nand whatever it in their hands fails to effect, they pronounce to be\r\nphysically impossible. But how can the art ever be condemned while it\r\nacts as judge in its own cause? Even the present system of philosophy\r\ncherishes in its bosom certain positions or dogmas, which (it will be\r\nfound on diligent inquiry) are calculated to produce a full conviction\r\nthat no difficult, commanding, and powerful operation upon nature ought\r\nto be anticipated through the means of art; we\r\n instanced\u003ca id=\"Anchor-50\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-50\" title=\"Go to Footnote 50\"\u003e[50]\u003c/a\u003e above the\r\nalleged different\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_68\"\u003e[68]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n quality of heat in the sun and fire, and composition\r\nand mixture. Upon an accurate observation the whole tendency of such\r\npositions is wilfully to circumscribe man’s power, and to produce a\r\ndespair of the means of invention and contrivance, which would not only\r\nconfound the promises of hope, but cut the very springs and sinews of\r\nindustry, and throw aside even the chances of experience. The only\r\nobject of such philosophers is to acquire the reputation of perfection\r\nfor their own art, and they are anxious to obtain the most silly and\r\nabandoned renown, by causing a belief that whatever has not yet been\r\ninvented and understood can never be so hereafter. But if any one\r\nattempt to give himself up to things, and to discover something new;\r\nyet he will only propose and destine for his object the investigation\r\nand discovery of some one invention, and nothing more; as the nature\r\nof the magnet, the tides, the heavenly system, and the like, which\r\nappear enveloped in some degree of mystery, and have hitherto been\r\ntreated with but little success. Now it is the greatest proof of want\r\nof skill, to investigate the nature of any object in itself alone; for\r\nthat same nature, which seems concealed and hidden in some instances,\r\nis manifest and almost palpable in others, and excites wonder in the\r\nformer, while it hardly attracts attention in the\r\n latter.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-51\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-51\" title=\"Go to Footnote 51\"\u003e[51]\u003c/a\u003e Thus the\r\nnature of consistency is scarcely observed in wood or stone, but passed\r\nover by the term solid without any further inquiry about the repulsion\r\nof separation or the\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_69\"\u003e[69]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n solution of continuity. But in water-bubbles the\r\nsame circumstance appears matter of delicate and ingenious research,\r\nfor they form themselves into thin pellicles, curiously shaped into\r\nhemispheres, so as for an instant to avoid the solution of continuity.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn general those very things which are considered as secret are\r\nmanifest and common in other objects, but will never be clearly seen\r\nif the experiments and contemplation of man be directed to themselves\r\nonly. Yet it commonly happens, that if, in the mechanical arts, any\r\none bring old discoveries to a finer polish, or more elegant height of\r\nornament, or unite and compound them, or apply them more readily to\r\npractice, or exhibit them on a less heavy and voluminous scale, and the\r\nlike, they will pass off as new.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe cannot, therefore, wonder that no magnificent discoveries, worthy\r\nof mankind, have been brought to light, while men are satisfied and\r\ndelighted with such scanty and puerile tasks, nay, even think that they\r\nhave pursued or attained some great object in their accomplishment.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLXXXIX. Nor should we neglect to observe that natural philosophy has,\r\nin every age, met with a troublesome and difficult opponent: I mean\r\nsuperstition, and a blind and immoderate zeal for religion. For we see\r\nthat, among the Greeks, those who first disclosed the natural causes of\r\nthunder and storms to the yet untrained ears of man were condemned as\r\nguilty of impiety toward the\r\n gods.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-52\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-52\" title=\"Go to Footnote 52\"\u003e[52]\u003c/a\u003e Nor did some of the old fathers\r\nof Christianity treat those much better who showed by the most positive\r\nproofs (such as no\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_70\"\u003e[70]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n one now disputes) that the earth is spherical, and\r\nthence asserted that there were\r\n antipodes.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-53\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-53\" title=\"Go to Footnote 53\"\u003e[53]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eEven in the present state of things the condition of discussions on\r\nnatural philosophy is rendered more difficult and dangerous by the\r\nsummaries and methods of divines, who, after reducing divinity into\r\nsuch order as they could, and brought it into a scientific form, have\r\nproceeded to mingle an undue proportion of the contentious and thorny\r\nphilosophy of Aristotle with the substance of\r\n religion.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-54\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-54\" title=\"Go to Footnote 54\"\u003e[54]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe fictions of those who have not feared to deduce and confirm the\r\ntruth of the Christian religion by the principles and authority of\r\nphilosophers, tend to the same end, though in a different\r\n manner.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-55\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-55\" title=\"Go to Footnote 55\"\u003e[55]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThey celebrate the union of faith and the senses as though it were\r\nlegitimate, with great pomp and solemnity, and gratify men’s pleasing\r\nminds with a variety, but in the meantime confound most improperly\r\nthings divine and human. Moreover, in these mixtures of divinity and\r\nphilosophy the received doctrines of the latter are alone included,\r\nand any novelty, even though\r\n it\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_71\"\u003e[71]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n be an improvement, scarcely escapes\r\nbanishment and extermination.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn short, you may find all access to any species of philosophy, however\r\npure, intercepted by the ignorance of divines. Some in their simplicity\r\nare apprehensive that a too deep inquiry into nature may penetrate\r\nbeyond the proper bounds of decorum, transferring and absurdly applying\r\nwhat is said of sacred mysteries in Holy Writ against those who\r\npry into divine secrets, to the mysteries of nature, which are not\r\nforbidden by any prohibition. Others with more cunning imagine and\r\nconsider, that if secondary causes be unknown, everything may more\r\neasily be referred to the Divine hand and wand, a matter, as they\r\nthink, of the greatest consequence to religion, but which can only\r\nreally mean that God wishes to be gratified by means of falsehood.\r\nOthers fear, from past example, lest motion and change in philosophy\r\nshould terminate in an attack upon religion. Lastly, there are others\r\nwho appear anxious lest there should be something discovered in the\r\ninvestigation of nature to overthrow, or at least shake, religion,\r\nparticularly among the unlearned. The last two apprehensions appear\r\nto resemble animal instinct, as if men were diffident, in the bottom\r\nof their minds and secret meditations, of the strength of religion\r\nand the empire of faith over the senses, and therefore feared that\r\nsome danger awaited them from an inquiry into nature. But any one who\r\nproperly considers the subject will find natural philosophy to be,\r\nafter the Word of God, the surest remedy against superstition, and the\r\nmost approved support of faith. She is, therefore, rightly bestowed\r\nupon religion as a most faithful attendant, for the one exhibits the\r\nwill and the other the power of God. Nor was he wrong who observed, “Ye\r\nerr, not knowing the\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_72\"\u003e[72]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n Scriptures and the power of God,” thus uniting\r\nin one bond the revelation of his will and the contemplation of his\r\npower. In the meanwhile, it is not wonderful that the progress of\r\nnatural philosophy has been restrained, since religion, which has so\r\nmuch influence on men’s minds, has been led and hurried to oppose her\r\nthrough the ignorance of some and the imprudent zeal of others.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-90\"\u003eXC.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Again, in the habits and regulations of schools, universities,\r\nand the like assemblies, destined for the abode of learned men and\r\nthe improvement of learning, everything is found to be opposed to\r\nthe progress of the sciences; for the lectures and exercises are so\r\nordered, that anything out of the common track can scarcely enter the\r\nthoughts and contemplations of the mind. If, however, one or two have\r\nperhaps dared to use their liberty, they can only impose the labor on\r\nthemselves, without deriving any advantage from the association of\r\nothers; and if they put up with this, they will find their industry and\r\nspirit of no slight disadvantage to them in making their fortune; for\r\nthe pursuits of men in such situations are, as it were, chained down\r\nto the writings of particular authors, and if any one dare to dissent\r\nfrom them he is immediately attacked as a turbulent and revolutionary\r\nspirit. Yet how great is the difference between civil matters and\r\nthe arts, for there is not the same danger from new activity and new\r\nlight. In civil matters even a change for the better is suspected\r\non account of the commotion it occasions, for civil government is\r\nsupported by authority, unanimity, fame, and public opinion, and not\r\nby demonstration. In the arts and sciences, on the contrary, every\r\ndepartment should resound, as in mines, with new works and advances.\r\nAnd this is the rational, though not the actual view of the case, for\r\nthat administration and\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_73\"\u003e[73]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n government of science we have spoken of is\r\nwont too rigorously to repress its growth.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXCI. And even should the odium I have alluded to be avoided, yet it is\r\nsufficient to repress the increase of science that such attempts and\r\nindustry pass unrewarded; for the cultivation of science and its reward\r\nbelong not to the same individual. The advancement of science is the\r\nwork of a powerful genius, the prize and reward belong to the vulgar or\r\nto princes, who (with a few exceptions) are scarcely moderately well\r\ninformed. Nay, such progress is not only deprived of the rewards and\r\nbeneficence of individuals, but even of popular praise; for it is above\r\nthe reach of the generality, and easily overwhelmed and extinguished\r\nby the winds of common opinions. It is not wonderful, therefore, that\r\nlittle success has attended that which has been little honored.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXCII. But by far the greatest obstacle to the advancement of the\r\nsciences, and the undertaking of any new attempt or department, is to\r\nbe found in men’s despair and the idea of impossibility; for men of a\r\nprudent and exact turn of thought are altogether diffident in matters\r\nof this nature, considering the obscurity of nature, the shortness of\r\nlife, the deception of the senses, and weakness of the judgment. They\r\nthink, therefore, that in the revolutions of ages and of the world\r\nthere are certain floods and ebbs of the sciences, and that they grow\r\nand flourish at one time, and wither and fall off at another, that when\r\nthey have attained a certain degree and condition they can proceed no\r\nfurther.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIf, therefore, any one believe or promise greater things, they impute\r\nit to an uncurbed and immature mind, and imagine that such efforts\r\nbegin pleasantly, then\r\n become\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_74\"\u003e[74]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n laborious, and end in confusion.\r\nAnd since such thoughts easily enter the minds of men of dignity\r\nand excellent judgment, we must really take heed lest we should be\r\ncaptivated by our affection for an excellent and most beautiful\r\nobject, and relax or diminish the severity of our judgment; and we\r\nmust diligently examine what gleam of hope shines upon us, and in what\r\ndirection it manifests itself, so that, banishing her lighter dreams,\r\nwe may discuss and weigh whatever appears of more sound importance. We\r\nmust consult the prudence of ordinary life, too, which is diffident\r\nupon principle, and in all human matters augurs the worst. Let us,\r\nthen, speak of hope, especially as we are not vain promisers, nor\r\nare willing to enforce or insnare men’s judgment, but would rather\r\nlead them willingly forward. And although we shall employ the most\r\ncogent means of enforcing hope when we bring them to particulars,\r\nand especially those which are digested and arranged in our Tables\r\nof Invention (the subject partly of the second, but principally of\r\nthe fourth part of the Instauration), which are, indeed, rather\r\nthe very object of our hopes than hope itself; yet to proceed more\r\nleniently we must treat of the preparation of men’s minds, of which\r\nthe manifestation of hope forms no slight part; for without it all\r\nthat we have said tends rather to produce a gloom than to encourage\r\nactivity or quicken the industry of experiment, by causing them to\r\nhave a worse and more contemptuous opinion of things as they are than\r\nthey now entertain, and to perceive and feel more thoroughly their\r\nunfortunate condition. We must, therefore, disclose and prefix our\r\nreasons for not thinking the hope of success improbable, as Columbus,\r\nbefore his wonderful voyage over the Atlantic, gave the reasons of his\r\nconviction that new lands and continents might be discovered besides\r\nthose\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_75\"\u003e[75]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n already known; and these reasons, though at first rejected, were\r\nyet proved by subsequent experience, and were the causes and beginnings\r\nof the greatest events.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXCIII. Let us begin from God, and show that our pursuit from its\r\nexceeding goodness clearly proceeds from him, the author of good and\r\nfather of light. Now, in all divine works the smallest beginnings lead\r\nassuredly to some result, and the remark in spiritual matters that\r\n“the kingdom of God cometh without observation,” is also found to be\r\ntrue in every great work of Divine Providence, so that everything\r\nglides quietly on without confusion or noise, and the matter is\r\nachieved before men either think or perceive that it is commenced.\r\nNor should we neglect to mention the prophecy of Daniel, of the last\r\ndays of the world, “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be\r\nincreased,”\u003ca id=\"Anchor-56\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-56\" title=\"Go to Footnote 56\"\u003e[56]\u003c/a\u003e thus plainly\r\n hinting and suggesting that fate (which\r\nis Providence) would cause the complete circuit of the globe (now\r\naccomplished, or at least going forward by means of so many distant\r\nvoyages), and the increase of learning to happen at the same epoch.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXCIV. We will next give a most potent reason for hope deduced from\r\nthe errors of the past, and the ways still unattempted; for well was\r\nan ill-governed state thus reproved, “That which is worst with regard\r\nto the past should appear most consolatory for the future; for if you\r\nhad done all that your duty commanded, and your affairs proceeded no\r\nbetter, you could not even hope for their improvement; but since their\r\npresent unhappy situation is not owing to the force of circumstances,\r\nbut to your own errors, you have reason to hope that by banishing\r\nor correcting the latter\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_76\"\u003e[76]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n you can produce a great change for the\r\nbetter in the former.” So if men had, during the many years that have\r\nelapsed, adhered to the right way of discovering and cultivating the\r\nsciences without being able to advance, it would be assuredly bold\r\nand presumptuous to imagine it possible to improve; but if they have\r\nmistaken the way and wasted their labor on improper objects, it follows\r\nthat the difficulty does not arise from things themselves, which are\r\nnot in our power, but from the human understanding, its practice and\r\napplication, which is susceptible of remedy and correction. Our best\r\nplan, therefore, is to expose these errors; for in proportion as they\r\nimpeded the past, so do they afford reason to hope for the future. And\r\nalthough we have touched upon them above, yet we think it right to give\r\na brief, bare, and simple enumeration of them in this place.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-I_Aph-95\"\u003eXCV.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Those who have treated of the sciences have been either empirics\r\nor dogmatical.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-57\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-57\" title=\"Go to Footnote 57\"\u003e[57]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n The former like ants only heap up and use their\r\nstore, the latter like spiders spin out their own webs. The bee, a\r\nmean between both, extracts matter from the flowers of the garden and\r\nthe field, but works and fashions it by its own efforts. The true\r\nlabor of philosophy resembles hers, for it neither relies entirely or\r\nprincipally on the powers of the mind, nor yet lays up in the memory\r\nthe matter afforded by the experiments of natural history and mechanics\r\nin its raw state, but changes and works it in the understanding. We\r\nhave good reason,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_77\"\u003e[77]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n therefore, to derive hope from a closer and purer\r\nalliance of these faculties (the experimental and rational) than has\r\nyet been attempted.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXCVI. Natural philosophy is not yet to be found unadulterated, but is\r\nimpure and corrupted—by logic in the school of Aristotle, by natural\r\ntheology in that of\r\n Plato,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-58\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-58\" title=\"Go to Footnote 58\"\u003e[58]\u003c/a\u003e by mathematics in the second school of\r\nPlato (that of Proclus and\r\n others)\u003ca id=\"Anchor-59\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-59\" title=\"Go to Footnote 59\"\u003e[59]\u003c/a\u003e which ought rather to terminate\r\nnatural philosophy than to generate or create it. We may, therefore,\r\nhope for better results from pure and unmixed natural philosophy.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXCVII. No one has yet been found possessed of sufficient firmness\r\nand severity to resolve upon and undertake the task of entirely\r\nabolishing common theories and notions, and applying the mind afresh,\r\nwhen thus cleared and levelled, to particular researches; hence our\r\nhuman reasoning is a mere farrago and crude mass made up of a great\r\ndeal of credulity and accident, and the puerile notions it originally\r\ncontracted.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_78\"\u003e[78]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut if a man of mature age, unprejudiced senses, and clear mind, would\r\nbetake himself anew to experience and particulars, we might hope much\r\nmore from such a one; in which respect we promise ourselves the fortune\r\nof Alexander the Great, and let none accuse us of vanity till they have\r\nheard the tale, which is intended to check vanity.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor Æschines spoke thus of Alexander and his exploits: “We live not\r\nthe life of mortals, but are born at such a period that posterity will\r\nrelate and declare our prodigies”; as if he considered the exploits of\r\nAlexander to be miraculous.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut in succeeding\r\n ages\u003ca id=\"Anchor-60\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-60\" title=\"Go to Footnote 60\"\u003e[60]\u003c/a\u003e Livy took a better view of the fact, and\r\nhas made some such observation as this upon Alexander: “That he did no\r\nmore than dare to despise insignificance.” So in our opinion posterity\r\nwill judge of us, that we have achieved no great matters, but only set\r\nless account upon what is considered important; for the meantime (as\r\nwe have before observed) our only hope is in the regeneration of the\r\nsciences, by regularly raising them on the foundation of experience and\r\nbuilding them anew, which I think none can venture to affirm to have\r\nbeen already done or even thought of.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXCVIII. The foundations of experience (our sole resource) have\r\nhitherto failed completely or have been very weak; nor has a store\r\nand collection of particular facts, capable of informing the mind or\r\nin any way satisfactory, been either sought after or amassed. On the\r\ncontrary, learned, but idle and indolent, men have received\r\n some\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_79\"\u003e[79]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e mere\r\nreports of experience, traditions as it were of dreams, as establishing\r\nor confirming their philosophy, and have not hesitated to allow them\r\nthe weight of legitimate evidence. So that a system has been pursued\r\nin philosophy with regard to experience resembling that of a kingdom\r\nor state which would direct its councils and affairs according to the\r\ngossip of city and street politicians, instead of the letters and\r\nreports of ambassadors and messengers worthy of credit. Nothing is\r\nrightly inquired into, or verified, noted, weighed, or measured, in\r\nnatural history; indefinite and vague observation produces fallacious\r\nand uncertain information. If this appear strange, or our complaint\r\nsomewhat too unjust (because Aristotle himself, so distinguished a\r\nman and supported by the wealth of so great a king, has completed an\r\naccurate history of animals, to which others with greater diligence\r\nbut less noise have made considerable additions, and others again\r\nhave composed copious histories and notices of plants, metals, and\r\nfossils), it will arise from a want of sufficiently attending to and\r\ncomprehending our present observations; for a natural history compiled\r\non its own account, and one collected for the mind’s information as a\r\nfoundation for philosophy, are two different things. They differ in\r\nseveral respects, but principally in this—the former contains only\r\nthe varieties of natural species without the experiments of mechanical\r\narts; for as in ordinary life every person’s disposition, and the\r\nconcealed feelings of the mind and passions are most drawn out when\r\nthey are disturbed—so the secrets of nature betray themselves more\r\nreadily when tormented by art than when left to their own course. We\r\nmust begin, therefore, to entertain hopes of natural philosophy then\r\nonly, when we have a better compilation of natural history, its real\r\nbasis and support.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_80\"\u003e[80]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXCIX. Again, even in the abundance of mechanical experiments, there\r\nis a very great scarcity of those which best inform and assist\r\nthe understanding. For the mechanic, little solicitous about the\r\ninvestigation of truth, neither directs his attention, nor applies his\r\nhand to anything that is not of service to his business. But our hope\r\nof further progress in the sciences will then only be well founded,\r\nwhen numerous experiments shall be received and collected into natural\r\nhistory, which, though of no use in themselves, assist materially in\r\nthe discovery of causes and axioms; which experiments we have termed\r\nenlightening, to distinguish them from those which are profitable. They\r\npossess this wonderful property and nature, that they never deceive\r\nor fail you; for being used only to discover the natural cause of\r\nsome object, whatever be the result, they equally satisfy your aim by\r\ndeciding the question.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eC. We must not only search for, and procure a greater number of\r\nexperiments, but also introduce a completely different method, order,\r\nand progress of continuing and promoting experience. For vague and\r\narbitrary experience is (as we have observed), mere groping in the\r\ndark, and rather astonishes than instructs. But when experience shall\r\nproceed regularly and uninterruptedly by a determined rule, we may\r\nentertain better hopes of the sciences.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCI. But after having collected and prepared an abundance and store of\r\nnatural history, and of the experience required for the operations\r\nof the understanding or philosophy, still the understanding is as\r\nincapable of acting on such materials of itself, with the aid of memory\r\nalone, as any person would be of retaining and achieving, by memory,\r\nthe computation of an almanac. Yet meditation has hitherto done more\r\nfor discovery than writing, and\r\n no\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_81\"\u003e[81]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n experiments have been committed to\r\npaper. We cannot, however, approve of any mode of discovery without\r\nwriting, and when that comes into more general use, we may have further\r\nhopes.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCII. Besides this, there is such a multitude and host, as it were, of\r\nparticular objects, and lying so widely dispersed, as to distract and\r\nconfuse the understanding; and we can, therefore, hope for no advantage\r\nfrom its skirmishing, and quick movements and incursions, unless we\r\nput its forces in due order and array, by means of proper and well\r\narranged, and, as it were, living tables of discovery of these matters,\r\nwhich are the subject of investigation, and the mind then apply itself\r\nto the ready prepared and digested aid which such tables afford.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCIII. When we have thus properly and regularly placed before the eyes\r\na collection of particulars, we must not immediately proceed to the\r\ninvestigation and discovery of new particulars or effects, or, at\r\nleast, if we do so, must not rest satisfied therewith. For, though\r\nwe do not deny that by transferring the experiments from one art to\r\nanother (when all the experiments of each have been collected and\r\narranged, and have been acquired by the knowledge, and subjected to\r\nthe judgment of a single individual), many new experiments may be\r\ndiscovered tending to benefit society and mankind, by what we term\r\nliterate experience; yet comparatively insignificant results are to be\r\nexpected thence, while the more important are to be derived from the\r\nnew light of axioms, deduced by certain method and rule from the above\r\nparticulars, and pointing out and defining new particulars in their\r\nturn. Our road is not a long plain, but rises and falls, ascending to\r\naxioms, and descending to effects.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_82\"\u003e[82]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCIV. Nor can we suffer the understanding to jump and fly from\r\nparticulars to remote and most general axioms (such as are termed the\r\nprinciples of arts and things), and thus prove and make out their\r\nintermediate axioms according to the supposed unshaken truth of the\r\nformer. This, however, has always been done to the present time from\r\nthe natural bent of the understanding, educated too, and accustomed to\r\nthis very method, by the syllogistic mode of demonstration. But we can\r\nthen only augur well for the sciences, when the assent shall proceed by\r\na true scale and successive steps, without interruption or breach, from\r\nparticulars to the lesser axioms, thence to the intermediate (rising\r\none above the other), and lastly, to the most general. For the lowest\r\naxioms differ but little from bare\r\n experiment;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-61\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-61\" title=\"Go to Footnote 61\"\u003e[61]\u003c/a\u003e the highest and most\r\ngeneral (as they are esteemed at present), are notional, abstract, and\r\nof no real weight. The intermediate are true, solid, full of life, and\r\nupon them depend the business and fortune of mankind; beyond these are\r\nthe really general, but not abstract, axioms, which are truly limited\r\nby the intermediate.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_83\"\u003e[83]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe must not then add wings, but rather lead and ballast to the\r\nunderstanding, to prevent its jumping or flying, which has not yet been\r\ndone; but whenever this takes place, we may entertain greater hopes of\r\nthe sciences.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCV. In forming axioms, we must invent a different form of induction\r\nfrom that hitherto in use; not only for the proof and discovery of\r\nprinciples (as they are called), but also of minor, intermediate, and,\r\nin short, every kind of axioms. The induction which proceeds by simple\r\nenumeration is puerile, leads to uncertain conclusions, and is exposed\r\nto danger from one contradictory instance, deciding generally from too\r\nsmall a number of facts, and those only the most obvious. But a really\r\nuseful induction for the discovery and demonstration of the arts and\r\nsciences, should separate nature by proper rejections and exclusions,\r\nand then conclude for the affirmative, after collecting a sufficient\r\nnumber of negatives. Now this has not been done, nor even attempted,\r\nexcept perhaps by Plato, who certainly uses this form of induction in\r\nsome measure, to sift definitions and ideas. But much of what has never\r\nyet entered the thoughts of man must necessarily be employed, in order\r\nto exhibit a good and legitimate mode of induction or demonstration,\r\nso as even to render it essential for us to bestow more pains upon\r\nit than have hitherto been bestowed on syllogisms. The assistance of\r\ninduction is to serve us not only in the discovery of axioms, but\r\nalso in defining our notions. Much indeed is to be hoped from such an\r\ninduction as has been described.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCVI. In forming our axioms from induction, we must examine and try\r\nwhether the axiom we derive be only fitted and calculated for the\r\nparticular instances from which it\r\n is\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_84\"\u003e[84]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n deduced, or whether it be more\r\nextensive and general. If it be the latter, we must observe, whether\r\nit confirm its own extent and generality by giving surety, as it were,\r\nin pointing out new particulars, so that we may neither stop at actual\r\ndiscoveries, nor with a careless grasp catch at shadows and abstract\r\nforms, instead of substances of a determinate nature: and as soon as we\r\nact thus, well authorized hope may with reason be said to beam upon us.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCVII. Here, too, we may again repeat what we have said above,\r\nconcerning the extending of natural philosophy and reducing particular\r\nsciences to that one, so as to prevent any schism or dismembering of\r\nthe sciences; without which we cannot hope to advance.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCVIII. Such are the observations we would make in order to remove\r\ndespair and excite hope, by bidding farewell to the errors of past\r\nages, or by their correction. Let us examine whether there be other\r\ngrounds for hope. And, first, if many useful discoveries have occurred\r\nto mankind by chance or opportunity, without investigation or attention\r\non their part, it must necessarily be acknowledged that much more may\r\nbe brought to light by investigation and attention, if it be regular\r\nand orderly, not hasty and interrupted. For although it may now and\r\nthen happen that one falls by chance upon something that had before\r\nescaped considerable efforts and laborious inquiries, yet undoubtedly\r\nthe reverse is generally the case. We may, therefore, hope for further,\r\nbetter, and more frequent results from man’s reason, industry, method,\r\nand application, than from chance and mere animal instinct, and the\r\nlike, which have hitherto been the sources of invention.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCIX. We may also derive some reason for hope from the circumstance\r\nof several actual inventions being of such\r\n a\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_85\"\u003e[85]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n nature, that scarcely\r\nany one could have formed a conjecture about them previously to their\r\ndiscovery, but would rather have ridiculed them as impossible. For\r\nmen are wont to guess about new subjects from those they are already\r\nacquainted with, and the hasty and vitiated fancies they have thence\r\nformed: than which there cannot be a more fallacious mode of reasoning,\r\nbecause much of that which is derived from the sources of things does\r\nnot flow in their usual channel.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIf, for instance, before the discovery of cannon, one had described\r\nits effects in the following manner: There is a new invention by which\r\nwalls and the greatest bulwarks can be shaken and overthrown from a\r\nconsiderable distance; men would have begun to contrive various means\r\nof multiplying the force of projectiles and machines by means of\r\nweights and wheels, and other modes of battering and projecting. But\r\nit is improbable that any imagination or fancy would have hit upon a\r\nfiery blast, expanding and developing itself so suddenly and violently,\r\nbecause none would have seen an instance at all resembling it, except\r\nperhaps in earthquakes or thunder, which they would have immediately\r\nrejected as the great operations of nature, not to be imitated by man.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSo, if before the discovery of silk thread, any one had observed,\r\n \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027That\u0027\" id=\"p85_that\"\u003ethat\u003c/a\u003e\r\na species of thread had been discovered, fit for dresses and furniture,\r\nfar surpassing the thread of worsted or flax in fineness, and at the\r\nsame time in tenacity, beauty, and softness; men would have begun\r\nto imagine something about Chinese plants, or the fine hair of some\r\nanimals, or the feathers or down of birds, but certainly would never\r\nhave had an idea of its being spun by a small worm, in so copious a\r\nmanner, and renewed annually. But if any one had ventured to suggest\r\nthe silkworm, he would\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_86\"\u003e[86]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n have been laughed at as if dreaming of some new\r\nmanufacture from spiders.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSo again, if before the discovery of the compass, any one had said,\r\n\u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027That\u0027\" id=\"p86_that\"\u003ethat\u003c/a\u003e\r\n an instrument had been invented, by which the quarters and points\r\nof the heavens could be exactly taken and distinguished, men would\r\nhave entered into disquisitions on the refinement of astronomical\r\ninstruments, and the like, from the excitement of their imaginations;\r\nbut the thought of anything being discovered, which, not being a\r\ncelestial body, but a mere mineral or metallic substance, should yet\r\nin its motion agree with that of such bodies, would have appeared\r\nabsolutely incredible. Yet were these facts, and the like (unknown for\r\nso many ages) not discovered at last either by philosophy or reasoning,\r\nbut by chance and opportunity; and (as we have observed), they are of a\r\nnature most heterogeneous, and remote from what was hitherto known, so\r\nthat no previous knowledge could lead to them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe may, therefore, well\r\n hope\u003ca id=\"Anchor-62\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-62\" title=\"Go to Footnote 62\"\u003e[62]\u003c/a\u003e that many excellent and useful matters\r\nare yet treasured up in the bosom of nature, bearing no relation or\r\nanalogy to our actual discoveries, but out of the common track of\r\nour imagination, and still undiscovered, and which will doubtless be\r\nbrought to light in the course and lapse of years, as the others have\r\nbeen before them; but in the way we now point out, they may rapidly and\r\nat once be both represented and anticipated.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCX. There are, moreover, some inventions which\r\n render\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_87\"\u003e[87]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e it probable\r\nthat men may pass and hurry over the most noble discoveries which\r\nlie immediately before them. For however the discovery of gunpowder,\r\nsilk, the compass, sugar, paper, or the like, may appear to depend on\r\npeculiar properties of things and nature, printing at least involves\r\nno contrivance which is not clear and almost obvious. But from want\r\nof observing that although the arrangement of the types of letters\r\nrequired more trouble than writing with the hand, yet these types once\r\narranged serve for innumerable impressions, while manuscript only\r\naffords one copy; and again, from want of observing that ink might be\r\nthickened so as to stain without running (which was necessary, seeing\r\nthe letters face upward, and the impression is made from above), this\r\nmost beautiful invention (which assists so materially the propagation\r\nof learning) remained unknown for so many ages.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe human mind is often so awkward and ill-regulated in the career of\r\ninvention that it is at first diffident, and then despises itself. For\r\nit appears at first incredible that any such discovery should be made,\r\nand when it has been made, it appears incredible that it should so long\r\nhave escaped men’s research. All which affords good reason for the\r\nhope that a vast mass of inventions yet remains, which may be deduced\r\nnot only from the investigation of new modes of operation, but also\r\nfrom transferring, comparing, and applying these already known, by the\r\nmethod of what we have termed literate experience.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXI. Nor should we omit another ground of hope. Let men only consider\r\n(if they will) their infinite expenditure of talent, time, and\r\nfortune, in matters and studies of far inferior importance and value;\r\na small portion of which applied to sound and solid learning would be\r\nsufficient to overcome\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_88\"\u003e[88]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n every difficulty. And we have thought right to\r\nadd this observation, because we candidly own that such a collection of\r\nnatural and experimental history as we have traced in our own mind, and\r\nas is really necessary, is a great and as it were royal work, requiring\r\nmuch labor and expense.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXII. In the meantime let no one be alarmed at the multitude of\r\nparticulars, but rather inclined to hope on that very account. For the\r\nparticular phenomena of the arts and nature are in reality but as a\r\nhandful, when compared with the fictions of the imagination removed and\r\nseparated from the evidence of facts. The termination of our method\r\nis clear, and I had almost said near at hand; the other admits of no\r\ntermination, but only of infinite confusion. For men have hitherto\r\ndwelt but little, or rather only slightly touched upon experience,\r\nwhile they have wasted much time on theories and the fictions of the\r\nimagination. If we had but any one who could actually answer our\r\ninterrogations of nature, the invention of all causes and sciences\r\nwould be the labor of but a few years.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXIII. We think some ground of hope is afforded by our own example,\r\nwhich is not mentioned for the sake of boasting, but as a useful\r\nremark. Let those who distrust their own powers observe myself, one who\r\nhave among my contemporaries been the most engaged in public business,\r\nwho am not very strong in health (which causes a great loss of time),\r\nand am the first explorer of this course, following the guidance of\r\nnone, nor even communicating my thoughts to a single individual; yet\r\nhaving once firmly entered in the right way, and submitting the powers\r\nof my mind to things, I have somewhat advanced (as I make bold to\r\nthink) the matter I now treat of. Then let others consider what\r\n may\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_89\"\u003e[89]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nbe hoped from men who enjoy abundant leisure, from united labors, and\r\nthe succession of ages, after these suggestions on our part, especially\r\nin a course which is not confined, like theories, to individuals,\r\nbut admits of the best distribution and union of labor and effect,\r\nparticularly in collecting experiments. For men will then only begin to\r\nknow their own power, when each performs a separate part, instead of\r\nundertaking in crowds the same work.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXIV. Lastly, though a much more faint and uncertain breeze of hope\r\nwere to spring up from our new continent, yet we consider it necessary\r\nto make the experiment, if we would not show a dastard spirit. For\r\nthe risk attending want of success is not to be compared with that\r\nof neglecting the attempt; the former is attended with the loss of\r\na little human labor, the latter with that of an immense benefit.\r\nFor these and other reasons it appears to us that there is abundant\r\nground to hope, and to induce not only those who are sanguine to make\r\nexperiment, but even those who are cautious and sober to give their\r\nassent.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXV. Such are the grounds for banishing despair, hitherto one of the\r\nmost powerful causes of the delay and restraint to which the sciences\r\nhave been subjected; in treating of which we have at the same time\r\ndiscussed the signs and causes of the errors, idleness, and ignorance\r\nthat have prevailed; seeing especially that the more refined causes,\r\nwhich are not open to popular judgment and observation, may be referred\r\nto our remarks on the idols of the human mind.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHere, too, we should close the demolishing branch of our Instauration,\r\nwhich is comprised in three confutations: 1, the confutation of natural\r\nhuman reason left to itself; 2, the confutation of demonstration; 3,\r\nthe confutation of\r\n theories,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_90\"\u003e[90]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n or received systems of philosophy and\r\ndoctrines. Our confutation has followed such a course as was open to\r\nit, namely, the exposing of the signs of error, and the producing\r\nevidence of the causes of it: for we could adopt no other, differing as\r\nwe do both in first principles and demonstrations from others.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is time for us therefore to come to the art itself, and the rule for\r\nthe interpretation of nature: there is, however, still something which\r\nmust not be passed over. For the intent of this first book of aphorisms\r\nbeing to prepare the mind for understanding, as well as admitting, what\r\nfollows, we must now, after having cleansed, polished, and levelled\r\nits surface, place it in a good position, and as it were a benevolent\r\naspect toward our propositions; seeing that prejudice in new matters\r\nmay be produced not only by the strength of preconceived notions, but\r\nalso by a false anticipation or expectation of the matter proposed. We\r\nshall therefore endeavor to induce good and correct opinions of what we\r\noffer, although this be only necessary for the moment, and as it were\r\nlaid out at interest, until the matter itself be well understood.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXVI. First, then, we must desire men not to suppose that we are\r\nambitious of founding any philosophical sect, like the ancient Greeks,\r\nor some moderns, as Telesius, Patricius, and\r\n Severinus.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-63\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-63\" title=\"Go to Footnote 63\"\u003e[63]\u003c/a\u003e For neither\r\nis this our intention,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_91\"\u003e[91]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n nor do we think that peculiar abstract opinions\r\non nature and the principles of things are of much importance to men’s\r\nfortunes, since it were easy to revive many ancient theories, and\r\nto introduce many new ones; as, for instance, many hypotheses with\r\nregard to the heavens can be formed, differing in themselves, and yet\r\nsufficiently according with the phenomena.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe bestow not our labor on such theoretical and, at the same time,\r\nuseless topics. On the contrary, our determination is that of trying,\r\nwhether we can lay a firmer foundation, and extend to a greater\r\ndistance the boundaries of human power and dignity. And although here\r\nand there, upon some particular points, we hold (in our own opinion)\r\nmore true and certain, and I might even say, more advantageous tenets\r\nthan those in general repute (which we have collected in the fifth part\r\nof our Instauration), yet we\r\n offer\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_92\"\u003e[92]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n no universal or complete theory.\r\nThe time does not yet appear to us to be arrived, and we entertain no\r\nhope of our life being prolonged to the completion of the sixth part of\r\nthe Instauration (which is destined for philosophy discovered by the\r\ninterpretation of nature), but are content if we proceed quietly and\r\nusefully in our intermediate pursuit, scattering, in the meantime, the\r\nseeds of less adulterated truth for posterity, and, at least, commence\r\nthe great work.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXVII. And, as we pretend not to found a sect, so do we neither offer\r\nnor promise particular effects; which may occasion some to object to\r\nus, that since we so often speak of effects, and consider everything\r\nin its relation to that end, we ought also to give some earnest of\r\nproducing them. Our course and method, however (as we have often said,\r\nand again repeat), is such as not to deduce effects from effects, nor\r\nexperiments from experiments (as the empirics do), but in our capacity\r\nof legitimate interpreters of nature, to deduce causes and axioms from\r\neffects and experiments; and new effects and experiments from those\r\ncauses and axioms.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnd although any one of moderate intelligence and ability will observe\r\nthe indications and sketches of many noble effects in our tables of\r\ninventions (which form the fourth part of the Instauration), and also\r\nin the examples of particular instances cited in the second part, as\r\nwell as in our observations on history (which is the subject of the\r\nthird part); yet we candidly confess that our present natural history,\r\nwhether compiled from books or our own inquiries, is not sufficiently\r\ncopious and well ascertained to satisfy, or even assist, a proper\r\ninterpretation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIf, therefore, there be any one who is more disposed and prepared for\r\nmechanical art, and ingenious in discovering effects, than in the mere\r\nmanagement of experiment,\r\n we\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_93\"\u003e[93]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n allow him to employ his industry in\r\ngathering many of the fruits of our history and tables in this way,\r\nand applying them to effects, receiving them as interest till he can\r\nobtain the principal. For our own part, having a greater object in\r\nview, we condemn all hasty and premature rest in such pursuits as we\r\nwould Atalanta’s apple (to use a common allusion of ours); for we are\r\nnot childishly ambitious of golden fruit, but use all our efforts to\r\nmake the course of art outstrip nature, and we hasten not to reap moss\r\nor the green blade, but wait for a ripe harvest.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXVIII. There will be some, without doubt, who, on a perusal of our\r\nhistory and tables of invention, will meet with some uncertainty,\r\nor perhaps fallacy, in the experiments themselves, and will thence\r\nperhaps imagine that our discoveries are built on false foundations and\r\nprinciples. There is, however, really nothing in this, since it must\r\nneeds happen in beginnings.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-64\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-64\" title=\"Go to Footnote 64\"\u003e[64]\u003c/a\u003e For it is the same as if in writing\r\nor printing one or two letters were wrongly turned or misplaced,\r\nwhich is no great inconvenience to the reader, who can easily by his\r\nown eye correct the error; let men in the same way conclude, that\r\nmany experiments in natural history may be erroneously believed and\r\nadmitted, which are easily expunged and rejected afterward, by the\r\ndiscovery of causes and axioms. It is, however, true, that if these\r\nerrors in natural history and experiments become great, frequent, and\r\ncontinued, they cannot be corrected and amended\r\n by\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_94\"\u003e[94]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e any dexterity of\r\nwit or art. If then, even in our natural history, well examined and\r\ncompiled with such diligence, strictness, and (I might say) reverential\r\nscruples, there be now and then something false and erroneous in\r\nthe details, what must we say of the common natural history, which\r\nis so negligent and careless when compared with ours? or of systems\r\nof philosophy and the sciences, based on such loose soil (or rather\r\nquicksand)? Let none then be alarmed by such observations.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXIX. Again, our history and experiments will contain much that\r\nis light and common, mean and illiberal, too refined and merely\r\nspeculative, and, as it were, of no use, and this perhaps may divert\r\nand alienate the attention of mankind.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWith regard to what is common; let men reflect, that they have hitherto\r\nbeen used to do nothing but refer and adapt the causes of things of\r\nrare occurrence to those of things which more frequently happen,\r\nwithout any investigation of the causes of the latter, taking them for\r\ngranted and admitted.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHence, they do not inquire into the causes of gravity, the rotation of\r\nthe heavenly bodies, heat, cold, light, hardness, softness, rarity,\r\ndensity, liquidity, solidity, animation, inanimation, similitude,\r\ndifference, organic formation, but taking them to be self-evident,\r\nmanifest, and admitted, they dispute and decide upon other matters of\r\nless frequent and familiar occurrence.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut we (who know that no judgment can be formed of that which is rare\r\nor remarkable, and much less anything new brought to light, without\r\na previous regular examination and discovery of the causes of that\r\nwhich is common, and the causes again of those causes) are necessarily\r\ncompelled\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_95\"\u003e[95]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n to admit the most common objects into our history. Besides,\r\nwe have observed that nothing has been so injurious to philosophy as\r\nthis circumstance, namely, that familiar and frequent objects do not\r\narrest and detain men’s contemplation, but are carelessly admitted,\r\nand their causes never inquired after; so that information on unknown\r\nsubjects is not more often wanted than attention to those which are\r\nknown.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXX. With regard to the meanness, or even the filthiness of\r\nparticulars, for which (as Pliny observes), an apology is requisite,\r\nsuch subjects are no less worthy of admission into natural history\r\nthan the most magnificent and costly; nor do they at all pollute\r\nnatural history, for the sun enters alike the palace and the privy,\r\nand is not thereby polluted. We neither dedicate nor raise a capitol\r\nor pyramid to the pride of man, but rear a holy temple in his mind,\r\non the model of the universe, which model therefore we imitate. For\r\nthat which is deserving of existence is deserving of knowledge, the\r\nimage of existence. Now the mean and splendid alike exist. Nay, as\r\nthe finest odors are sometimes produced from putrid matter (such as\r\nmusk and civet), so does valuable light and information emanate from\r\nmean and sordid instances. But we have already said too much, for such\r\nfastidious feelings are childish and effeminate.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXXI. The next point requires a more accurate consideration, namely,\r\nthat many parts of our history will appear to the vulgar, or even any\r\nmind accustomed to the present state of things, fantastically and\r\nuselessly refined. Hence, we have in regard to this matter said from\r\nthe first, and must again repeat, that we look for experiments that\r\nshall afford light rather than profit, imitating the divine creation,\r\nwhich,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_96\"\u003e[96]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n as we have often observed, only produced light on the first\r\nday, and assigned that whole day to its creation, without adding any\r\nmaterial work.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIf any one, then, imagine such matters to be of no use, he might\r\nequally suppose light to be of no use, because it is neither solid\r\nnor material. For, in fact, the knowledge of simple natures, when\r\nsufficiently investigated and defined, resembles light, which, though\r\nof no great use in itself, affords access to the general mysteries\r\nof effects, and with a peculiar power comprehends and draws with\r\nit whole bands and troops of effects, and the sources of the most\r\nvaluable axioms. So also the elements of letters have of themselves\r\nseparately no meaning, and are of no use, yet are they, as it were,\r\nthe original matter in the composition and preparation of speech. The\r\nseeds of substances, whose effect is powerful, are of no use except in\r\ntheir growth, and the scattered rays of light itself avail not unless\r\ncollected.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut if speculative subtilties give offence, what must we say of the\r\nscholastic philosophers who indulged in them to such excess? And those\r\nsubtilties were wasted on words, or, at least, common notions (which\r\nis the same thing), not on things or nature, and alike unproductive of\r\nbenefit in their origin and their consequences: in no way resembling\r\nours, which are at present useless, but in their consequences of\r\ninfinite benefit. Let men be assured that all subtile disputes and\r\ndiscursive efforts of the mind are late and preposterous, when they\r\nare introduced subsequently to the discovery of axioms, and that their\r\ntrue, or, at any rate, chief opportunity is, when experiment is to be\r\nweighed and axioms to be derived from it. They otherwise catch and\r\ngrasp at nature, but never seize or detain her: and we may well apply\r\nto nature that which has been said of\r\n opportunity\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_97\"\u003e[97]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n or fortune, that she\r\nwears a lock in front, but is bald behind.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn short, we may reply decisively to those who despise any part of\r\nnatural history as being vulgar, mean, or subtile, and useless in its\r\norigin, in the words of a poor woman to a haughty\r\n prince,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-65\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-65\" title=\"Go to Footnote 65\"\u003e[65]\u003c/a\u003e who had\r\nrejected her petition as unworthy, and beneath the dignity of his\r\nmajesty: “Then cease to reign”; for it is quite certain that the empire\r\nof nature can neither be obtained nor administered by one who refuses\r\nto pay attention to such matters as being poor and too minute.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXXII. Again, it may be objected to us as being singular and harsh,\r\nthat we should with one stroke and assault, as it were, banish all\r\nauthorities and sciences, and that too by our own efforts, without\r\nrequiring the assistance and support of any of the ancients.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNow we are aware, that had we been ready to act otherwise than\r\nsincerely, it was not difficult to refer our present method to\r\nremote ages, prior to those of the Greeks (since the sciences in all\r\nprobability flourished more in their natural state, though silently,\r\nthan when they were paraded with the fifes and trumpets of the Greeks);\r\nor even (in parts, at least) to some of the Greeks themselves, and to\r\nderive authority and honor from thence; as men of no family labor to\r\nraise and form nobility for themselves in some ancient line, by the\r\nhelp of genealogies. Trusting, however, to the evidence of facts, we\r\nreject every kind of fiction and imposture; and think it of no more\r\nconsequence to our subject, whether future discoveries were known to\r\nthe ancients, and set or rose according to the vicissitudes of events\r\nand\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_98\"\u003e[98]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n lapse of ages, than it would be of importance to mankind to know\r\nwhether the new world be the island of\r\n Atlantis,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-66\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-66\" title=\"Go to Footnote 66\"\u003e[66]\u003c/a\u003e and known to the\r\nancients, or be now discovered for the first time.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWith regard to the universal censure we have bestowed, it is quite\r\nclear, to any one who properly considers the matter, that it is both\r\nmore probable and more modest than any partial one could have been. For\r\nif the errors had not been rooted in the primary notions, some well\r\nconducted discoveries must have corrected others that were deficient.\r\nBut since the errors were fundamental, and of such a nature, that\r\nmen may be said rather to have neglected or passed over things, than\r\nto have formed a wrong or false judgment of them, it is little to be\r\nwondered at, that they did not obtain what they never aimed at, nor\r\narrive at a goal which they had not determined, nor perform a course\r\nwhich they had neither entered upon nor adhered to.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWith regard to our presumption, we allow that if we were to assume a\r\npower of drawing a more perfect straight line or circle than any one\r\nelse, by superior steadiness of hand or acuteness of eye, it would lead\r\nto a comparison of talent; but if one merely assert that he can draw\r\na more perfect line or circle with a ruler or compasses, than another\r\ncan by his unassisted hand or eye, he surely cannot be said to boast\r\nof much. Now this applies not only to our first original attempt, but\r\nalso to those who shall hereafter apply themselves to the pursuit. For\r\nour method of discovering the sciences merely levels men’s wits, and\r\nleaves but little to their superiority, since it achieves everything by\r\nthe most certain rules and demonstrations. Whence (as we\r\n have\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_99\"\u003e[99]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e often\r\nobserved), our attempt is to be attributed to fortune rather than\r\ntalent, and is the offspring of time rather than of wit. For a certain\r\nsort of chance has no less effect upon our thoughts than on our acts\r\nand deeds.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXXIII. We may, therefore, apply to ourselves the joke of him who said,\r\nthat water and wine drinkers could not think\r\n alike,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-67\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-67\" title=\"Go to Footnote 67\"\u003e[67]\u003c/a\u003e especially as\r\nit hits the matter so well. For others, both ancients and moderns,\r\nhave in the sciences drank a crude liquor like water, either flowing\r\nof itself from the understanding, or drawn up by logic as the wheel\r\ndraws up the bucket. But we drink and pledge others with a liquor made\r\nof many well-ripened grapes, collected and plucked from particular\r\nbranches, squeezed in the press, and at last clarified and fermented in\r\na vessel. It is not, therefore, wonderful that we should not agree with\r\nothers.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXXIV. Another objection will without doubt be made, namely, that we\r\nhave not ourselves established a correct, or the best goal or aim\r\nof the sciences (the very defect we blame in others). For they will\r\nsay that the contemplation of truth is more dignified and exalted\r\nthan any utility or extent of effects; but that our dwelling so long\r\nand anxiously on experience and matter, and the fluctuating state of\r\nparticulars, fastens the mind to earth, or rather casts it down into an\r\nabyss of confusion and disturbance, and separates and removes it from a\r\nmuch more divine state, the quiet and tranquillity of abstract wisdom.\r\nWe willingly assent to their reasoning, and are most anxious to effect\r\nthe very point they hint at and require. For we are founding a real\r\nmodel of the world in the understanding, such as it is found to be, not\r\nsuch as man’s reason has\r\n distorted.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_100\"\u003e[100]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n Now this cannot be done without\r\ndissecting and anatomizing the world most diligently; but we declare it\r\nnecessary to destroy completely the vain, little and, as it were, apish\r\nimitations of the world, which have been formed in various systems of\r\nphilosophy by men’s fancies. Let men learn (as we have said above) the\r\ndifference that exists between the idols of the human mind and the\r\nideas of the divine mind. The former are mere arbitrary abstractions;\r\nthe latter the true marks of the Creator on his creatures, as they are\r\nimprinted on, and defined in matter, by true and exquisite touches.\r\nTruth, therefore, and utility, are here perfectly identical, and the\r\neffects are of more value as pledges of truth than from the benefit\r\nthey confer on men.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXXV. Others may object that we are only doing that which has already\r\nbeen done, and that the ancients followed the same course as ourselves.\r\nThey may imagine, therefore, that, after all this stir and exertion,\r\nwe shall at last arrive at some of those systems that prevailed among\r\nthe ancients: for that they, too, when commencing their meditations,\r\nlaid up a great store of instances and particulars, and digested them\r\nunder topics and titles in their commonplace books, and so worked out\r\ntheir systems and arts, and then decided upon what they discovered,\r\nand related now and then some examples to confirm and throw light upon\r\ntheir doctrine; but thought it superfluous and troublesome to publish\r\ntheir notes, minutes, and commonplaces, and therefore followed the\r\nexample of builders who remove the scaffolding and ladders when the\r\nbuilding is finished. Nor can we indeed believe the case to have been\r\notherwise. But to any one, not entirely forgetful of our previous\r\nobservations, it will be easy to answer this objection or\r\n rather\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_101\"\u003e[101]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nscruple; for we allow that the ancients had a particular form of\r\ninvestigation and discovery, and their writings show it. But it was\r\nof such a nature, that they immediately flew from a few instances and\r\nparticulars (after adding some common notions, and a few generally\r\nreceived opinions most in vogue) to the most general conclusions or the\r\nprinciples of the sciences, and then by their intermediate propositions\r\ndeduced their inferior conclusions, and tried them by the test of the\r\nimmovable and settled truth of the first, and so constructed their art.\r\nLastly, if some new particulars and instances were brought forward,\r\nwhich contradicted their dogmas, they either with great subtilty\r\nreduced them to one system, by distinctions or explanations of their\r\nown rules, or got rid of them clumsily as exceptions, laboring most\r\npertinaciously in the meantime to accommodate the causes of such as\r\nwere not contradictory to their own principles. Their natural history\r\nand their experience were both far from being what they ought to have\r\nbeen, and their flying off to generalities ruined everything.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXXVI. Another objection will be made against us, that we prohibit\r\ndecisions and the laying down of certain principles, till we arrive\r\nregularly at generalities by the intermediate steps, and thus keep the\r\njudgment in suspense and lead to uncertainty. But our object is not\r\nuncertainty but fitting certainty, for we derogate not from the senses\r\nbut assist them, and despise not the understanding but direct it. It is\r\nbetter to know what is necessary, and not to imagine we are fully in\r\npossession of it, than to imagine that we are fully in possession of\r\nit, and yet in reality to know nothing which we ought.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXXVII. Again, some may raise this question rather than objection,\r\nwhether we talk of perfecting natural\r\n philosophy\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_102\"\u003e[102]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n alone according\r\nto our method, or the other sciences also, such as logic, ethics,\r\npolitics. We certainly intend to comprehend them all. And as common\r\nlogic, which regulates matters by syllogisms, is applied not only to\r\nnatural, but also to every other science, so our inductive method\r\nlikewise comprehends them\r\n all.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-68\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-68\" title=\"Go to Footnote 68\"\u003e[68]\u003c/a\u003e For we form a history and tables of\r\ninvention for anger, fear, shame, and the like, and also for examples\r\nin civil life, and the mental operations of memory, composition,\r\ndivision, judgment, and the rest, as well as for heat and cold, light,\r\nvegetation, and the like. But since our method of interpretation,\r\nafter preparing and arranging a history, does not content itself with\r\nexamining the operations and disquisitions of the mind like common\r\nlogic, but also inspects the nature of things, we so regulate the mind\r\nthat it may be enabled to apply itself in every respect correctly to\r\nthat nature. On that account we deliver numerous and various precepts\r\nin our doctrine of interpretation, so that they may apply in\r\n some\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_103\"\u003e[103]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nmeasure to the method of discovering the quality and condition of the\r\nsubject matter of investigation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXXVIII. Let none even doubt whether we are anxious to destroy and\r\ndemolish the philosophy, arts, and sciences, which are now in use.\r\nOn the contrary, we readily cherish their practice, cultivation,\r\nand honor; for we by no means interfere to prevent the prevalent\r\nsystem from encouraging discussion, adorning discourses, or being\r\nemployed serviceably in the chair of the professor or the practice\r\nof common life, and being taken, in short, by general consent as\r\ncurrent coin. Nay, we plainly declare, that the system we offer will\r\nnot be very suitable for such purposes, not being easily adapted\r\nto vulgar apprehensions, except by effects and works. To show our\r\nsincerity in professing our regard and friendly disposition toward\r\nthe received sciences, we can refer to the evidence of our published\r\nwritings (especially our books on the Advancement of Learning). We\r\nwill not, therefore, endeavor to evince it any further by words; but\r\ncontent ourselves with steadily and professedly premising, that no\r\ngreat progress can be made by the present methods in the theory or\r\ncontemplation of science, and that they cannot be made to produce any\r\nvery abundant effects.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXXIX. It remains for us to say a few words on the excellence of our\r\nproposed end. If we had done so before, we might have appeared merely\r\nto express our wishes, but now that we have excited hope and removed\r\nprejudices, it will perhaps have greater weight. Had we performed and\r\ncompletely accomplished the whole, without frequently calling in others\r\nto assist in our labors, we should then have refrained from saying\r\nany more, lest we should be thought to extol our own deserts. Since,\r\nhowever, the\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_104\"\u003e[104]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n industry of others must be quickened, and their courage\r\nroused and inflamed, it is right to recall some points to their memory.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFirst, then, the introduction of great inventions appears one of the\r\nmost distinguished of human actions, and the ancients so considered it;\r\nfor they assigned divine honors to the authors of inventions, but only\r\nheroic honors to those who displayed civil merit (such as the founders\r\nof cities and empire legislators, the deliverers of their country from\r\nlasting misfortunes, the quellers of tyrants, and the like). And if any\r\none rightly compare them, he will find the judgment of antiquity to be\r\ncorrect; for the benefits derived from inventions may extend to mankind\r\nin general, but civil benefits to particular spots alone; the latter,\r\nmoreover, last but for a time, the former forever. Civil reformation\r\nseldom is carried on without violence and confusion, while inventions\r\nare a blessing and a benefit without injuring or afflicting any.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eInventions are also, as it were, new creations and imitations of divine\r\nworks, as was expressed by the poet:\u003ca id=\"Anchor-69\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-69\" title=\"Go to Footnote 69\"\u003e[69]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"poem poem26\" lang=\"la\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"stanza\"\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i0\"\u003e“Primum frugiferos fœtus mortalibus ægris\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eDididerant quondam præstanti nomine Athenæ\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eEt \u003cem\u003erecreaverunt\u003c/em\u003e vitam legesque rogarunt.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"no-indent\"\u003eAnd it is worthy of remark in Solomon, that while he flourished in the\r\npossession of his empire, in wealth, in\r\n the\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_105\"\u003e[105]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n magnificence of his works,\r\nin his court, his household, his fleet, the splendor of his name, and\r\nthe most unbounded admiration of mankind, he still placed his glory in\r\nnone of these, but\r\n declared\u003ca id=\"Anchor-70\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-70\" title=\"Go to Footnote 70\"\u003e[70]\u003c/a\u003e that it is the glory of God to conceal\r\na thing, but the glory of a king to search it out.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let any one but consider the immense difference between men’s\r\nlives in the most polished countries of Europe, and in any wild and\r\nbarbarous region of the new Indies, he will think it so great, that man\r\nmay be said to be a god unto man, not only on account of mutual aid and\r\nbenefits, but from their comparative states—the result of the arts,\r\nand not of the soil or climate.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, we should notice the force, effect, and consequences of\r\ninventions, which are nowhere more conspicuous than in those three\r\nwhich were unknown to the ancients; namely, printing, gunpowder, and\r\nthe compass. For these three have changed the appearance and state of\r\nthe whole world: first in literature, then in warfare, and lastly in\r\nnavigation; and innumerable changes have been thence derived, so that\r\nno empire, sect, or star, appears to have exercised a greater power and\r\ninfluence on human affairs than these mechanical discoveries.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt will, perhaps, be as well to distinguish three species and degrees\r\nof ambition. First, that of men who are anxious to enlarge their own\r\npower in their country, which is a vulgar and degenerate kind; next,\r\nthat of men who strive to enlarge the power and empire of their country\r\nover mankind, which is more dignified but not less covetous; but if one\r\nwere to endeavor to renew and enlarge the power and empire of mankind\r\nin general over the universe, such\r\n ambition\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_106\"\u003e[106]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n (if it may be so termed)\r\nis both more sound and more noble than the other two. Now the empire of\r\nman over things is founded on the arts and sciences alone, for nature\r\nis only to be commanded by obeying her.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBesides this, if the benefit of any particular invention has had such\r\nan effect as to induce men to consider him greater than a man, who has\r\nthus obliged the whole race, how much more exalted will that discovery\r\nbe, which leads to the easy discovery of everything else! Yet (to\r\nspeak the truth) in the same manner as we are very thankful for light\r\nwhich enables us to enter on our way, to practice arts, to read, to\r\ndistinguish each other, and yet sight is more excellent and beautiful\r\nthan the various uses of light; so is the contemplation of things as\r\nthey are, free from superstition or imposture, error or confusion, much\r\nmore dignified in itself than all the advantage to be derived from\r\ndiscoveries.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLastly, let none be alarmed at the objection of the arts and sciences\r\nbecoming depraved to malevolent or luxurious purposes and the like, for\r\nthe same can be said of every worldly good; talent, courage, strength,\r\nbeauty, riches, light itself, and the rest. Only let mankind regain\r\ntheir rights over nature, assigned to them by the gift of God, and\r\nobtain that power, whose exercise will be governed by right reason and\r\ntrue religion.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eCXXX. But it is time for us to lay down the art of interpreting nature,\r\nto which we attribute no absolute necessity (as if nothing could be\r\ndone without it) nor perfection, although we think that our precepts\r\nare most useful and correct. For we are of opinion, that if men had\r\nat their command a proper history of nature and experience, and would\r\napply themselves steadily to it, and could bind themselves to two\r\nthings: 1, to lay aside\r\n received\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_107\"\u003e[107]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n opinions and notions; 2, to restrain\r\nthemselves, till the proper season, from generalization, they might,\r\nby the proper and genuine exertion of their minds, fall into our way\r\nof interpretation without the aid of any art. For interpretation is\r\nthe true and natural act of the mind, when all obstacles are removed:\r\ncertainly, however, everything will be more ready and better fixed by\r\nour precepts.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eYet do we not affirm that no addition can be made to them; on the\r\ncontrary, considering the mind in its connection with things, and not\r\nmerely relatively to its own powers, we ought to be persuaded that the\r\nart of invention can be made to grow with the inventions themselves.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch3\u003eFOOTNOTES\u003c/h3\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-2\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-2\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[2]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon uses the term in its ancient sense, and means one\r\nwho, knowing the occult properties of bodies, is able to startle the\r\nignorant by drawing out of them wonderful and unforeseen changes. See\r\nthe \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-85\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e85th aphorism of this book\u003c/a\u003e, and\r\n the 5th \u003cabbr title=\"capitulum\" lang=\"la\"\u003ecap.\u003c/abbr\u003e\r\n book iii. of the \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eDe\r\nAugmentis Scientiarum\u003c/span\u003e, where he speaks more clearly.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-3\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-3\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[3]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBy this term axiomata, Bacon here speaks of general\r\nprinciples, or universal laws. In the \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-19\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e19th aphorism\u003c/a\u003e\r\n he employs the\r\nterm to express any proposition collected from facts by induction, and\r\nthus fitted to become the starting-point of deductive reasoning. In\r\nthe last and more rigorous sense of the term, Bacon held they arose\r\nfrom experience. See Whewell’s “Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences,”\r\nvol. i. p. 74; and Mill’s “Logic,” vol. i. p. 311; and the June\r\n“Quarterly,” 1841, for the modern phase of the discussion.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-4\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-4\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[4]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon here attributes to the Aristotelian logic the\r\nerroneous consequences which sprung out of its abuse. The demonstrative\r\nforms it exhibits, whether verbally or mathematically expressed, are\r\nnecessary to the support, verification, and extension of induction, and\r\nwhen the propositions they embrace are founded on an accurate and close\r\nobservation of facts, the conclusions to which they lead, even in moral\r\nscience, may be regarded as certain as the facts wrested out of nature\r\nby direct experiment. In physics such forms are absolutely required\r\nto generalize the results of experience, and to connect intermediate\r\naxioms with laws still more general, as is sufficiently attested by the\r\nfact, that no science since Bacon’s day has ceased to be experimental\r\nby the mere method of induction, and that all become exact only so far\r\nas they rise above experience, and connect their isolated phenomena\r\nwith general laws by the principles of deductive reasoning. So far,\r\nthen, are these forms from being useless, that they are absolutely\r\nessential to the advancement of the sciences, and in no case can be\r\nlooked on as detrimental, except when obtruded in the place of direct\r\nexperiment, or employed as a means of deducing conclusions about nature\r\nfrom imaginary hypotheses and abstract conceptions. This had been\r\nunfortunately the practice of the Greeks. From the rapid development\r\ngeometry received in their hands, they imagined the same method would\r\nlead to results equally brilliant in natural science, and snatching up\r\nsome abstract principle, which they carefully removed from the test of\r\nexperiment, imagined they could reason out from it all the laws and\r\nexternal appearances of the universe. The scholastics were impelled\r\nalong the same path, not only by precedent, but by profession. Theology\r\nwas the only science which received from them a consistent development,\r\nand the \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eà priori\u003c/i\u003e grounds on which it\r\n rested prevented them from\r\nemploying any other method in the pursuit of natural phenomena. Thus,\r\nforms of demonstration, in themselves accurate, and of momentous value\r\nin their proper sphere, became confounded with fable, and led men into\r\nthe idea they were exploring truth when they were only accurately\r\ndeducing error from error. One principle ever so slightly deflected,\r\nlike a false quantity in an equation, could be sufficient to infect the\r\nwhole series of conclusions of which it was the base; and though the\r\nphilosopher might subsequently deduce a thousand consecutive inferences\r\nwith the utmost accuracy or precision, he would only succeed in drawing\r\nout very methodically nine hundred and ninety-nine errors.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-5\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-5\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[5]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIt would appear from this and the two preceding aphorisms,\r\nthat Bacon fell into the error of denying the utility of the syllogism\r\nin the very part of inductive science where it is essentially required.\r\nLogic, like mathematics, is purely a formal process, and must, as\r\nthe scaffolding to the building, be employed to arrange facts in the\r\nstructure of a science, and not to form any portion of its groundwork,\r\nor to supply the materials of which the system is to be composed. The\r\nword syllogism, like most other \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027pyschological\u0027\" id=\"fn5_psychological\"\u003epsychological\u003c/a\u003e\r\n terms, has no fixed or\r\noriginal signification, but is sometimes employed, as it was by the\r\nGreeks, to denote general reasoning, and at others to point out the\r\nformal method of deducing a particular inference from two or more\r\ngeneral propositions. Bacon does not confine the term within the\r\nboundaries of express definition, but leaves us to infer that he took\r\nit in the latter sense, from his custom of associating the term with\r\nthe wranglings of the schools. The scholastics, it is true, abused the\r\ndeductive syllogism, by employing it in its naked, skeleton-like form,\r\nand confounding it with the whole breadth of logical theory; but their\r\nerrors are not to be visited on Aristotle, who never dreamed of playing\r\nwith formal syllogisms, and, least of all, mistook the descending for\r\nthe ascending series of inference. In our mind we are of accord with\r\nthe Stagyrite, who propounds, as far as we can interpret him, two modes\r\nof investigating truth—the one by which we ascend from particular and\r\nsingular facts to general laws and axioms, and the other by which we\r\ndescend from universal propositions to the individual cases which they\r\nvirtually include. Logic, therefore, must equally vindicate the formal\r\npurity of the synthetic illation by which it ascends to the whole, as\r\nthe analytic process by which it descends to the parts. The deductive\r\nand inductive syllogism are of equal significance in building up any\r\nbody of truth, and whoever restricts logic to either process, mistakes\r\none-half of its province for the whole; and if he acts upon his error,\r\nwill paralyze his methods, and strike the noblest part of science with\r\nsterility.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-6\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-6\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[6]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe Latin is, \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003ead ea quæ revera sunt naturæ notiora\u003c/i\u003e.\r\nThis expression, \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003enaturæ notiora\u003c/i\u003e,\r\n \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003enaturæ notior\u003c/i\u003e, is so frequently\r\nemployed by Bacon, that we may conclude it to point to some\r\ndistinguishing feature in the Baconian physics. It properly refers\r\nto the most evident principles and laws of nature, and springs from\r\nthat system which regards the material universe as endowed with\r\nintelligence, and acting according to rules either fashioned or clearly\r\nunderstood by itself.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-7\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-7\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[7]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis Borgia was Alexander VI., and the expedition alluded\r\nto that in which Charles VIII. overran the Italian peninsula in five\r\nmonths. Bacon uses the same illustration in concluding his survey of\r\nnatural philosophy, in the second book of the “\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eDe Augmentis\u003c/span\u003e.”—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-8\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-8\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[8]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eRatio eorum qui acatalepsiam tenuerunt.\u003c/i\u003e Bacon alludes\r\nto the members of the later academy, who held the \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"akatalêpsia\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eἀκατάληψια\u003c/span\u003e, or the\r\nimpossibility of comprehending anything. His translator, however, makes\r\nhim refer to the sceptics, who neither dogmatized about the known or\r\nthe unknown, but simply held, that as all knowledge was relative, \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"pros panta ti\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eπρòς\r\nπάντα τι\u003c/span\u003e, man could never arrive at absolute truth, and therefore could\r\nnot with certainty affirm or deny anything.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-9\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-9\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[9]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIt is argued by Hallam, with some appearance of truth,\r\nthat idols is not the correct translation of \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"eidôla\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eεἴδωλα\u003c/span\u003e, from which the\r\noriginal idola is manifestly derived; but that Bacon used it in the\r\nliteral sense attached to it by the Greeks, as a species of illusion,\r\nor false appearance, and not as a species of divinity before which the\r\nmind bows down. If Hallam be right, Bacon is saved from the odium of an\r\nanalogy which his foreign commentators are not far wrong in denouncing\r\nas barbarous; but this service is rendered at the expense of the men\r\nwho have attached an opposite meaning to the word, among whom are\r\nBrown, Playfair and Dugald Stewart.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-10\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-10\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[10]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nWe cannot see how these idols have less to do with\r\nsophistical paralogisms than with natural philosophy. The process of\r\nscientific induction involves only the first elements of reasoning,\r\nand presents such a clear and tangible surface, as to allow no\r\nlurking-place for prejudice; while questions of politics and morals,\r\nto which the deductive method, or common logic, as Bacon calls it, is\r\npeculiarly applicable, are ever liable to be swayed or perverted by the\r\nprejudices he enumerates. After mathematics, physical science is the\r\nleast amenable to the illusions of feeling; each portion having been\r\nalready tested by experiment and observation, is fitted into its place\r\nin the system, with all the rigor of the geometrical method; affection\r\nor prejudice cannot, as in matters of taste, history or religion,\r\nselect fragmentary pieces, and form a system of their own. The whole\r\nmust be admitted, or the structure of authoritative reason razed to the\r\nground. It is needless to say that the idols enumerated present only\r\nanother interpretation of the substance of logical fallacies.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-11\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-11\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[11]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe propensity to this illusion may be viewed in the\r\nspirit of system, or hasty generalization, which is still one of the\r\nchief obstacles in the path of modern science.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-12\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-12\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[12]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThough Kepler had, when Bacon wrote this, already\r\ndemonstrated his three great laws concerning the elliptical path\r\nof the planets, neither Bacon nor Descartes seems to have known\r\nor assented to his discoveries. Our author deemed the startling\r\nastronomical announcements of his time to be mere theoretic solutions\r\nof the phenomena of the heavens, not so perfect as those advanced by\r\nantiquity, but still deserving a praise for the ingenuity displayed\r\nin their contrivance. Bacon believed a hundred such systems might\r\nexist, and though true in their explanation of phenomena, yet might\r\nall more or less differ, according to the preconceived notions which\r\ntheir framers brought to the survey of the heavens. He even thought he\r\nmight put in his claim to the notice of posterity for his astronomical\r\ningenuity, and, as Ptolemy had labored by means of epicycles and\r\neccentrics, and Kepler with ellipses, to explain the laws of planetary\r\nmotion, Bacon thought the mystery would unfold itself quite as\r\nphilosophically through spiral labyrinths and serpentine lines. What\r\nthe details of his system were, we are left to conjecture, and that\r\nfrom a very meagre but naïve account of one of his inventions which he\r\nhas left in his Miscellany \u003cabbr title=\"manuscripts\"\u003eMSS.\u003c/abbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-13\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-13\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[13]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eHinc elementum ignis cum orbe suo introductum est.\u003c/i\u003e\r\nBacon saw in fire the mere result of a certain combination of action,\r\nand was consequently led to deny its elementary character. The ancient\r\nphysicists attributed an orbit to each of the four elements, into which\r\nthey resolved the universe, and supposed their spheres to involve each\r\nother. The orbit of the earth was in the centre, that of fire at the\r\ncircumference. For Bacon’s inquisition into the nature of heat, and its\r\ncomplete failure, see \u003ca href=\"#Book-II\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ethe commencement of the second\r\n book\u003c/a\u003e of the \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eNovum\r\nOrganum\u003c/span\u003e.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-14\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-14\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[14]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nRobert Fludd is the theorist alluded to, who had supposed\r\nthe gravity of the earth to be ten times heavier than water, that of\r\nwater ten times heavier than air, and that of air ten times heavier\r\nthan fire.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-15\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-15\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[15]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nDiagoras. The same allusion occurs in the second part of\r\nthe Advancement of Learning, where Bacon treats of the idols of the\r\nmind.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-16\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-16\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[16]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nA scholastic term, to signify the two eternities of past\r\nand future duration, that stretch out on both sides of the narrow\r\nisthmus (time) occupied by man. It must be remembered that Bacon\r\nlived before the doctrine of limits gave rise to the higher calculus,\r\nand therefore could have no conception of different denominations of\r\ninfinities: on the other hand he would have thought the man insane\r\nwho should have talked to him about lines infinitely great, inclosing\r\nangles infinitely little; that a right line, which is a right line so\r\nlong as it is finite, by changing infinitely little its direction,\r\nbecomes an infinite curve, and that a curve may become infinitely less\r\nthan another curve; that there are infinite squares and infinite cubes,\r\nand infinites of infinites, all greater than one another, and the last\r\nbut one of which is nothing in comparison with the last. Yet half a\r\ncentury sufficed from Bacon’s time, to make this nomenclature, which\r\nwould have appeared to him the excess of frenzy, not only reasonable\r\nbut necessary, to grasp the higher demonstrations of physical\r\nscience.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-17\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-17\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[17]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSpinoza, in his letter to Oldenberg (\u003cabbr title=\"Opera Posthuma\" lang=\"la\"\u003eOp. Posth.\u003c/abbr\u003e p. 398),\r\nconsiders this aphorism based on a wrong conception of the origin of\r\nerror, and, believing it to be fundamental, was led to reject Bacon’s\r\nmethod altogether. Spinoza refused to acknowledge in man any such thing\r\nas a will, and resolved all his volitions into particular acts, which\r\nhe considered to be as fatally determined by a chain of physical causes\r\nas any effects in nature.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-18\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-18\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[18]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eOperatio spirituum in corporibus\r\n tangibilibus.\u003c/i\u003e Bacon\r\ndistinguished with the schools the gross and tangible parts of bodies,\r\nfrom such as were volatile and intangible. These, in conformity with\r\nthe scholastic language, he terms spirits, and frequently returns to\r\ntheir operations in the 2d book.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-19\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-19\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[19]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nDemocritus, of Abdera, a disciple of Leucippus, born\r\nB.C. 470, died 360; all his works are destroyed. He is said to be the\r\nauthor of the doctrine of atoms: he denied the immortality of the\r\nsoul, and first taught that the milky way was occasioned by a confused\r\nlight from a multitude of stars. He may be considered as the parent\r\nof experimental philosophy, in the prosecution of which he was so\r\nardent as to declare that he would prefer the discovery of one of the\r\ncauses of natural phenomena, to the possession of the diadem of Persia.\r\nDemocritus imposed on the blind credulity of his contemporaries, and,\r\nlike Roger Bacon, astonished them by his inventions.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-20\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-20\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[20]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe Latin is \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eactus purus\u003c/i\u003e, another\r\n scholastic expression\r\nto denote the action of the substance, which composes the essence of\r\nthe body apart from its accidental qualities. For an exposition of the\r\nvarious kinds of motions he contemplates, the reader may refer to the\r\n\u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-48\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e48th aphorism of the 2d book\u003c/a\u003e.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-21\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-21\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[21]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe scholastics after Aristotle distinguished in a\r\nsubject three modes of beings: viz., the power or faculty, the act,\r\nand the habitude, or in other words that which is able to exist,\r\nwhat exists actually, and what continues to exist. Bacon means that\r\nis necessary to fix our attention not on that which can or ought\r\nto be, but on that which actually is; not on the right, but on the\r\nfact.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-22\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-22\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[22]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe inference to be drawn from this is to suspect that\r\nkind of evidence which is most consonant to our inclinations, and\r\nnot to admit any notion as real except we can base it firmly upon\r\nthat kind of demonstration which is peculiar to the subject, not to\r\nour impression. Sometimes the mode of proof may be consonant to our\r\ninclinations, and to the subject at the same time, as in the case of\r\nPythagoras, when he applied his beloved numbers to the solution of\r\nastronomical phenomena; or in that of Descartes, when he reasoned\r\ngeometrically concerning the nature of the soul. Such examples cannot\r\nbe censured with justice, inasmuch as the methods pursued were adapted\r\nto the end of the inquiry. The remark in the text can only apply to\r\nthose philosophers who attempt to build up a moral or theological\r\nsystem by the instruments of induction alone, or who rush, with the\r\ngeometrical axiom, and the \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eà priori\u003c/i\u003e syllogism,\r\n to the investigation\r\nof nature. The means in such cases are totally inadequate to the object\r\nin view.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-23\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-23\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[23]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nGilbert lived toward the close of the sixteenth century,\r\nand was court physician to both Elizabeth and James. In his work\r\nalluded to in the text he continually asserts the advantages of the\r\nexperimental over the \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eà priori\u003c/i\u003e method in\r\n physical inquiry, and\r\nsucceeded when his censor failed in giving a practical example of the\r\nutility of his precepts. His “\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eDe Magnete\u003c/span\u003e”\r\n contains all the fundamental\r\nparts of the science, and these so perfectly treated, \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027tha\u0027\" id=\"fn23_that\"\u003ethat\u003c/a\u003e we have\r\nnothing to add to them at the present day.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nGilbert adopted the Copernican system, and even spoke of the contrary\r\ntheory as utterly absurd, grounding his argument on the vast velocities\r\nwhich such a supposition requires us to ascribe to the heavenly\r\nbodies.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-24\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-24\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[24]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe Latin text adds “without end”; but Bacon is\r\nscarcely right in supposing that the descent from complex ideas and\r\npropositions to those of simple nature, involve the analyst in a series\r\nof continuous and interminable definitions. For in the gradual and\r\nanalytical scale, there is a bar beyond which we cannot go, as there is\r\na summit bounded by the limited variations of our conceptions. Logical\r\ndefinitions, to fulfil their conditions, or indeed to be of any avail,\r\nmust be given in simpler terms than the object which is sought to be\r\ndefined; now this, in the case of primordial notions and objects of\r\nsense, is impossible; therefore we are obliged to rest satisfied with\r\nthe mere names of our perceptions.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-25\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-25\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[25]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe ancients supposed the planets to describe an exact\r\ncircle round the south. As observations increased and facts were\r\ndisclosed, which were irreconcilable with this supposition, the earth\r\nwas removed from the centre to some other point in the circle, and\r\nthe planets were supposed to revolve in a smaller circle (epicycle)\r\nround an imaginary point, which in its turn described a circle of\r\nwhich the earth was the centre. In proportion as observation elicited\r\nfresh facts, contradictory to these representations, other epicycles\r\nand eccentrics were added, involving additional confusion. Though\r\nKepler had swept away all these complicated theories in the preceding\r\ncentury, by the demonstration of his three laws, which established the\r\nelliptical course of the planets, Bacon regarded him and Copernicus in\r\nthe same light as Ptolemy and Xenophanes.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-26\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-26\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[26]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nEmpedocles, of Agrigentum, flourished 444 B.C. He was the\r\ndisciple of Telanges the Pythagorean, and warmly adopted the doctrine\r\nof transmigration. He resolved the universe into the four ordinary\r\nelements, the principles of whose composition were life and happiness,\r\nor concord and amity, but whose decomposition brought forth death and\r\nevil, or discord and hatred. Heraclitus held matter to be indifferent\r\nto any peculiar form, but as it became rarer or more dense, it took the\r\nappearance of fire, air, earth and water. Fire, however, he believed to\r\nbe the elementary principle out of which the others were evolved. This\r\nwas also the belief of Lucretius. See book i. 783, etc.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-27\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-27\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[27]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIt is thus the Vulcanists and Neptunians have framed\r\ntheir opposite theories in geology. Phrenology is a modern instance of\r\nhasty generalization.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-28\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-28\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[28]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIn Scripture everything which concerns the passing\r\ninterests of the body is called dead; the only living knowledge having\r\nregard to the eternal interest of the soul.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-29\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-29\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[29]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIn mechanics and the general sciences, causes compound\r\ntheir effects, or in other words, it is generally possible to deduce\r\n\u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eà priori\u003c/i\u003e the consequence of introducing\r\n complex agencies into any\r\nexperiment, by allowing for the effect of each of the simple causes\r\nwhich enter into their composition. In chemistry and physiology a\r\ncontrary law holds; the causes which they embody generally uniting\r\nto form distinct substances, and to introduce unforeseen laws and\r\ncombinations. The deductive method here is consequently inapplicable,\r\nand we are forced back upon experiment.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nBacon in the text is hardly consistent with himself, as he admits in\r\nthe second book the doctrine, to which modern discovery points, of the\r\nreciprocal transmutation of the elements. What seemed poetic fiction\r\nin the theories of Pythagoras and Seneca, assumes the appearance of\r\nscientific fact in the hands of Baron Caynard.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-30\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-30\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[30]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nGalileo had recently adopted the notion that nature\r\nabhorred a vacuum for an axiomatic principle, and it was not till\r\nTorricelli, his disciple, had given practical proof of the utility of\r\nBacon’s method, by the discovery of the barometer (1643) that this\r\nerror, as also that expressed below, and believed by Bacon, concerning\r\nthe homœopathic tendencies of bodies, was destroyed.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-31\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-31\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[31]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eDonec ad materiam potentialem et informem ventum\r\nfuerit.\u003c/i\u003e Nearly all the ancient philosophers admitted the existence of\r\na certain primitive and shapeless matter as the substratum of things\r\nwhich the creative power had reduced to fixed proportions, and resolved\r\ninto specific substances. The expression potential matter refers to\r\nthat substance forming the basis of the Peripatetic system, which\r\nvirtually contained all the forms that it was in the power of the\r\nefficient cause to draw out of it.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-32\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-32\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[32]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nAn allusion to the humanity of the \u003ci\u003eSultans\u003c/i\u003e, who, in\r\ntheir earlier histories are represented as signalizing their accession\r\nto the throne by the destruction of their family, to remove the danger\r\nof rivalry and the terrors of civil war.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-33\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-33\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[33]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe text is “\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003ein odium veterum sophistarum, Protagoræ,\r\nHippiæ, et reliquorum\u003c/span\u003e.” Those were called sophists, who,\r\n \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eostentationis\r\naut questus causa philosophabantur\u003c/i\u003e. (\u003cabbr title=\"Academica Priora\" lang=\"la\"\u003eAcad. Prior.\u003c/abbr\u003e ii. \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u002722\u0027\" id=\"fn33_72\"\u003e72\u003c/a\u003e.) They had\r\ncorrupted and degraded philosophy before Socrates. Protagoras of\r\nAbdera (\u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"Abdêra\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eἌβδηρα\u003c/span\u003e), the most celebrated, taught that man is the measure\r\nof all things, by which he meant not only that all which can be known\r\nis known only as it related to our faculties, but also that apart from\r\nour faculties nothing can be known. The sceptics equally held that\r\nknowledge was probable only as it related to our faculties, but they\r\nstopped there, and did not, like the sophist, dogmatize about the\r\nunknown. The works of Protagoras were condemned for their impiety, and\r\npublicly burned by the ædiles of Athens, who appear to have discharged\r\nthe office of common hangmen to the literary blasphemers of their\r\nday.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-34\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-34\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[34]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon is hardly correct in implying that the\r\n\u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eenumerationem per simplicem\u003c/i\u003e was the only\r\n light in which the ancients\r\nlooked upon induction, as they appear to have regarded it as only one,\r\nand that the least important, of its species. Aristotle expressly\r\nconsiders induction in a perfect or dialectic sense, and in an\r\nimperfect or rhetorical sense. Thus if a genus (\u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eG\u003c/var\u003e), contains\r\nfour species (\u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eA\u003c/var\u003e, \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eB\u003c/var\u003e,\r\n \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eC\u003c/var\u003e, \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eD\u003c/var\u003e), the\r\nsyllogism would lead us to infer, that what is true of \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eG\u003c/var\u003e, is\r\ntrue of any one of the four. But perfect induction would reason, that\r\nwhat we can prove of \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eA\u003c/var\u003e, \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eB\u003c/var\u003e,\r\n \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eC\u003c/var\u003e, \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eD\u003c/var\u003e,\r\nseparately, we may properly state as true of \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eG\u003c/var\u003e, the whole\r\ngenus. This is evidently a formal argument as demonstrative as the\r\nsyllogism. In necessary matters, however, legitimate induction may\r\nclaim a wider province, and infer of the whole genus what is only\r\napparent in a part of the species. Such are those inductive inferences\r\nwhich concern the laws of nature, the immutability of forms, by which\r\nBacon strove to erect his new system of philosophy. The Stagyrite,\r\nhowever, looked upon \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eenumerationem per\r\n simplicem\u003c/i\u003e, without any regard\r\nto the nature of the matter, or to the completeness of the species,\r\nwith as much reprehensive caution as Bacon, and guarded his readers\r\nagainst it as the source of innumerable errors.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-35\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-35\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[35]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-61\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e\u003cabbr title=\"Axiom\"\u003eAx.\u003c/abbr\u003e lxi.\u003c/a\u003e toward the end.\r\n This subject extends to\r\n\u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-78\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAx. lxxviii\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-36\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-36\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[36]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nGorgias of Leontium went to Athens in 424 B.C. He and\r\nPolus were disciples of Empedocles, whom we have already noticed\r\n(\u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-63\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAphorism 63\u003c/a\u003e), where he sustained\r\n the three famous propositions, that\r\nnothing exists, that nothing can be known, and that it is out of the\r\npower of man to transmit or communicate intelligence. He is reckoned\r\none of the earliest writers on the art of rhetoric, and for that\r\nreason, Plato called his elegant dialogue on that subject after his\r\nname.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-37\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-37\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[37]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nChrysippus, a stoic philosopher of Soli in Cilicia,\r\nCampestris, born in 280, died in the 143d Olympiad, 208 B.C. He was\r\nequally distinguished for natural abilities and industry, seldom\r\nsuffering a day to elapse without writing 500 lines. He wrote several\r\nhundred volumes, of which three hundred were on logical subjects; but\r\nin all, borrowed largely from others. He was very fond of the \u003ci\u003esorites\u003c/i\u003e\r\nin argument, which is hence called by Persius the heap of Chrysippus.\r\nHe was called the Column of the Portico, a name given to the Stoical\r\nSchool from Zeno, its founder, who had given his lessons under the\r\nportico.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nCarneades, born about 215, died in 130. He attached himself to\r\nChrysippus, and sustained with \u003ci lang=\"fr\"\u003eéclat\u003c/i\u003e\r\n the scepticism of the academy.\r\nThe Athenians sent him with Critolaus and Diogenes as ambassador\r\nto Rome, where he attracted the attention of his new auditory by\r\nthe subtilty of his reasoning, and the fluency and vehemence of his\r\nlanguage. Before Galba and Cato the Censor, he harangued with great\r\nvariety of thought and copiousness of diction in praise of justice.\r\nThe next day, to establish his doctrine of the uncertainty of human\r\nknowledge, he undertook to refute all his arguments. He maintained\r\nwith the New Academy, that the senses, the imagination, and the\r\nunderstanding frequently deceive us, and therefore cannot be infallible\r\njudges of truth, but that from the impressions produced on the mind by\r\nmeans of the senses, we infer appearances of truth or probabilities.\r\nNevertheless, with respect to the conduct of life, Carneades held that\r\nprobable opinions are a sufficient guide.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nXenophanes, a Greek philosopher, of Colophon, born in 556, the founder\r\nof the Eleatic school, which owes its fame principally to Parmenides.\r\nWild in his opinions about astronomy, he supposed that the stars were\r\nextinguished every morning, and rekindled at night; that eclipses were\r\noccasioned by the temporary extinction of the sun, and that there were\r\nseveral suns for the convenience of the different climates of the\r\nearth. Yet this man held the chair of philosophy at Athens for seventy\r\nyears.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nPhilolaus, a Pythagorean philosopher of Crotona, B.C. 374. He first\r\nsupported the diurnal motion of the earth round its axis, and its\r\nannual motion round the sun. Cicero (\u003cabbr title=\"Academica\" lang=\"la\"\u003eAcad.\u003c/abbr\u003e iv. 39) has ascribed this\r\nopinion to the Syracusan philosopher Nicetas, and likewise to Plato.\r\nFrom this passage, it is most probable that Copernicus got the idea of\r\nthe system he afterward established. Bacon, in the Advancement of Human\r\nLearning, charges Gilbert with restoring the doctrines of Philolaus,\r\nbecause he ventured to support the Copernican theory.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-38\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-38\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[38]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon is equally conspicuous for the use and abuse of\r\nanalogical illustrations. The levity, as Stuart Mill very properly\r\nobserves, by which substances float on a stream, and the levity which\r\nis synonymous with worthlessness, have nothing beside the name in\r\ncommon; and to show how little value there is in the figure, we need\r\nonly change the word into buoyancy, to turn the semblance of Bacon’s\r\nargument against himself.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-39\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-39\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[39]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nWe have before observed, that the New Academy did not\r\nprofess skepticism, but the \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"akatalêpsia\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eἀκατάληψια\u003c/span\u003e, or incomprehensibility\r\nof the absolute essences of things. Even modern physicists are not\r\nwanting, to assert with this school that the utmost knowledge we can\r\nobtain is relative, and necessarily short of absolute certainty. It is\r\nnot without an appearance of truth that these philosophers maintain\r\nthat our ideas and perceptions do not express the nature of the things\r\nwhich they represent, but only the effects of the peculiar organs by\r\nwhich they are conveyed to the understanding, so that were these organs\r\nchanged, we should have different conceptions of their nature. That\r\nconstitution of air which is dark to man is luminous to bats and owls.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-40\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-40\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[40]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nOwing to the universal prevalence of Aristotelism.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-41\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-41\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[41]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIt must be remembered, that when Bacon wrote, algebra\r\nwas in its infancy, and the doctrine of units and infinitesimals\r\nundiscovered.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-42\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-42\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[42]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBecause the vulgar make up the overwhelming majority in\r\nsuch decisions, and generally allow their judgments to be swayed by\r\npassion or prejudice.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-43\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-43\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[43]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee end of \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-61\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAxiom lxi\u003c/a\u003e. The subject extends\r\n to \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-90\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAxiom xc\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-44\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-44\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[44]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIf we adopt the statement of Herodotus, who places the\r\nHomeric era 400 years back from his time, Homer lived about 900 years\r\nbefore Christ. On adding this number to the sixteen centuries of\r\nthe Christian era which had elapsed up to Bacon’s time, we get the\r\ntwenty-five centuries he mentions. The Homeric epoch is the furthest\r\npoint in antiquity from which Bacon could reckon with any degree of\r\ncertainty. Hesiod, if he were not contemporary, immediately preceded\r\nhim.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nThe epoch of Greek philosophy may be included between Thales and\r\nPlato, that is, from the 35th to the 88th Olympiad; that of the Roman,\r\nbetween Terence and Pliny. The modern revolution, in which Bacon is\r\none of the central figures, took its rise from the time of Dante and\r\nPetrarch, who lived at the commencement of the fourteenth century; and\r\nto which, on account of the invention of printing, and the universal\r\nspread of literature, which has rendered a second destruction of\r\nlearning impossible, it is difficult to foresee any other end than the\r\nextinction of the race of man.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-45\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-45\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[45]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe allusion is evidently to Roger Bacon and Réné\r\nDescartes.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-46\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-46\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[46]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nFrom the abuse of the scholastics, who mistook the \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eà\r\npriori\u003c/i\u003e method, the deductive syllogism, for the entire province of\r\nlogic.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-47\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-47\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[47]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-95\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAphorism xcv\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-48\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-48\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[48]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe incongruity to which Bacon alludes appears to spring\r\nfrom confounding two things, which are not only distinct, but affect\r\nhuman knowledge in inverse proportion, viz., the experience which\r\nterminates with life, with that experience which one century transmits\r\nto another.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-49\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-49\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[49]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe Chinese characters resemble, in many respects, the\r\nhieroglyphics of the Egyptians, being adapted to represent ideas, not\r\nsounds.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-50\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-50\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[50]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-75\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAxiom 75\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-51\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-51\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[51]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe methods by which Newton carried the rule and compass\r\nto the boundaries of creation is a sufficient comment on the sagacity\r\nof the text. The same cause which globulizes a bubble, has rounded\r\nthe earth, and the same law which draws a stone to its surface, keeps\r\nthe moon in her orbit. It was by calculating and ascertaining these\r\nprinciples upon substances entirely at his disposal that this great\r\nphilosopher was enabled to give us a key to unlock the mysteries of the\r\nuniverse.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-52\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-52\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[52]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee the “Clouds” of Aristophanes, where Socrates\r\nis represented as chasing Jupiter out of the sky, by resolving\r\nthunderstorms into aërial concussions and whirlwinds.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-53\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-53\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[53]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nRobespierre was the latest victim of this bigotry.\r\nIn his younger days he attempted to introduce Franklin’s lightning\r\nconductor into France, but was persecuted by those whose lives he\r\nsought to protect, as one audaciously striving to avert the designs of\r\nProvidence.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-54\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-54\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[54]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nWe can hardly agree with the text. The scholastics,\r\nin building up a system of divinity, certainly had recourse to the\r\ndeductive syllogism, because the inductive was totally inapplicable,\r\nexcept as a verificatory process. With regard to the technical form in\r\nwhich they marshalled their arguments, which is what our author aims at\r\nin his censure, they owed nothing at all to Aristotle, the conducting\r\na dispute in naked syllogistic fashion having originated entirely with\r\nthemselves.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-55\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-55\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[55]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon cannot be supposed to allude to those divines\r\nwho have attempted to show that the progress of physical science is\r\nconfirmatory of revelation, but only to such as have built up a system\r\nof faith out of their own refinements on nature and revelation, as\r\nPatricius and Emanuel Swedenborg.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-56\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-56\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[56]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nDaniel xii. 4.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-57\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-57\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[57]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon, in this Aphorism, appears to have entertained\r\na fair idea of the use of the inductive and deductive methods in\r\nscientific inquiry, though his want of geometrical knowledge must have\r\nhindered him from accurately determining the precise functions of each,\r\nas it certainly led him in other parts of the Organon\r\n (\u003cabbr title=\"Vide\" lang=\"la\"\u003eV.\u003c/abbr\u003e\r\n\u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-82\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e\u003cabbr title=\"Aphorism\"\u003eAph.\u003c/abbr\u003e 82\u003c/a\u003e), to\r\nundervalue the deductive, and, as he calls it, the dogmatic method, and\r\nto rely too much upon empiricism.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-58\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-58\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[58]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe reader may consult the note of the\r\n \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-23\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e23d Aphorism\u003c/a\u003e for\r\nthe fault which Bacon censures, and, if he wish to pursue the subject\r\nfurther, may read Plato’s Timæus, where that philosopher explains\r\nhis system in detail. Bacon, however, is hardly consistent in one\r\npart of his censure, for he also talks about the spirit and appetites\r\nof inanimate substances, and that so frequently, as to preclude the\r\nsupposition that he is employing metaphor.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-59\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-59\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[59]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nProclus flourished about the beginning of the fifth\r\ncentury, and was the successor of Plotinus, Porphyry and Iamblicus,\r\nwho, in the two preceding centuries, had revived the doctrines of\r\nPlato, and assailed the Christian religion. The allusion in the\r\ntext must be assigned to Iamblicus, who, in the fourth century, had\r\nrepublished the Pythagorean theology of numbers, and endeavored to\r\nconstruct the world out of arithmetic, thinking everything could be\r\nsolved by the aid of proportions and geometry. Bacon must not be\r\nunderstood in the text to censure the use but the abuse of mathematics\r\nand physical investigations, as in the “\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eDe Augmentis\u003c/span\u003e” (\u003cabbr title=\"liber\" lang=\"la\"\u003elib.\u003c/abbr\u003e iv. \u003cabbr title=\"capitulum\" lang=\"la\"\u003ec.\u003c/abbr\u003e 6),\r\nhe enumerates the multiplicity of demonstration scientific facts admit\r\nof, from this source.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-60\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-60\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[60]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee Livy, lib. \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027x\u0027\" id=\"fn60_ix\"\u003eix.\u003c/a\u003e c. 17, where, in a digression on the\r\nprobable effect of a contest between Rome and Alexander the Great, he\r\nsays: “\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eNon cum Dario rem esse dixisset:\r\n quem mulierum ac spadonum agmen\r\ntrahentem inter purpuram atque aurum, oneratum fortunæ apparatibus,\r\nprædam veriùs quam hostem, nihil aliud quam ausus vana contemnere,\r\nincruentus devicit.\u003c/span\u003e”\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-61\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-61\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[61]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe lowest axioms are such as spring from simple\r\nexperience—such as in chemistry, that animal substances yield no\r\nfixed salt by calcination; in music, that concords intermixed with\r\ndiscords make harmony, etc. Intermediate axioms advance a step further,\r\nbeing the result of reflection, which, applied to our experimental\r\nknowledge, deduces laws from them, such as in optics of the first\r\ndegree of generality, that the angle of incidence is equal to the\r\nangle of reflection; and in mechanics, Kepler’s three laws of motion,\r\nwhile his general law, that all bodies attract each other with forces\r\nproportional to their masses, and inversely as the squares of their\r\ndistances, may be taken as one of the highest axioms. Yet so far is\r\nthis principle from being only notional or abstract, it has presented\r\nus with a key which fits into the intricate wards of the heavens, and\r\nhas laid bare to our gaze the principal mechanism of the universe.\r\nBut natural philosophy in Bacon’s day had not advanced beyond\r\nintermediate axioms, and the term notional or abstract is applied to\r\nthose general axioms then current, not founded on the solid principles\r\nof inductive inquiry, but based upon \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eà priori\u003c/i\u003e\r\n reasoning and airy\r\nmetaphysics.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-62\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-62\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[62]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis hope has been abundantly realized in the discovery\r\nof gravity and the decomposition of light, mainly by the inductive\r\nmethod. To a better philosophy we may also attribute the discovery of\r\nelectricity, galvanism and their mutual connection with each other,\r\nand magnetism, the inventions of the air-pump, steam-engine and the\r\nchronometer.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-63\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-63\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[63]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nAs Bacon very frequently cites these authors, a slight\r\nnotice of their labors may not be unacceptable to the reader.\r\nBernardinus Telesius, born at Cosenza, in 1508, combated the\r\nAristotelian system in a work entitled “\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eDe\r\n Rerum Natura juxta propria\r\nprincipia\u003c/span\u003e,” \u003ci\u003ei.e.\u003c/i\u003e, according to principles of his own. The proem of\r\nthe work announces his design was to show that “the construction of\r\nthe world, the magnitude and nature of the bodies contained in it, are\r\nnot to be investigated by reasoning, which was done by the ancients,\r\nbut are to be apprehended by the senses, and collected from the things\r\nthemselves.” He had, however, no sooner laid down this principle than\r\nhe departed from it in practice, and pursued the deductive method he so\r\nmuch condemned in his predecessors. His first step was an assumption of\r\nprinciples as arbitrary as any of the empirical notions of antiquity;\r\nat the outset of his book he very quietly takes it for granted that\r\nheat is the principle of motion, cold of immobility, matter being\r\nassumed as the corporeal substratum, in which these incorporeal and\r\nactive agents carry on their operations. Out of these abstract and\r\nill-defined conceptions Telesius builds up a system quite as complete,\r\nsymmetrical, and imaginative as any of the structures of antiquity.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nFrancis Patricius, born at Cherso, in Dalmatia, about 1529, was another\r\nphysicist who rose up against Aristotle, and announced the dawn of a\r\nnew philosophy. In 1593 appeared his “\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eNova\r\n de Universis Philosophia\u003c/span\u003e.”\r\nHe lays down a string of axioms, in which scholastic notions, physical\r\ndiscoveries, and theological dogmas, are strangely commingled, and\r\nerects upon them a system which represents all the grotesque features\r\nof theological empiricism.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nSeverinus, born in Jutland, in 1529, published an attack on Aristotle’s\r\nnatural history, but adopted fantasies which the Stagyrite ridiculed\r\nin his own day. He was a follower of Paracelsus, a Swiss enthusiast\r\nof the fifteenth century, who ignored the ancient doctrine of the\r\nfour elements for salt, sulphur and mercury, and allied chemistry and\r\nmedicine with mysticism.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-64\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-64\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[64]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon’s apology is sound, and completely answers those\r\nGerman and French critics, who have refused him a niche in the\r\nphilosophical pantheon. One German commentator, too modest to reveal\r\nhis name, accuses Bacon of ignorance of the calculus, though, in his\r\nday, Wallis had not yet stumbled upon the laws of continuous fractions;\r\nwhile Count \u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003ede Maistre\u003c/span\u003e, in a coarse\r\n attack upon his genius, expresses\r\nhis astonishment at finding Bacon unacquainted with discoveries which\r\nwere not heard of till a century after his death.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-65\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-65\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[65]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nPhilip of Macedon.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-66\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-66\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[66]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee Plato’s Timæus.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-67\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-67\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[67]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe saying of Philocrates when he differed from\r\nDemosthenes.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-68\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-68\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[68]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe old error of placing the deductive syllogism in\r\nantagonism to the inductive, as if they were not both parts of one\r\nsystem or refused to cohere together. So far from there being any\r\nradical opposition between them, it would not be difficult to show\r\nthat Bacon’s method was syllogistic in his sense of the term. For the\r\nsuppressed premise of every Baconian enthymeme, viz., the acknowledged\r\nuniformity of the laws of nature as stated in the axiom, whatever\r\nhas once occurred will occur again, must be assumed as the basis of\r\nevery conclusion which he draws before we can admit its legitimacy.\r\nThe opposition, therefore, of Bacon’s method could not be directed\r\nagainst the old logic, for it assumed and exemplified its principles,\r\nbut rather to the abusive application which the ancients made of\r\nthis science, on turning its powers to the development of abstract\r\nprinciples which they imagined to be pregnant with the solution of\r\nthe latent mysteries of the universe. Bacon justly overthrew these\r\nideal notions, and accepted of no principle as a basis which was not\r\nguaranteed by actual experiment and observation; and so far he laid the\r\nfoundations of a sound philosophy by turning the inductive logic to its\r\nproper account in the interpretation of nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-69\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-69\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[69]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis is the opening of the Sixth Book of Lucretius. Bacon\r\nprobably quoted from memory; the lines are—\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"poem poem29\" lang=\"la\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"stanza\"\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i0\"\u003e“Primæ frugiferos fœtus mortalibus ægris\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eDididerunt quondam præclaro nomine Athenæ\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eEt recreaverunt,” etc.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"poem poem29\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"stanza\"\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eThe teeming corn, that feeble mortals crave,\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eFirst, and long since, renowned Athens gave,\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eAnd cheered their life—then taught to frame their laws.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-70\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-70\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[70]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003cabbr title=\"Proverbs\"\u003eProv.\u003c/abbr\u003e xxv. 2.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_108\"\u003e[108]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003ca id=\"Book-II\"\u003eAPHORISMS—BOOK II\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"subtitle\"\u003eON THE INTERPRETATION OF NATURE, OR THE REIGN OF MAN\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-1\"\u003eI.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"chap-start\"\u003eTo generate\u003c/span\u003e and superinduce a\r\n new nature or new natures, upon a\r\ngiven body, is the labor and aim of human power: while to discover the\r\nform or true difference of a given nature, or the\r\n nature\u003ca id=\"Anchor-71\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-71\" title=\"Go to Footnote 71\"\u003e[71]\u003c/a\u003e to which\r\nsuch nature is owing, or source from which it emanates (for these terms\r\napproach nearest to an explanation of our meaning), is the labor and\r\ndiscovery of human knowledge; and subordinate to these primary labors\r\nare two others of a secondary nature and inferior stamp. Under the\r\nfirst must be ranked the transformation of concrete bodies from one to\r\nanother, which is possible within certain limits; under the second, the\r\ndiscovery, in every species of generation and motion, of the latent\r\nand uninterrupted process from the manifest efficient and manifest\r\nsubject matter up to the given form: and a like discovery of the latent\r\nconformation of bodies which are at rest instead of being in motion.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eII. The unhappy state of man’s actual knowledge is manifested even\r\nby the common assertions of the vulgar. It is rightly laid down that\r\ntrue knowledge is that which is deduced from causes. The division of\r\nfour causes also is not amiss: matter, form, the efficient, and end\r\nor final\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_109\"\u003e[109]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n cause.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-72\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-72\" title=\"Go to Footnote 72\"\u003e[72]\u003c/a\u003e Of these, however, the latter is so far from\r\nbeing beneficial, that it even corrupts the sciences, except in the\r\nintercourse of man with man. The discovery of form is considered\r\ndesperate. As for the efficient cause and matter (according to the\r\npresent system of inquiry and the received opinions concerning them,\r\nby which they are placed remote from, and without any latent process\r\ntoward form), they are but desultory and superficial, and of scarcely\r\nany avail to real and active knowledge. Nor are we unmindful of our\r\nhaving pointed out and corrected above the error of the human mind, in\r\nassigning the first qualities of essence to\r\n forms.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-73\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-73\" title=\"Go to Footnote 73\"\u003e[73]\u003c/a\u003e For although\r\nnothing exists in nature except individual\r\n bodies,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-74\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-74\" title=\"Go to Footnote 74\"\u003e[74]\u003c/a\u003e exhibiting clear\r\nindividual effects according to particular laws, yet in each branch of\r\nlearning, that very law, its investigation, discovery, and development,\r\nare the foundation both of theory and practice. This law, therefore,\r\nand its parallel in each science, is what we understand by the term\r\nform,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-75\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-75\" title=\"Go to Footnote 75\"\u003e[75]\u003c/a\u003e adopting that\r\n word because it has grown into common use, and\r\nis of familiar occurrence.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_110\"\u003e[110]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-3\"\u003eIII.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n He who has learned the cause of a particular nature (such as\r\nwhiteness or heat), in particular subjects only, has acquired but\r\nan imperfect knowledge: as he who can induce a certain effect upon\r\nparticular substances only, among those which are susceptible of it,\r\nhas acquired but an imperfect power. But he who has only learned the\r\nefficient and material cause (which causes are variable and mere\r\nvehicles\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_111\"\u003e[111]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n conveying form to particular substances) may perhaps arrive\r\nat some new discoveries in matters of a similar nature, and prepared\r\nfor the purpose, but does not stir the limits of things which are much\r\nmore deeply rooted; while he who is acquainted with forms, comprehends\r\nthe unity of nature in substances apparently most distinct from each\r\nother. He can disclose and bring forward, therefore (though it has\r\nnever yet been done), things which neither the vicissitudes of nature,\r\nnor the industry of experiment, nor chance itself, would ever have\r\nbrought about, and which would forever have escaped man’s thoughts;\r\nfrom the discovery of forms, therefore, results genuine theory and free\r\npractice.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-4\"\u003eIV.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Although there is a most intimate connection, and almost an\r\nidentity between the ways of human power and human knowledge, yet,\r\non account of the pernicious and inveterate habit of dwelling upon\r\nabstractions, it is by far the safest method to commence and build\r\nup the sciences from those foundations which bear a relation to the\r\npractical division, and to let them mark out and limit the theoretical.\r\nWe must consider, therefore, what precepts, or what direction or guide,\r\na person would most desire, in order to generate and superinduce any\r\nnature upon a given body: and this not in abstruse, but in the plainest\r\nlanguage.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor instance, if a person should wish to superinduce the yellow color\r\nof gold upon silver, or an additional weight (observing always the laws\r\nof matter) or transparency on an opaque stone, or tenacity in glass,\r\nor vegetation on a substance which is not vegetable, we must (I say)\r\nconsider what species of precept or guide this person would prefer.\r\nAnd, first, he will doubtless be anxious to be shown some method that\r\nwill neither fail in effect, nor deceive him in the trial\r\n of\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_112\"\u003e[112]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e it;\r\nsecondly, he will be anxious that the prescribed method should not\r\nrestrict him and tie him down to peculiar means, and certain particular\r\nmethods of acting; for he will, perhaps, be at loss, and without the\r\npower or opportunity of collecting and procuring such means. Now if\r\nthere be other means and methods (besides those prescribed) of creating\r\nsuch a nature, they will perhaps be of such a kind as are in his\r\npower, yet by the confined limits of the precept he will be deprived\r\nof reaping any advantage from them; thirdly, he will be anxious to be\r\nshown something not so difficult as the required effect itself, but\r\napproaching more nearly to practice.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe will lay this down, therefore, as the genuine and perfect rule of\r\npractice, that it should be certain, free and preparatory, or having\r\nrelation to practice. And this is the same thing as the discovery of a\r\ntrue form; for the form of any nature is such, that when it is assigned\r\nthe particular nature infallibly follows. It is, therefore, always\r\npresent when that nature is present, and universally attests such\r\npresence, and is inherent in the whole of it. The same form is of such\r\na character, that if it be removed the particular nature infallibly\r\nvanishes. It is, therefore, absent, whenever that nature is absent,\r\nand perpetually testifies such absence, and exists in no other nature.\r\nLastly, the true form is such, that it deduces the particular nature\r\nfrom some source of essence existing in many subjects, and more known\r\n(as they term it) to nature, than the form itself. Such, then, is our\r\ndetermination and rule with regard to a genuine and perfect theoretical\r\naxiom, that a nature be found convertible with a given nature, and yet\r\nsuch as to limit the more known nature, in the manner of a real genus.\r\nBut these two rules, the practical and theoretical, are in fact\r\n the\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_113\"\u003e[113]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nsame, and that which is most useful in practice is most correct in\r\ntheory.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eV. But the rule or axiom for the transformation of bodies is of two\r\nkinds. The first regards the body as an aggregate or combination of\r\nsimple natures. Thus, in gold are united the following circumstances:\r\nit is yellow, heavy, of a certain weight, malleable and ductile to a\r\ncertain extent; it is not volatile, loses part of its substance by\r\nfire, melts in a particular manner, is separated and dissolved by\r\nparticular methods, and so of the other natures observable in gold.\r\nAn axiom, therefore, of this kind deduces the subject from the forms\r\nof simple natures; for he who has acquired the forms and methods of\r\nsuperinducing yellowness, weight, ductility, stability, deliquescence,\r\nsolution, and the like, and their degrees and modes, will consider and\r\ncontrive how to unite them in any body, so as to\r\n transform\u003ca id=\"Anchor-76\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-76\" title=\"Go to Footnote 76\"\u003e[76]\u003c/a\u003e it into\r\ngold. And this method of operating belongs to primary action; for it is\r\nthe same thing to produce one or many simple natures, except that man\r\nis more confined and restricted in his operations, if many be required,\r\non account of the difficulty of uniting many natures together. It must,\r\nhowever, be observed, that this method of operating (which considers\r\nnatures as simple though in a concrete body) sets out from what is\r\nconstant, eternal, and universal in nature, and opens such broad paths\r\nto human power, as the thoughts of man can in the present state of\r\nthings scarcely comprehend or figure to itself.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe second kind of axiom (which depends on the discovery of the latent\r\nprocess) does not proceed by simple\r\n natures,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_114\"\u003e[114]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n but by concrete bodies,\r\nas they are found in nature and in its usual course. For instance,\r\nsuppose the inquiry to be, from what beginnings, in what manner, and by\r\nwhat process gold or any metal or stone is generated from the original\r\nmenstruum, or its elements, up to the perfect mineral: or, in like\r\nmanner, by what process plants are generated, from the first concretion\r\nof juices in the earth, or from seeds, up to the perfect plant, with\r\nthe whole successive motion, and varied and uninterrupted efforts of\r\nnature; and the same inquiry be made as to a regularly deduced system\r\nof the generation of animals from coition to birth, and so on of other\r\nbodies.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNor is this species of inquiry confined to the mere generation of\r\nbodies, but it is applicable to other changes and labors of nature.\r\nFor instance, where an inquiry is made into the whole series and\r\ncontinued operation of the nutritive process, from the first reception\r\nof the food to its complete assimilation to the\r\n recipient;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-77\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-77\" title=\"Go to Footnote 77\"\u003e[77]\u003c/a\u003e or\r\ninto the voluntary motion of animals, from the first impression of\r\nthe imagination, and the continuous effects of the spirits, up to the\r\nbending and motion of the joints; or into the free motion of the tongue\r\nand lips, and other accessories which give utterance to articulate\r\nsounds. For all these investigations relate to concrete or associated\r\nnatures artificially brought together, and take into consideration\r\ncertain particular and special habits of nature, and not those\r\nfundamental and general laws which constitute forms. It must, however,\r\nbe plainly owned, that this method appears more prompt and easy, and of\r\ngreater promise than the primary one.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_115\"\u003e[115]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn like manner the operative branch, which answers to this\r\ncontemplative branch, extends and advances its operation from that\r\nwhich is usually observed in nature, to other subjects immediately\r\nconnected with it, or not very remote from such immediate connection.\r\nBut the higher and radical operations upon nature depend entirely\r\non the primary axioms. Besides, even where man has not the means\r\nof acting, but only of acquiring knowledge, as in astronomy (for\r\nman cannot act upon, change, or transform the heavenly bodies), the\r\ninvestigation of facts or truth, as well as the knowledge of causes\r\nand coincidences, must be referred to those primary and universal\r\naxioms that regard simple natures; such as the nature of spontaneous\r\nrotation, attraction, or the magnetic force, and many others which\r\nare more common than the heavenly bodies themselves. For let no one\r\nhope to determine the question whether the earth or heaven revolve in\r\nthe diurnal motion, unless he have first comprehended the nature of\r\nspontaneous rotation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eVI. But the latent process of which we speak, is far from being obvious\r\nto men’s minds, beset as they now are. For we mean not the measures,\r\nsymptoms, or degrees of any process which can be exhibited in the\r\nbodies themselves, but simply a continued process, which, for the most\r\npart, escapes the observation of the senses.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor instance, in all generations and transformations of bodies, we must\r\ninquire, what is in the act of being lost and escaping, what remains,\r\nwhat is being added, what is being diluted, what is being contracted,\r\nwhat is being united, what is being separated, what is continuous, what\r\nis broken off, what is urging forward, what impedes, what predominates,\r\nwhat is subservient, and many other circumstances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNor are these inquiries again to be made in the\r\n mere\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_116\"\u003e[116]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e generation\r\nand transformation of bodies only, but in all other alterations and\r\nfluctuations we must in like manner inquire; what precedes, what\r\nsucceeds, what is quick, what is slow, what produces and what governs\r\nmotion, and the like. All which matters are unknown and unattempted by\r\nthe sciences, in their present heavy and inactive state. For, since\r\nevery natural act is brought about by the smallest\r\n efforts,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-78\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-78\" title=\"Go to Footnote 78\"\u003e[78]\u003c/a\u003e or at\r\nleast such as are too small to strike our senses, let no one hope that\r\nhe will be able to direct or change nature unless he have properly\r\ncomprehended and observed these efforts.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eVII. In like manner, the investigation and discovery of the latent\r\nconformation in bodies is no less new, than the discovery of the\r\nlatent process and form. For we as yet are doubtless only admitted to\r\nthe antechamber of nature, and do not prepare an entrance into her\r\npresence-room. But nobody can endue a given body with a new nature, or\r\ntransform it successfully and appropriately into a new body, without\r\npossessing a complete knowledge of the body so to be changed or\r\ntransformed. For he will run into vain, or, at least, into difficult\r\nand perverse methods, ill adapted to the nature of the body upon which\r\nhe operates. A clear path, therefore, toward this object also must be\r\nthrown open, and well supported.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLabor is well and usefully bestowed upon the anatomy of organized\r\nbodies, such as those of men and animals, which appears to be a subtile\r\nmatter, and a useful examination of nature. The species of anatomy,\r\nhowever, is that of first sight, open to the senses, and takes place\r\nonly in organized\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_117\"\u003e[117]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n bodies. It is obvious, and of ready access, when\r\ncompared with the real anatomy of latent conformation in bodies which\r\nare considered similar, particularly in specific objects and their\r\nparts; as those of iron, stone, and the similar parts of plants and\r\nanimals, as the root, the leaf, the flower, the flesh, the blood,\r\nand bones, etc. Yet human industry has not completely neglected this\r\nspecies of anatomy; for we have an instance of it in the separation of\r\nsimilar bodies by distillation, and other solutions, which shows the\r\ndissimilarity of the compound by the union of the homogeneous parts.\r\nThese methods are useful, and of importance to our inquiry, although\r\nattended generally with fallacy: for many natures are assigned and\r\nattributed to the separate bodies, as if they had previously existed in\r\nthe compound, which, in reality, are recently bestowed and superinduced\r\nby fire and heat, and the other modes of separation. Besides, it is,\r\nafter all, but a small part of the labor of discovering the real\r\nconformation in the compound, which is so subtile and nice, that it is\r\nrather confused and lost by the operation of the fire, than discovered\r\nand brought to light.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eA separation and solution of bodies, therefore, is to be effected, not\r\nby fire indeed, but rather by reasoning and true induction, with the\r\nassistance of experiment, and by a comparison with other bodies, and a\r\nreduction to those simple natures and their forms which meet, and are\r\ncombined in the compound; and we must assuredly pass from Vulcan to\r\nMinerva, if we wish to bring to light the real texture and conformation\r\nof bodies, upon which every occult and (as it is sometimes called)\r\nspecific property and virtue of things depends, and whence also every\r\nrule of powerful change and transformation is deduced.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor instance, we must examine what spirit is in\r\n every\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_118\"\u003e[118]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n body,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-79\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-79\" title=\"Go to Footnote 79\"\u003e[79]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nwhat tangible essence; whether that spirit is copious and exuberant,\r\nor meagre and scarce, fine or coarse, \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027aeriform\u0027\" id=\"p118_aeriform\"\u003eaëriform\u003c/a\u003e\r\n or igniform, active\r\nor sluggish, weak or robust, progressive or retrograde, abrupt or\r\ncontinuous, agreeing with external and surrounding objects, or\r\ndiffering from them, etc. In like manner must we treat tangible essence\r\n(which admits of as many distinctions as the spirit), and its hairs,\r\nfibres, and varied texture. Again, the situation of the spirit in\r\nthe corporeal mass, its pores, passages, veins, and cells, and the\r\nrudiments or first essays of the organic body, are subject to the\r\nsame examination. In these, however, as in our former inquiries, and\r\ntherefore in the whole investigation of latent conformation, the only\r\ngenuine and clear light which completely dispels all darkness and\r\nsubtile difficulties, is admitted by means of the primary axioms.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eVIII. This method will not bring us to\r\n atoms,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-80\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-80\" title=\"Go to Footnote 80\"\u003e[80]\u003c/a\u003e which takes for\r\ngranted the vacuum, and immutability of matter (neither of which\r\nhypotheses is correct), but to the real particles such as we discover\r\nthem to be. Nor is there\r\n any\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_119\"\u003e[119]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n ground for alarm at this refinement\r\nas if it were inexplicable, for, on the contrary, the more inquiry\r\nis directed to simple natures, the more will everything be placed\r\nin a plain and perspicuous light, since we transfer our attention\r\nfrom the complicated to the simple, from the incommensurable to\r\nthe commensurable, from surds to rational quantities, from the\r\nindefinite and vague to the definite and certain; as when we arrive\r\nat the elements of letters, and the simple tones of concords. The\r\ninvestigation of nature is best conducted when mathematics are applied\r\nto physics. Again, let none be alarmed at vast numbers and fractions,\r\nfor in calculation it is as easy to set down or to reflect upon a\r\nthousand as a unit, or the thousandth part of an integer as an integer\r\nitself.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIX.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-81\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-81\" title=\"Go to Footnote 81\"\u003e[81]\u003c/a\u003e From the two\r\n kinds of axioms above specified, arise the two\r\ndivisions of philosophy and the sciences, and we will use the commonly\r\nadopted terms which approach the nearest to our meaning, in our own\r\nsense. Let the investigation of forms, which (in reasoning at least,\r\nand after their own laws), are eternal and immutable, constitute\r\nmetaphysics,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-82\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-82\" title=\"Go to Footnote 82\"\u003e[82]\u003c/a\u003e and let the\r\n investigation of the efficient cause\r\n of\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_120\"\u003e[120]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nmatter, latent process, and latent conformation (which all relate\r\nmerely to the ordinary course of nature, and not to her fundamental and\r\neternal laws), constitute physics. Parallel to these, let there be two\r\npractical divisions; to physics that of mechanics, and to metaphysics\r\nthat of magic, in the purest sense of the term, as applied to its ample\r\nmeans, and its command over nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eX. The object of our philosophy being thus laid down, we proceed to\r\nprecepts, in the most clear and regular order. The signs for the\r\ninterpretation of nature comprehend two divisions; the first regards\r\nthe eliciting or creating of axioms from experiment, the second the\r\ndeducing or deriving of new experiments from axioms. The first admits\r\nof three subdivisions into ministrations. 1. To the senses. 2. To the\r\nmemory. 3. To the mind or reason.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor we must first prepare as a foundation for the whole, a complete\r\nand accurate natural and experimental history. We must not imagine or\r\ninvent, but discover the acts and properties of nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut natural and experimental history is so varied and diffuse, that\r\nit confounds and distracts the understanding unless it be fixed\r\nand exhibited in due order. We must, therefore, form tables and\r\nco-ordinations of instances,\r\n upon\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_121\"\u003e[121]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n such a plan, and in such order that\r\nthe understanding may be enabled to act upon them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eEven when this is done, the understanding, left to itself and to its\r\nown operation, is incompetent and unfit to construct its axioms without\r\ndirection and support. Our third ministration, therefore, must be true\r\nand legitimate induction, the very key of interpretation. We must\r\nbegin, however, at the end, and go back again to the others.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXI. The investigation of forms proceeds thus: a nature being given, we\r\nmust first present to the understanding all the known instances which\r\nagree in the same nature, although the subject matter be considerably\r\ndiversified. And this collection must be made as a mere history, and\r\nwithout any premature reflection, or too great degree of refinement.\r\nFor instance; take the investigation of the form of heat.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"fauxsec-title\"\u003e\r\nInstances agreeing in the Form of Heat\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cul class=\"bacon-table\"\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e1. The rays of the sun, particularly in summer, and at noon.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e2. The same reflected and condensed, as between mountains, or along\r\nwalls, and particularly in burning mirrors.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e3. Ignited meteors.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e4. Burning lightning.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e5. Eruptions of flames from the cavities of mountains, etc.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e6. Flame of every kind.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e7. Ignited solids.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e8. Natural warm baths.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e9. Warm or heated liquids.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e10. Warm vapors and smoke; and the air itself, which admits a most\r\npowerful and violent heat if confined, as in reverberating\r\n furnaces.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_122\"\u003e[122]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e11. Damp hot weather, arising from the constitution of the air, without\r\nany reference to the time of the year.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e12. Confined and subterraneous air in some caverns, particularly in\r\nwinter.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e13. All shaggy substances, as wool, the skins of animals, and the\r\nplumage of birds, contain some heat.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e14. All bodies, both solid and liquid, dense and rare (as the air\r\nitself), placed near fire for any time.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e15. Sparks arising from the violent percussion of flint and steel.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e16. All bodies rubbed violently, as stone, wood, cloth, etc., so that\r\nrudders, and axles of wheels, sometimes catch fire, and the West\r\nIndians obtain fire by attrition.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e17. Green and moist vegetable matter confined and rubbed together,\r\nas roses, peas in baskets; so hay, if it be damp when stacked, often\r\ncatches fire.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e18. Quicklime sprinkled with water.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e19. Iron, when first dissolved by acids in a glass, and without any\r\napplication to fire; the same of tin, but not so intensely.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e20. Animals, particularly internally; although the heat is not\r\nperceivable by the touch in insects, on account of their small size.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e21. Horse dung, and the like excrement from other animals, when fresh.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e22. Strong oil of sulphur and of vitriol exhibit the operation of heat\r\nin burning linen.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e23. As does the oil of marjoram, and like substances, in burning the\r\nbony substance of the teeth.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-1_Inst-24\"\u003e24.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Strong and well rectified spirits of wine exhibit the same effects;\r\nso that white of eggs when thrown into it grows hard and white, almost\r\nin the same manner\r\n as\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_123\"\u003e[123]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n when boiled, and bread becomes burned and brown\r\nas if toasted.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e25. Aromatic substances and warm plants, as the dracunculus [arum], old\r\nnasturtium, etc., which, though they be not warm to the touch (whether\r\nwhole or pulverized), yet are discovered by the tongue and palate to be\r\nwarm and almost burning when slightly masticated.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e26. Strong vinegar and all acids, on any part of the body not clothed\r\nwith the epidermis, as the eye, tongue, or any wounded part, or where\r\nthe skin is removed, excite a pain differing but little from that\r\nproduced by heat.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e27. Even a severe and intense cold produces a sensation of\r\n burning.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-83\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-83\" title=\"Go to Footnote 83\"\u003e[83]\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"quote\" lang=\"la\"\u003e\r\n“Nec Boreæ penetrabile frigus adurit.”\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e28. Other instances.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003c/ul\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe are wont to call this a table of existence and presence.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXII. We must next present to the understanding instances which do not\r\nadmit of the given nature, for form (as we have observed) ought no less\r\nto be absent where the given nature is absent, than to be present where\r\nit is present. If, however, we were to examine every instance, our\r\nlabor would be infinite.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNegatives, therefore, must be classed under the affirmatives, and the\r\nwant of the given nature must be inquired into more particularly in\r\nobjects which have a very close connection with those others in which\r\nit is present and manifest. And this we are wont to term a table of\r\ndeviation or of absence in proximity.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_124\"\u003e[124]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"fauxsec-title\"\u003eProximate Instances wanting the Nature of Heat\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe rays of the moon, stars, and comets, are not found to be warm to\r\nthe touch, nay, the severest cold has been observed to take place\r\nat the full of the moon. Yet the larger fixed stars are supposed to\r\nincrease and render more intense the heat of the sun, as he approaches\r\nthem, when the sun is in the sign of the Lion, for instance, and in the\r\ndog-days.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-84\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-84\" title=\"Go to Footnote 84\"\u003e[84]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe rays of the sun in what is called the middle region of the air\r\ngive no heat, to account for which the commonly assigned reason is\r\nsatisfactory; namely, that that region is neither sufficiently near to\r\nthe body of the sun whence the rays emanate, nor to the earth whence\r\nthey are reflected. And the fact is manifested by snow being perpetual\r\non the tops of mountains, unless extremely lofty. But it is observed,\r\non the other hand, by some, that at the Peak of Teneriffe, and also\r\namong the Andes of Peru, the tops of the mountains are free from snow,\r\nwhich only lies in the lower part as you ascend. Besides, the air on\r\nthe summit of these mountains is found to be by no means cold, but only\r\nthin and sharp; so much so, that in the Andes it pricks and hurts the\r\neyes from its extreme sharpness, and even excites the orifice of the\r\nstomach and produces vomiting. The ancients also observed, that the\r\nrarity of the air on the\r\n summit\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_125\"\u003e[125]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n of Olympus was such, that those who\r\nascended it were obliged to carry sponges moistened with vinegar and\r\nwater, and to apply them now and then to their nostrils, as the air was\r\nnot dense enough for their respiration; on the summit of which mountain\r\nit is also related, there reigned so great a serenity and calm, free\r\nfrom rain, snow, or wind, that the letters traced upon the ashes of the\r\nsacrifices on the altar of Jupiter, by the fingers of those who had\r\noffered them, would remain undisturbed till the next year. Those even,\r\nwho at this day go to the top of the Peak of Teneriffe, walk by night\r\nand not in the daytime, and are advised and pressed by their guides, as\r\nsoon as the sun rises, to make haste in their descent, on account of\r\nthe danger (apparently arising from the rarity of the atmosphere), lest\r\ntheir breathing should be relaxed and\r\n suffocated.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-85\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-85\" title=\"Go to Footnote 85\"\u003e[85]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe reflection of the solar rays in the polar regions is found to\r\nbe weak and inefficient in producing heat, so that the Dutch, who\r\nwintered in Nova Zembla, and expected that their vessel would be\r\nfreed about the beginning of July from the obstruction of the mass of\r\nice which had blocked it up, were disappointed and obliged to embark\r\nin their boat. Hence the direct rays of the sun appear to have but\r\nlittle power even on the plain, and when reflected, unless they are\r\nmultiplied and condensed, which takes place when the sun tends more\r\nto the perpendicular; for, then, the incidence of the rays occurs at\r\nmore acute angles, so that the reflected rays are nearer to each other,\r\nwhile, on the contrary, when the sun is in a very oblique\r\n position,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_126\"\u003e[126]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nthe angles of incidence are very obtuse, and the reflected rays at a\r\ngreater distance. In the meantime it must be observed, that there may\r\nbe many operations of the solar rays, relating, too, to the nature of\r\nheat, which are not proportioned to our touch, so that, with regard to\r\nus, they do not tend to produce warmth, but, with regard to some other\r\nbodies, have their due effect in producing it.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the following experiment be made. Take a lens the reverse of a\r\nburning-glass, and place it between the hand and the solar rays, and\r\nobserve whether it diminish the heat of the sun as a burning-glass\r\nincreases it. For it is clear, with regard to the visual rays, that in\r\nproportion as the lens is made of unequal thickness in the middle and\r\nat its sides, the images appear either more diffused or contracted. It\r\nshould be seen, therefore, if the same be true with regard to heat.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the experiment be well tried, whether the lunar rays can be\r\nreceived and collected by the strongest and best burning-glasses, so as\r\nto produce even the least degree of\r\n heat.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-86\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-86\" title=\"Go to Footnote 86\"\u003e[86]\u003c/a\u003e But if that degree be,\r\nperhaps, so subtile and weak, as not to be perceived or ascertained\r\nby the touch, we must have recourse to those glasses which indicate\r\nthe warm or cold state of the atmosphere, and let the lunar rays\r\n fall\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_127\"\u003e[127]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nthrough the burning-glass on the top of this thermometer, and then\r\nnotice if the water be depressed by the\r\n heat.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-87\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-87\" title=\"Go to Footnote 87\"\u003e[87]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the burning-glass be tried on warm objects which emit no luminous\r\nrays, as heated but not ignited iron or stone, or hot water, or the\r\nlike; and observe whether the heat become increased and condensed, as\r\nhappens with the solar rays.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet it be tried on common flame.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe effect of comets (if we can reckon them among\r\n meteors\u003ca id=\"Anchor-88\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-88\" title=\"Go to Footnote 88\"\u003e[88]\u003c/a\u003e) in\r\naugmenting the heat of the season is not found to be constant or\r\nclear, although droughts have generally been observed to follow them.\r\nHowever, luminous lines, and pillars, and openings, and the like,\r\nappear more often in winter than in summer, and especially with the\r\nmost intense cold but joined with drought. Lightning, and coruscations,\r\nand thunder, however, rarely happen in winter;\r\n and\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_128\"\u003e[128]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n generally at the\r\ntime of the greatest heats. The appearances we term falling stars are\r\ngenerally supposed to consist of some shining and inflamed viscous\r\nsubstance, rather than of violently hot matter; but let this be further\r\ninvestigated.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSome coruscations emit light without burning, but are never accompanied\r\nby thunder.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eEructations and eruptions of flame are to be found in cold climates\r\nas well as in hot, as in Iceland and Greenland; just as the trees of\r\ncold countries are sometimes inflammable and more pitchy and resinous\r\nthan in warm, as the fir, pine, and the like. But the position and\r\nnature of the soil, where such eruptions are wont to happen, is not yet\r\nsufficiently investigated to enable us to subjoin a negative instance\r\nto the affirmative.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAll flame is constantly more or less warm, and this instance is not\r\naltogether negative; yet it is said that the\r\n \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eignis fatuus\u003c/span\u003e (as it is\r\ncalled), and which sometimes is driven against walls, has but little\r\nheat; perhaps it resembles that of spirits of wine, which is mild and\r\ngentle. That flame, however, appears yet milder, which in some well\r\nauthenticated and serious histories is said to have appeared round the\r\nhead and hair of boys and virgins, and instead of burning their hair,\r\nmerely to have played about it. And it is most certain that a sort of\r\nflash, without any evident heat, has sometimes been seen about a horse\r\nwhen sweating at night, or in damp weather. It is also a well known\r\nfact,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-89\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-89\" title=\"Go to Footnote 89\"\u003e[89]\u003c/a\u003e and it was\r\n almost considered as a miracle, that a few years\r\nsince a girl’s apron sparkled when a little shaken or rubbed, which\r\nwas, perhaps, occasioned by the alum or salts with\r\n which\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_129\"\u003e[129]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e the apron\r\nwas imbued, and which, after having been stuck together and incrusted\r\nrather strongly, were broken by the friction. It is well known that\r\nall sugar, whether candied or plain, if it be hard, will sparkle when\r\nbroken or scraped in the dark. In like manner sea and salt water is\r\nsometimes found to shine at night when struck violently by the oar. The\r\nfoam of the sea when agitated by tempests also sparkles at night, and\r\nthe Spaniards call this appearance the sea’s lungs. It has not been\r\nsufficiently ascertained what degree of heat attends the flame which\r\nthe ancient sailors called Castor and Pollux, and the moderns call\r\nSt. Ermus’ fire.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eEvery ignited body that is red-hot is always warm, although without\r\nflame, nor is any negative instance subjoined to this affirmative.\r\nRotten wood, however, approaches nearly to it, for it shines at night,\r\nand yet is not found to be warm; and the putrefying scales of fish\r\nwhich shine in the same manner are not warm to the touch, nor the body\r\nof the glowworm, or of the fly called\r\n \u003cspan lang=\"it\"\u003eLucciola\u003c/span\u003e.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-90\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-90\" title=\"Go to Footnote 90\"\u003e[90]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe situation and nature of the soil of natural warm baths has not been\r\nsufficiently investigated, and therefore a negative instance is not\r\nsubjoined.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eTo the instances of warm liquids we may subjoin the negative one of the\r\npeculiar nature of liquids in general; for no tangible liquid is known\r\nthat is at once warm in its nature and constantly continues warm; but\r\ntheir heat is only superinduced as an adventitious nature for a limited\r\ntime, so that those which are extremely warm in their power and effect,\r\nas spirits of wine, chemical aromatic oils, the oils of vitriol and\r\nsulphur, and the like, and which speedily burn, are yet cold at first\r\nto the touch, and the water of natural baths, poured into any vessel\r\nand separated\r\n from\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_130\"\u003e[130]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n its source, cools down like water heated by the\r\nfire. It is, however, true that oily substances are rather less cold\r\nto the touch than those that are aqueous, oil for instance than water,\r\nsilk than linen; but this belongs to the table of degrees of cold.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn like manner we may subjoin a negative instance to that of warm\r\nvapor, derived from the nature of vapor itself, as far as we are\r\nacquainted with it. For exhalations from oily substances, though easily\r\ninflammable, are yet never warm unless recently exhaled from some warm\r\nsubstance.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe same may be said of the instance of air; for we never perceive that\r\nair is warm unless confined or pressed, or manifestly heated by the\r\nsun, by fire, or some other warm body.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eA negative instance is exhibited in weather by its coldness with an\r\neast or north wind, beyond what the season would lead us to expect,\r\njust as the contrary takes place with the south or west winds. An\r\ninclination to rain (especially in winter) attends warm weather, and to\r\nfrost cold weather.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eA negative instance as to air confined in caverns may be observed in\r\nsummer. Indeed, we should make a more diligent inquiry into the nature\r\nof confined air. For in the first place the qualities of air in its own\r\nnature with regard to heat and cold may reasonably be the subject of\r\ndoubt; for air evidently derives its heat from the effects of celestial\r\nbodies, and possibly its cold from the exhalation of the earth, and\r\nin the mid region of air (as it is termed) from cold vapors and snow,\r\nso that no judgment can be formed of the nature of air by that which\r\nis out of doors and exposed, but a more correct one might be derived\r\nfrom confined air. It is necessary, however, that the air should\r\n be\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_131\"\u003e[131]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\ninclosed in a vessel of such materials as would not imbue it with heat\r\nor cold of themselves, nor easily admit the influence of the external\r\natmosphere. The experiment should be made, therefore, with an earthen\r\njar, covered with folds of leather to protect it from the external\r\nair, and the air should be kept three or four days in this vessel well\r\nclosed. On opening the jar, the degree of heat may be ascertained\r\neither by the hand or a graduated glass tube.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere is a similar doubt as to whether the warmth of wool, skins,\r\nfeathers, and the like, is derived from a slight inherent heat, since\r\nthey are animal excretions, or from their being of a certain fat and\r\noily nature that accords with heat, or merely from the confinement and\r\nseparation of air which we spoke of in the preceding\r\n paragraph;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-91\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-91\" title=\"Go to Footnote 91\"\u003e[91]\u003c/a\u003e for\r\nall air appears to possess a certain degree of warmth when separated\r\nfrom the external atmosphere. Let an experiment be made, therefore,\r\nwith fibrous substances of linen, and not of wool, feathers, or silk,\r\nwhich are animal excretions. For it is to be observed that all powders\r\n(where air is manifestly inclosed) are less cold than the substances\r\nwhen whole, just as we imagine froth (which contains air) to be less\r\ncold than the liquid itself.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have here no exactly negative instance, for we are not acquainted\r\nwith any body tangible or spirituous which does not admit of heat when\r\nexposed to the fire. There is, however, this difference, that some\r\nadmit it more rapidly, as air, oil, and water, others more slowly, as\r\nstone and metals.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-92\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-92\" title=\"Go to Footnote 92\"\u003e[92]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n This, however, belongs to the \u003ca href=\"#Tab-3\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003etable of degrees\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_132\"\u003e[132]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNo negative is here subjoined, except the remark that sparks are not\r\nkindled by flint and steel, or any other hard substance, unless some\r\nsmall particles of the stone or metal are struck off, and that the air\r\nnever forms them by friction, as is commonly supposed; besides, the\r\nsparks from the weight of the ignited substance have a tendency to\r\ndescend rather than to rise, and when extinguished become a sort of\r\ndark ash.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe are of opinion that here again there is no negative; for we are not\r\nacquainted with any tangible body which does not become decidedly warm\r\nby friction, so that the ancients feigned that the gods had no other\r\nmeans or power of creating heat than the friction of air, by rapid\r\nand violent rotation. On this point, however, further inquiry must be\r\nmade, whether bodies projected by machines (as balls from cannon) do\r\nnot derive some degree of heat from meeting the air, which renders\r\nthem somewhat warm when they fall. The air in motion rather cools\r\nthan heats, as in the winds, the bellows, or breath when the mouth is\r\ncontracted. The motion, however, in such instances is not sufficiently\r\nrapid to excite heat, and is applied to a body of air, and not to its\r\ncomponent parts, so that it is not surprising that heat should not be\r\ngenerated.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe must make a more diligent inquiry into this instance; for herbs and\r\ngreen and moist vegetables appear to possess a latent heat, so small,\r\nhowever, as not to be perceived by the touch in single specimens, but\r\nwhen they are united and confined, so that their spirit cannot exhale\r\ninto the air, and they rather warm each other, their heat is at once\r\nmanifested, and even flame occasionally in suitable substances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHere, too, we must make a more diligent inquiry;\r\n for\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_133\"\u003e[133]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n quicklime, when\r\nsprinkled with water, appears to conceive heat, either from its being\r\ncollected into one point (as we observed of herbs when confined), or\r\nfrom the irritation and exasperation of the fiery spirit by water,\r\nwhich occasions a conflict and struggle. The true reason will more\r\nreadily be shown if oil be used instead of water, for oil will\r\nequally tend to collect the confined spirit, but not to irritate.\r\nThe experiment may be made more general, both by using the ashes and\r\ncalcined products of different bodies and by pouring different liquids\r\nupon them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eA negative instance may be subjoined of other metals which are more\r\nsoft and soluble; for leaf gold dissolved by\r\n \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eaqua regia\u003c/span\u003e, or lead by\r\n\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eaqua fortis\u003c/span\u003e, are not warm to the\r\n touch while dissolving, no more is\r\nquicksilver (as far as I remember), but silver excites a slight heat,\r\nand so does copper, and tin yet more plainly, and most of all iron and\r\nsteel, which excite not only a powerful heat, but a violent bubbling.\r\nThe heat, therefore, appears to be occasioned by the struggle which\r\ntakes place when these strong dissolvents penetrate, dig into, and tear\r\nasunder the parts of those substances, while the substances themselves\r\nresist. When, however, the substances yield more easily, scarcely any\r\nheat is excited.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere is no negative instance with regard to the heat of animals,\r\nexcept in insects (as has been observed), owing to their small size;\r\nfor in fishes, as compared with land animals, a lower degree rather\r\nthan a deprivation of heat is observable. In plants and vegetables,\r\nboth as to their exudations and pith when freshly exposed, there is no\r\nsensible degree of heat. But in animals there is a great difference\r\nin the degree, both in particular parts (for the heat varies near the\r\nheart, the brain, and the extremities) and\r\n in\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_134\"\u003e[134]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n the circumstances in\r\nwhich they are placed, such as violent exercise and fevers.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHere, again, there is scarcely a negative instance. I might add that\r\nthe excrements of animals, even when they are no longer fresh, possess\r\nevidently some effective heat, as is shown by their enriching the soil.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSuch liquids (whether oily or watery) as are intensely acrid exhibit\r\nthe effects of heat, by the separation and burning of bodies after\r\nsome little action upon them, yet they are not at first warm to the\r\ntouch, but they act according to their affinity and the pores of the\r\nsubstances to which they are applied; for \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eaqua\r\n regia\u003c/span\u003e dissolves gold but\r\nnot silver—on the contrary, \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eaqua fortis\u003c/span\u003e\r\n dissolves silver but not gold;\r\nneither of them dissolves glass, and so of the rest.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet spirits of wine be tried on wood, or butter, wax, or pitch, to see\r\nif this will melt them at all by their heat; for the \u003ca href=\"#Tab-1_Inst-24\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003etwenty-fourth\r\ninstance\u003c/a\u003e shows that they possess properties resembling those of heat in\r\ncausing incrustation. Let an experiment also be made with a graduated\r\nglass or calendar,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-93\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-93\" title=\"Go to Footnote 93\"\u003e[93]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n concave at the top, by pouring well-rectified\r\nspirits of wine into the cavity, and covering it up in order that they\r\nmay the better retain their heat, then observe whether their heat make\r\nthe water descend.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSpices and acrid herbs are sensibly warm to the palate, and still\r\nmore so when taken internally; one should see, therefore, on what\r\nother substances they exhibit the effects of heat. Now, sailors tell\r\nus that when large quantities of spices are suddenly opened, after\r\nhaving been shut up for some time, there is some danger of fever and\r\ninflammation to those who stir them or take them out. An\r\n experiment\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_135\"\u003e[135]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nmight, therefore, be made whether such spices and herbs, when produced,\r\nwill, like smoke, dry fish and meat hung up over them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere is an acrid effect and a degree of penetration in cold liquids,\r\nsuch as vinegar and oil of vitriol, as well as in warm, such as oil of\r\nmarjoram and the like; they have, therefore, an equal effect in causing\r\nanimated substances to smart, and separating and consuming inanimate\r\nparts. There is not any negative instance as to this, nor does there\r\nexist any animal pain unaccompanied by the sensation of heat.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp title=\"Tab. 2, Inst. 32\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-2_Inst-32\"\u003eThere\u003c/a\u003e are many effects common to cold\r\n and heat, however different\r\nin their process; for snowballs appear to burn boys’ hands after\r\na little time, and cold no less than fire preserves bodies from\r\nputrefaction—besides both heat and cold contract bodies. But it is\r\nbetter to refer these instances and the like to the investigation of\r\ncold.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXIII. In the third place we must exhibit to the understanding the\r\ninstances in which that nature, which is the object of our inquiries,\r\nis present in a greater or less degree, either by comparing its\r\nincrease and decrease in the same object, or its degree in different\r\nobjects; for since the form of a thing is its very essence, and the\r\nthing only differs from its form as the apparent from the actual\r\nobject, or the exterior from the interior, or that which is considered\r\nwith relation to man from that which is considered with relation to the\r\nuniverse; it necessarily follows that no nature can be considered a\r\nreal form which does not uniformly diminish and increase with the given\r\nnature. We are wont to call this our Table of Degrees, or Comparative\r\nInstances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_136\"\u003e[136]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"fauxsec-title\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-3\"\u003eTable of the Degrees or\r\n Comparative Instances of Heat\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe will first speak of those bodies which exhibit no degree of heat\r\nsensible to the touch, but appear rather to possess a potential heat,\r\nor disposition and preparation for it. We will then go on to others,\r\nwhich are actually warm to the touch, and observe the strength and\r\ndegree of it.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cul class=\"bacon-table\"\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e1. There is no known solid or tangible body which is by its own nature\r\noriginally warm; for neither stone, metal, sulphur, fossils, wood,\r\nwater, nor dead animal carcasses are found warm. The warm springs in\r\nbaths appear to be heated accidentally, by flame, subterraneous fire\r\n(such as is thrown up by Etna and many other mountains), or by the\r\ncontact of certain bodies, as heat is exhibited in the dissolution of\r\niron and tin. The degree of heat, therefore, in inanimate objects is\r\nnot sensible to our touch; but they differ in their degrees of cold,\r\nfor wood and metal are not equally\r\n cold.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-94\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-94\" title=\"Go to Footnote 94\"\u003e[94]\u003c/a\u003e This, however, belongs to\r\nthe Table of Degrees of Cold.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e2. But with regard to potential heat and predisposition to flame, we\r\nfind many inanimate substances wonderfully adapted to it, as sulphur,\r\nnaphtha, and saltpetre.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e3. Bodies which have previously acquired heat, as horse dung from the\r\nanimal, or lime, and perhaps ashes and soot from fire, retain some\r\nlatent portion of it. Hence distillations and separations of substances\r\nare effected by\r\n burying\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_137\"\u003e[137]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n them in horse dung, and heat is excited in\r\nlime by sprinkling it with water (as has been before observed).\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e4. In the vegetable world we know of no plant, nor part of any plant\r\n(as the exudations or pith) that is warm to man’s touch. Yet (as we\r\nhave before observed) green weeds grow warm when confined, and some\r\nvegetables are warm and others cold to our internal touch, \u003ci\u003ei.e.\u003c/i\u003e, the\r\npalate and stomach, or even after a while to our external skin (as is\r\nshown in plasters and ointments).\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e5. We know of nothing in the various parts of animals, when dead or\r\ndetached from the rest, that is warm to the touch; for horse dung\r\nitself does not retain its heat, unless it be confined and buried. All\r\ndung, however, appears to possess a potential heat, as in manuring\r\nfields; so also dead bodies are endued with this latent and potential\r\nheat to such a degree, that in cemeteries where people are interred\r\ndaily the earth acquires a secret heat, which consumes any recently\r\ndeposited body much sooner than pure earth; and they tell you that the\r\npeople of the East are acquainted with a fine soft cloth, made of the\r\ndown of birds, which can melt butter wrapped gently up in it by its own\r\nwarmth.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e6. Manures, such as every kind of dung, chalk, sea-sand, salt and the\r\nlike, have some disposition toward heat.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e7. All putrefaction exhibits some slight degree of heat, though not\r\nenough to be perceptible by the touch; for neither the substances which\r\nby putrefaction are converted into\r\n animalculæ,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-95\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-95\" title=\"Go to Footnote 95\"\u003e[95]\u003c/a\u003e as flesh and cheese,\r\nnor rotten wood which shines in the dark, are warm to the touch. The\r\nheat,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_138\"\u003e[138]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n however, of putrid substances displays itself occasionally in a\r\ndisgusting and strong scent.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e8. The first degree of heat, therefore, in substances which are warm\r\nto the human touch appears to be that of animals, and this admits of a\r\ngreat variety of degrees, for the lowest (as in insects) is scarcely\r\nperceptible, the highest scarcely equals that of the sun’s rays in\r\nwarm climates and weather, and is not so acute as to be insufferable\r\nto the hand. It is said, however, of Constantius, and some others of\r\na very dry constitution and habit of body, that when attacked with\r\nviolent fevers, they became so warm as to appear almost to burn the\r\nhand applied to them.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e9. Animals become more warm by motion and exercise, wine and feasting,\r\nvenery, burning fevers, and grief.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e10. In the paroxysm of intermittent fevers the patients are at first\r\nseized with cold and shivering, but soon afterward become more heated\r\nthan at first—in burning and pestilential fevers they are hot from the\r\nbeginning.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e11. Let further inquiry be made into the comparative heat of different\r\nanimals, as fishes, quadrupeds, serpents, birds, and also of the\r\ndifferent species, as the lion, the kite, or man; for, according to the\r\nvulgar opinion, fishes are the least warm internally, and birds the\r\nmost, particularly doves, hawks, and ostriches.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e12. Let further inquiry be made as to the comparative heat in different\r\nparts and limbs of the same animal; for milk, blood, seed, and eggs are\r\nmoderately warm, and less hot than the outward flesh of the animal when\r\nin motion or agitated. The degree of heat of the brain, stomach, heart,\r\nand the rest, has not yet been equally well investigated.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e13. All animals are externally cold in winter and cold weather, but are\r\nthought to be internally\r\n warmer.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_139\"\u003e[139]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e14. The heat of the heavenly bodies, even in the warmest climates and\r\nseasons, never reaches such a pitch as to light or burn the driest wood\r\nor straw, or even tinder without the aid of burning-glasses. It can,\r\nhowever, raise vapor from moist substances.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e15. Astronomers tell us that some stars are hotter than others. Mars\r\nis considered the warmest after the Sun, then Jupiter, then Venus. The\r\nMoon and, above all, Saturn, are considered to be cold. Among the fixed\r\nstars Sirius is thought the warmest, then \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eCor Leonis\u003c/span\u003e\r\n or \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eRegulus\u003c/span\u003e, then\r\nthe lesser Dog-star.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e16. The sun gives out more heat as it approaches toward the\r\nperpendicular or zenith, which may be supposed to be the case with the\r\nother planets, according to their degree of heat; for instance, that\r\nJupiter gives out more heat when situated beneath Cancer or Leo than\r\nwhen he is beneath Capricorn and Aquarius.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e17. It is to be supposed that the sun and other planets give more\r\nheat in perigee, from their approximation to the earth, than when in\r\napogee. But if in any country the sun should be both in its perigee\r\nand nearer to the perpendicular at the same time, it must necessarily\r\ngive out more heat than in a country where it is also in perigee,\r\nbut situated more obliquely; so that the comparative altitude of the\r\nplanets should be observed, and their approach to or declination from\r\nthe perpendicular in different countries.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e18. The sun and other planets are thought also to give out more heat in\r\nproportion as they are nearer to the larger fixed stars, as when the\r\nsun is in Leo he is nearer \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eCor Leonis\u003c/span\u003e,\r\n \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eCauda Leonis\u003c/span\u003e,\r\n \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eSpica Virginis\u003c/span\u003e,\r\nSirius, and the lesser Dog-star, than when he is in Cancer, where,\r\nhowever, he approaches nearer to the perpendicular. It is\r\n probable,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_140\"\u003e[140]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nalso, that the quarters of the heavens produce a greater heat (though\r\nnot perceptibly), in proportion as they are adorned with a greater\r\nnumber of stars, particularly those of the first magnitude.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e19. On the whole, the heat of the heavenly bodies is augmented in three\r\nways: 1. The approach to the perpendicular; 2. Proximity or their\r\nperigee; 3. The conjunction or union of stars.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e20. There is a very considerable difference between the degree of heat\r\nin animals, and even in the rays of the heavenly bodies (as they reach\r\nus), and the heat of the most gentle flame, and even of all ignited\r\nsubstances, nay, liquids, or the air itself when unusually heated by\r\nfire. For the flame of spirit of wine, though diffused and uncollected,\r\nis yet able to set straw, linen, or paper on fire, which animal heat,\r\nor that of the sun, will never accomplish without a burning-glass.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e21. There are, however, many degrees of strength and weakness in flame\r\nand ignited bodies: but no diligent inquiry has been made in this\r\nrespect, and we must, therefore, pass it hastily over. Of all flames,\r\nthat of spirits of wine appears to be the most gentle, except perhaps\r\nthe \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eignis fatuus\u003c/span\u003e, or the flashes from the perspiration of animals.\r\nAfter this we should be inclined to place the flame of light and porous\r\nvegetables, such as straw, reeds, and dried leaves; from which the\r\nflame of hair or feathers differs but little. Then, perhaps, comes\r\nthe flame of wood, particularly that which contains but little rosin\r\nor pitch; that of small wood, however (such as is usually tied up in\r\nfagots), is milder than that of the trunks or roots of trees. This can\r\nbe easily tried in iron furnaces, where a fire of fagots or branches\r\nof trees is of little service. Next follows the\r\n flame\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_141\"\u003e[141]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n of oil, tallow,\r\nwax, and the like oily and fat substances, which are not very violent.\r\nBut a most powerful heat is found in pitch and rosin, and a still\r\ngreater in sulphur, camphor, naphtha, saltpetre, and salts (after they\r\nhave discharged their crude matter), and in their compounds; as in\r\ngunpowder, Greek fire (vulgarly called wild fire), and its varieties,\r\nwhich possess such a stubborn heat as scarcely to be extinguished by\r\nwater.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e22. We consider that the flame which results from some imperfect metals\r\nis very strong and active; but on all these points further inquiry\r\nshould be made.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-3_Inst-23\"\u003e23.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n The flame of vivid lightning appears to exceed all the above, so as\r\nsometimes to have melted even wrought iron into drops, which the other\r\nflames cannot accomplish.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e24. In ignited bodies there are different degrees of heat, concerning\r\nwhich, also, a diligent inquiry has not been made. We consider the\r\nfaintest heat to be that of tinder, touchwood, and dry rope match,\r\nsuch as is used for discharging cannon. Next follows that of ignited\r\ncharcoal or cinders, and even bricks, and the like; but the most\r\nviolent is that of ignited metals, as iron, copper, and the like.\r\nFurther inquiry, however, must be made into this also.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e25. Some ignited bodies are found to be much warmer than some flames;\r\nfor instance, red hot iron is much warmer, and burns more than the\r\nflame of spirits of wine.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e26. Some bodies even not ignited, but only heated by the fire, as\r\nboiling water, and the air confined in reverberatories, surpass in heat\r\nmany flames and ignited substances.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e27. Motion increases\r\n heat,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-96\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-96\" title=\"Go to Footnote 96\"\u003e[96]\u003c/a\u003e as is shown in the\r\n bellows\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_142\"\u003e[142]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e and the\r\nblowpipe; for the harder metals are not dissolved or melted by steady\r\nquiet fire, without the aid of the blowpipe.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-3_Inst-28\"\u003e28.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Let an experiment be made with burning-glasses; in which respect I\r\nhave observed, that if a glass be placed at the distance of ten inches,\r\nfor instance, from the combustible object, it does not kindle or burn\r\nit so readily, as if the glass be placed at the distance of five inches\r\n(for instance), and be then gradually and slowly withdrawn to the\r\ndistance of ten inches. The cone and focus of the rays, however, are\r\nthe same, but the mere motion increases the effect of the heat.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-3_Inst-29\"\u003e29.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Conflagrations, which take place with a high wind, are thought to\r\nmake greater way against than with the wind, because when the wind\r\nslackens, the flame recoils more rapidly than it advances when the wind\r\nis favorable.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-3_Inst-30\"\u003e30.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Flame does not burst out or arise unless it have some hollow\r\nspace to move and exert itself in, except in the exploding flame of\r\ngunpowder, and the like, where the compression and confinement of the\r\nflame increase its fury.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-3_Inst-31\"\u003e31.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n The anvil becomes so hot by the hammer, that if it were a thin\r\nplate it might probably grow red, like ignited iron by repeated\r\nstrokes. Let the experiment be tried.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-3_Inst-32\"\u003e32.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n But in ignited bodies that are porous, so as to leave room for the\r\nfire to move itself, if its motion be prevented by strong compression,\r\nthe fire is immediately extinguished; thus it is with tinder, or the\r\nburning snuff of a candle or lamp, or even hot charcoal or cinders;\r\nfor when they are squeezed by snuffers, or the foot, and the like, the\r\neffect of the fire instantly\r\n ceases.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_143\"\u003e[143]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e33. The approach toward a hot body increases heat in proportion to the\r\napproximation; a similar effect to that of light, for the nearer any\r\nobject is placed toward the light, the more visible it becomes.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e34. The\u003ca id=\"Anchor-97\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-97\" title=\"Go to Footnote 97\"\u003e[97]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n union of different heats increases heat, unless the\r\nsubstances be mixed; for a large and small fire in the same spot tend\r\nmutually to increase each other’s heat, but lukewarm water poured into\r\nboiling water cools it.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e35. The continued neighborhood of a warm body increases heat. For the\r\nheat, which perpetually passes and emanates from it, being mixed with\r\nthat which preceded it, multiplies the whole. A fire, for instance,\r\ndoes not warm a room in half an hour as much as the same fire would in\r\nan hour. This does not apply to light, for a lamp or candle placed in\r\na spot gives no more light by remaining there, than it did at first.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e36. The irritation of surrounding cold increases heat, as may be seen\r\nin fires during a sharp frost. We think that this is owing not merely\r\nto the confinement and compression of the heat (which forms a sort\r\nof union), but also by the exasperation of it, as when the air or a\r\nstick are violently compressed or bent, they recoil, not only to the\r\npoint they first occupied, but still further back. Let an accurate\r\nexperiment, therefore, be made with a stick, or something of the kind,\r\nput into the flame, in order to see whether it be not sooner burned at\r\nthe sides than in the middle of\r\n it.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-98\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-98\" title=\"Go to Footnote 98\"\u003e[98]\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_144\"\u003e[144]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e37. There are many degrees in the susceptibility of heat. And, first,\r\nit must be observed how much a low gentle heat changes and partially\r\nwarms even the bodies least susceptible of it. For even the heat of the\r\nhand imparts a little warmth to a ball of lead or other metal held a\r\nshort time in it; so easily is heat transmitted and excited, without\r\nany apparent change in the body.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-3_Inst-38\"\u003e38.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Of all bodies that we are acquainted with, air admits and loses\r\nheat the most readily, which is admirably seen in weather-glasses,\r\nwhose construction is as follows: Take a glass with a hollow belly, and\r\na thin and long neck; turn it upside down, and place it with its mouth\r\ndownward into another glass vessel containing water; the end of the\r\ntube touching the bottom of the vessel, and the tube itself leaning a\r\nlittle on the edge, so as to be fixed upright. In order to do this more\r\nreadily, let a little wax be applied to the edge, not, however, so as\r\nto block up the orifice, lest, by preventing the air from escaping, the\r\nmotion, which we shall presently speak of, and which is very gentle and\r\ndelicate, should be impeded.\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eBefore the first glass be inserted in the other, its upper part (the\r\nbelly) should be warmed at the fire. Then upon placing it as we have\r\ndescribed, the air (which was dilated by the heat), after a sufficient\r\ntime has been allowed for it to lose the additional temperature, will\r\nrestore and contract itself to the same dimensions as that of the\r\nexternal or common atmosphere at the moment of immersion, and the water\r\nwill be attracted upward in the tube to a proportionate extent. A long\r\nnarrow slip of paper should be attached\r\n to\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_145\"\u003e[145]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n the tube, divided into as\r\nmany degrees as you please. You will then perceive, as the weather\r\ngrows warmer or colder, that the air contracts itself into a narrower\r\nspace in cold weather and dilates in the warm, which will be exhibited\r\nby the rising of the water as the air contracts itself, and its\r\ndepression as the air dilates. The sensibility of the air with regard\r\nto heat or cold is so delicate and exquisite, that it far exceeds the\r\nhuman touch, so that a ray of sunshine, the heat of the breath, and\r\nmuch more, that of the hand placed on the top of the tube, immediately\r\ncauses an evident depression of the water. We think, however, that the\r\nspirit of animals possesses a much more delicate susceptibility of heat\r\nand cold, only that it is impeded and blunted by the grossness of their\r\nbodies.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e39. After air, we consider those bodies to be most sensible of heat,\r\nwhich have been recently changed and contracted by cold, as snow and\r\nice; for they begin to be dissolved and melt with the first mild\r\nweather. Next, perhaps, follows quicksilver; then greasy substances,\r\nas oil, butter, and the like; then wood; then water; lastly, stones\r\nand metals, which do not easily grow hot, particularly toward their\r\ncentre.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-99\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-99\" title=\"Go to Footnote 99\"\u003e[99]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n When heated, however, they retain their temperature for\r\na very long time; so that a brick or stone, or hot iron, plunged in\r\na basin of cold water, and kept\r\n there\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_146\"\u003e[146]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n for a quarter of an hour or\r\nthereabout, retains such a heat as not to admit of being touched.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e40. The less massive the body is, the more readily it grows warm at the\r\napproach of a heated body, which shows that heat with us is somewhat\r\naverse to a tangible\r\n mass.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-100\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-100\" title=\"Go to Footnote 100\"\u003e[100]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Tab-3_Inst-41\"\u003e41.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Heat with regard to the human senses and touch is various and\r\nrelative, so that lukewarm water appears hot if the hand be cold, and\r\ncold if the hand be hot.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003c/ul\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXIV. Any one may readily see how poor we are in history, since in the\r\nabove tables, besides occasionally inserting traditions and report\r\ninstead of approved history and authentic instances (always, however,\r\nadding some note if their credit or authority be doubtful), we are\r\noften forced to subjoin, “Let the experiment be tried—Let further\r\ninquiry be made.”\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXV. We are wont to term the office and use of these three tables the\r\npresenting a review of instances to the understanding; and when this\r\nhas been done, induction itself is to be brought into action. For on an\r\nindividual review of all the instances a nature is to be found, such\r\nas always to be present and absent with the given nature, to increase\r\nand decrease with it, and, as we have said, to form a more common\r\nlimit of the nature. If the mind attempt this affirmatively from the\r\nfirst (which it always will when left to itself), there will spring up\r\nphantoms, mere theories and ill-defined notions, with axioms requiring\r\ndaily correction. These will, doubtless, be better or worse, according\r\nto the power and strength of the understanding which creates them. But\r\nit is only for God (the bestower\r\n and\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_147\"\u003e[147]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n creator of forms), and perhaps\r\nfor angels and intelligences, at once to recognize forms affirmatively\r\nat the first glance of contemplation: man, at lest, is unable to do so,\r\nand is only allowed to proceed first by negatives, and then to conclude\r\nwith affirmatives, after every species of exclusion.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXVI. We must, therefore, effect a complete solution and separation of\r\nnature; not by fire, but by the mind, that divine fire. The first work\r\nof legitimate induction, in the discovery of forms, is rejection, or\r\nthe exclusive instances of individual natures, which are not found in\r\nsome one instance where the given nature is present, or are found in\r\nany one instance where it is absent, or are found to increase in any\r\none instance where the given nature decreases, or the reverse. After an\r\nexclusion correctly effected, an affirmative form will remain as the\r\nresiduum, solid, true, and well defined, while all volatile opinions\r\ngo off in smoke. This is readily said; but we must arrive at it by a\r\ncircuitous route. We shall perhaps, however, omit nothing that can\r\nfacilitate our progress.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXVII. The first and almost perpetual precaution and warning which\r\nwe consider necessary is this; that none should suppose from the\r\ngreat part assigned by us to forms, that we mean such forms as the\r\nmeditations and thoughts of men have hitherto been accustomed to. In\r\nthe first place, we do not at present mean the concrete forms, which\r\n(as we have observed) are in the common course of things compounded\r\nof simple natures, as those of a lion, an eagle, a rose, gold, or the\r\nlike. The moment for discussing these will arrive when we come to treat\r\nof the latent process and latent conformation, and the discovery of\r\nthem as they exist in what are called substances, or concrete natures.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_148\"\u003e[148]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNor again, would we be thought to mean (even when treating of simple\r\nnatures) any abstract forms or ideas, either undefined or badly defined\r\nin matter. For when we speak of forms, we mean nothing else than those\r\nlaws and regulations of simple action which arrange and constitute any\r\nsimple nature, such as heat, light, weight, in every species of matter,\r\nand in a susceptible subject. The form of heat or form of light,\r\ntherefore, means no more than the law of heat or the law of light.\r\nNor do we ever abstract or withdraw ourselves from things, and the\r\noperative branch of philosophy. When, therefore, we say (for instance)\r\nin our investigation of the form of heat, Reject rarity, or, Rarity is\r\nnot of the form of heat, it is the same as if we were to say, Man can\r\nsuperinduce heat on a dense body, or the reverse, Man can abstract or\r\nward off heat from a rare body.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut if our forms appear to any one to be somewhat abstracted, from\r\ntheir mingling and uniting heterogeneous objects (the heat, for\r\ninstance, of the heavenly bodies appears to be very different from that\r\nof fire; the fixed red of the rose and the like, from that which is\r\napparent in the rainbow, or the radiation of opal or the\r\n diamond;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-101\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-101\" title=\"Go to Footnote 101\"\u003e[101]\u003c/a\u003e\r\ndeath by drowning, from that by burning, the sword, apoplexy, or\r\nconsumption; and yet they all agree in the common natures of heat,\r\nredness, and death), let him be assured that his understanding is\r\ninthralled by habit, by general appearances and hypotheses. For it\r\nis most certain that, however heterogeneous and distinct, they agree\r\nin the form or law which regulates heat, redness, or death; and that\r\nhuman power cannot be emancipated and freed from the\r\n common\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_149\"\u003e[149]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e course\r\nof nature, and expanded and exalted to new efficients and new modes\r\nof operation, except by the revelation and invention of forms of this\r\nnature. But after\r\n this\u003ca id=\"Anchor-102\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-102\" title=\"Go to Footnote 102\"\u003e[102]\u003c/a\u003e union of nature, which is the principal\r\npoint, we will afterward, in its proper place, treat of the divisions\r\nand ramifications of nature, whether ordinary or internal and more real.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-18\"\u003eXVIII.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n We must now offer an example of the exclusion or rejection\r\nof natures found by the tables of review, not to be of the form of\r\nheat; first premising that not only each table is sufficient for the\r\nrejection of any nature, but even each single instance contained in\r\nthem. For it is clear from what has been said that every contradictory\r\ninstance destroys a hypothesis as to the form. Still, however, for the\r\nsake of clearness, and in order to show more plainly the use of the\r\ntables, we redouble or repeat the exclusive.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"fauxsec-title\"\u003e\r\nAn Example of the Exclusive Table, or of the Rejection\r\nof Natures from the Form of Heat\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cul class=\"bacon-table\"\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e1. On account of the sun’s rays, reject elementary (or terrestrial)\r\nnature.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e2. On account of common fire, and particularly subterranean fires\r\n(which are the most remote and secluded from the rays of the heavenly\r\nbodies), reject celestial nature.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e3. On account of the heat acquired by every description of substances\r\n(as minerals, vegetables, the external parts of animals, water, oil,\r\nair, etc.) by mere approximation to the fire or any warm body, reject\r\nall variety and delicate texture of\r\n bodies.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_150\"\u003e[150]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e4. On account of iron and ignited metals, which warm other bodies, and\r\nyet neither lose their weight nor substance, reject the imparting or\r\nmixing of the substance of the heating body.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e5. On account of boiling water and air, and also those metals and other\r\nsolid bodies which are heated, but not to ignition, or red heat, reject\r\nflame or light.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e6. On account of the rays of the moon and other heavenly bodies (except\r\nthe sun), again reject flame or light.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e7. On account of the comparison between red-hot iron and the flame of\r\nspirits of wine (for the iron is more hot and less bright, while the\r\nflame of spirits of wine is more bright and less hot), again reject\r\nflame and light.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e8. On account of gold and other ignited metals, which are of the\r\ngreatest specific density, reject rarity.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e9. On account of air, which is generally found to be cold and yet\r\ncontinues rare, reject rarity.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e10. On account of ignited\r\n iron,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-103\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-103\" title=\"Go to Footnote 103\"\u003e[103]\u003c/a\u003e which does not swell in bulk, but\r\nretains the same apparent dimension, reject the absolute expansive\r\nmotion of the whole.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e11. On account of the expansion of the air in thermometers and the\r\nlike, which is absolutely moved and expanded to the eye, and yet\r\nacquires no manifest increase of heat, again reject absolute or\r\nexpansive motion of the whole.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e12. On account of the ready application of heat to all substances\r\nwithout any destruction or remarkable alteration of them, reject\r\ndestructive nature or the violent communication of any new nature.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e13. On account of the agreement and conformity of the effects produced\r\nby cold and heat, reject both expansive and contracting motion as\r\nregards the\r\n whole.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_151\"\u003e[151]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003e14. On account of the heat excited by friction, reject principal\r\nnature, by which we mean that which exists positively, and is not\r\ncaused by a preceding nature.\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003c/ul\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere are other natures to be rejected; but we are merely offering\r\nexamples, and not perfect tables.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNone of the above natures are of the form of heat; and man is freed\r\nfrom them all in his operation upon heat.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXIX. In the exclusive table are laid the foundations of true induction,\r\nwhich is not, however, completed until the affirmative be attained. Nor\r\nis the exclusive table perfect, nor can it be so at first. For it is\r\nclearly a rejection of simple natures; but if we have not as yet good\r\nand just notions of simple natures, how can the exclusive table be made\r\ncorrect? Some of the above, as the notion of elementary and celestial\r\nnature, and rarity, are vague and ill defined. We, therefore, who are\r\nneither ignorant nor forgetful of the great work which we attempt, in\r\nrendering the human understanding adequate to things and nature, by\r\nno means rest satisfied with what we have hitherto enforced, but push\r\nthe matter further, and contrive and prepare more powerful aid for the\r\nuse of the understanding, which we will next subjoin. And, indeed, in\r\nthe interpretation of nature the mind is to be so prepared and formed,\r\nas to rest itself on proper degrees of certainty, and yet to remember\r\n(especially at first) that what is present depends much upon what\r\nremains behind.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXX. Since, however, truth emerges more readily from error than\r\nconfusion, we consider it useful to leave the understanding at liberty\r\nto exert itself and attempt the interpretation of nature in the\r\naffirmative, after having constructed and weighed the three tables of\r\npreparation, such as we have laid them down, both from the instances\r\nthere collected, and others occurring elsewhere. Which\r\n attempt\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_152\"\u003e[152]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e we are\r\nwont to call the liberty of the understanding, or the commencement of\r\ninterpretation, or the first vintage.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"fauxsec-title\"\u003eThe First Vintage of the Form of Heat\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt must be observed that the form of anything is inherent (as appears\r\nclearly from our premises) in each individual instance in which the\r\nthing itself is inherent, or it would not be a form. No contradictory\r\ninstance, therefore, can be alleged. The form, however, is found\r\nto be much more conspicuous and evident in some instances than in\r\nothers; in those (for example) where its nature is less restrained\r\nand embarrassed, and reduced to rule by other natures. Such instances\r\nwe are wont to term coruscations, or conspicuous instances. We must\r\nproceed, then, to the first vintage of the form of heat.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the instances taken collectively, as well as singly, the nature\r\nwhose limit is heat appears to be motion. This is chiefly exhibited in\r\nflame, which is in constant motion, and in warm or boiling liquids,\r\nwhich are likewise in constant motion. It is also shown in the\r\nexcitement or increase of heat by motion, as by bellows and draughts:\r\nfor which see \u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-29\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e\u003cabbr title=\"Instance\"\u003eInst.\u003c/abbr\u003e 29,\r\n \u003cabbr title=\"Table\"\u003eTab.\u003c/abbr\u003e 3\u003c/a\u003e, and by other species of motion, as in\r\n\u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-28\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eInst. 28\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-31\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e31,\r\n Tab. 3\u003c/a\u003e. It is also shown by the extinction of fire\r\nand heat upon any strong pressure, which restrains and puts a stop to\r\nmotion; for which see \u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-30\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eInst. 30\u003c/a\u003e and\r\n \u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-32\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e32, Tab. 3\u003c/a\u003e. It is further shown\r\nby this circumstance, namely, that every substance is destroyed, or\r\nat least materially changed, by strong and powerful fire and heat:\r\nwhence it is clear that tumult and confusion are occasioned by heat,\r\ntogether with a violent motion in the internal parts of bodies; and\r\nthis gradually tends to their dissolution.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWhat we have said with regard to motion must be\r\n thus\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_153\"\u003e[153]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n understood, when\r\ntaken as the genus of heat: it must not be thought that heat generates\r\nmotion, or motion heat (though in some respects this be true), but\r\nthat the very essence of heat, or the substantial\r\n self\u003ca id=\"Anchor-104\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-104\" title=\"Go to Footnote 104\"\u003e[104]\u003c/a\u003e of heat,\r\nis motion and nothing else, limited, however, by certain differences\r\nwhich we will presently add, after giving some cautions for avoiding\r\nambiguity.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSensible heat is relative, and regards man, not universe; and is\r\nrightly held to be merely the effect of heat on animal spirit. It is\r\neven variable in itself, since the same body (in different states of\r\nsensation) excites the feeling of heat and of cold; this is shown by\r\n\u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-41\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eInst. 41, Tab. 3\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNor should we confound the communication of heat or its transitive\r\nnature, by which a body grows warm at the approach of a heated body,\r\nwith the form of heat; for heat is one thing and heating another. Heat\r\ncan be excited by friction without any previous heating body, and,\r\ntherefore, heating is excluded from the form of heat. Even when heat is\r\nexcited by the approach of a hot body, this depends not on the form of\r\nheat, but on another more profound and common nature; namely, that of\r\nassimilation and multiplication, about which a separate inquiry must be\r\nmade.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe notion of fire is vulgar, and of no assistance; it is merely\r\ncompounded of the conjunction of heat and light in any body, as in\r\nordinary flame and red-hot substances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLaying aside all ambiguity, therefore, we must lastly consider the true\r\ndifferences which limit motion and render it the form of heat.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eI. The first difference is, that heat is an expansive motion, by which\r\nthe body strives to dilate itself, and\r\n to\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_154\"\u003e[154]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n occupy a greater space than\r\nbefore. This difference is principally seen in flame, where the smoke\r\nor thick vapor is clearly dilated and bursts into flame.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also shown in all boiling liquids, which swell, rise, and boil\r\nup to the sight, and the process of expansion is urged forward till\r\nthey are converted into a much more extended and dilated body than the\r\nliquid itself, such as steam, smoke, or air.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also shown in wood and combustibles where exudation sometimes\r\ntakes place, and evaporation always.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also shown in the melting of metals, which, being very compact,\r\ndo not easily swell and dilate, but yet their spirit, when dilated\r\nand desirous of further expansion, forces and urges its thicker parts\r\ninto dissolution, and if the heat be pushed still further, reduces a\r\nconsiderable part of them into a volatile state.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also shown in iron or stones, which though not melted or\r\ndissolved, are however softened. The same circumstance takes place in\r\nsticks of wood, which become flexible when a little heated in warm\r\nashes.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is most readily observed in air, which instantly and manifestly\r\nexpands with a small degree of heat, as in \u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-38\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eInst. 38,\r\n Tab. 3\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also shown in the contrary nature of cold; for cold contracts\r\nand narrows every\r\n substance;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-105\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-105\" title=\"Go to Footnote 105\"\u003e[105]\u003c/a\u003e so that in intense frosts nails fall\r\nout of the wall and brass cracks, and heated glass exposed suddenly to\r\nthe cold cracks and breaks.\r\n So\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_155\"\u003e[155]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n the air, by a slight degree of cold,\r\ncontracts itself, as in \u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-38\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eInst. 38, Tab. 3\u003c/a\u003e.\r\n More will be said of this in\r\nthe inquiry into cold.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNor is it to be wondered at if cold and heat exhibit many common\r\neffects (for which see \u003ca href=\"#Tab-2_Inst-32\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eInst. 32, Tab. 2\u003c/a\u003e),\r\n since two differences, of\r\nwhich we shall presently speak, belong to each nature: although in\r\nthe present difference the effects be diametrically opposed to each\r\nother. For heat occasions an expansive and dilating motion, but cold a\r\ncontracting and condensing motion.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eII. The second difference is a modification of the preceding, namely,\r\nthat heat is an expansive motion, tending toward the exterior, but at\r\nthe same time bearing the body upward. For there is no doubt that there\r\nbe many compound motions, as an arrow or dart, for instance, has both a\r\nrotatory and progressive motion. In the same way the motion of heat is\r\nboth expansive and tending upward.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis difference is shown by putting the tongs or poker into the fire.\r\nIf placed perpendicularly with the hand above, they soon burn it, but\r\nmuch less speedily if the hand hold them sloping or from below.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also conspicuous in distillations \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eper\r\n descensum\u003c/i\u003e, which men are\r\nwont to employ with delicate flowers, whose scent easily evaporates.\r\nTheir industry has devised placing the fire above instead of below,\r\nthat it may scorch less; for not only flame but all heat has an upward\r\ntendency.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet an experiment be made on the contrary nature of cold, whether its\r\ncontraction be downward, as the expansion of heat is upward. Take,\r\ntherefore, two iron rods or two glass tubes, alike in other respects,\r\nand warm them a little, and place a sponge, dipped in cold water, or\r\nsome snow, below the one and above the other. We are of opinion\r\n that\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_156\"\u003e[156]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nthe extremities will grow cold in that rod first where it is placed\r\nbeneath, as the contrary takes place with regard to heat.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIII. The third difference is this; that heat is not a uniform expansive\r\nmotion of the whole, but of the small particles of the body; and this\r\nmotion being at the same time restrained, repulsed, and reflected,\r\nbecomes alternating, perpetually hurrying, striving, struggling, and\r\nirritated by the repercussion, which is the source of the violence of\r\nflame and heat.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut this difference is chiefly shown in flame and boiling liquids,\r\nwhich always hurry, swell, and subside again in detached parts.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also shown in bodies of such hard texture as not to swell or\r\ndilate in bulk, such as red-hot iron, in which the heat is most violent.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also shown by the fires burning most briskly in the coldest\r\nweather.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also shown by this, that when the air is dilated in the\r\nthermometer uniformly and equably, without any impediment or repulsion,\r\nthe heat is not perceptible. In confined draughts also, although they\r\nbreak out very violently, no remarkable heat is perceived, because\r\nthe motion affects the whole, without any alternating motion in the\r\nparticles; for which reason try whether flame do not burn more at the\r\nsides than in its centre.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also shown in this, that all burning proceeds by the minute pores\r\nof bodies—undermining, penetrating, piercing, and pricking them as if\r\nwith an infinite number of needle-points. Hence all strong acids (if\r\nadapted to the body on which they act) exhibit the effects of fire,\r\nfrom their corroding and pungent nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_157\"\u003e[157]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe difference of which we now speak is common also to the nature of\r\ncold, in which the contracting motion is restrained by the resistance\r\nof expansion, as in heat the expansive motion is restrained by the\r\nresistance of contraction.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWhether, therefore, the particles of matter penetrate inward or\r\noutward, the reasoning is the same, though the power be very different,\r\nbecause we have nothing on earth which is intensely cold.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIV. The fourth difference is a modification of the preceding, namely,\r\nthat this stimulating or penetrating motion should be rapid and never\r\nsluggish, and should take place not in the very minutest particles, but\r\nrather in those of some tolerable dimensions.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is shown by comparing the effects of fire with those of time. Time\r\ndries, consumes, undermines, and reduces to ashes as well as fire, and\r\nperhaps to a much finer degree; but as its motion is very slow, and\r\nattacks very minute particles, no heat is perceived.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also shown in a comparison of the dissolution of iron and gold;\r\nfor gold is dissolved without the excitement of any heat, but iron with\r\na vehement excitement of it, although most in the same time, because in\r\nthe former the penetration of the separating acid is mild, and gently\r\ninsinuates itself, and the particles of gold yield easily, but the\r\npenetration of iron is violent, and attended with some struggle, and\r\nits particles are more obstinate.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is partially shown, also, in some gangrenes and mortifications of\r\nflesh, which do not excite great heat or pain, from the gentle nature\r\nof the putrefaction.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet this suffice for a first vintage, or the commencement of the\r\ninterpretation of the form of heat by the liberty of the understanding.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_158\"\u003e[158]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFrom this first vintage the form or true definition of heat (considered\r\nrelatively to the universe and not to the sense) is briefly thus—Heat\r\nis an expansive motion restrained, and striving to exert itself in the\r\nsmaller particles.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-106\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-106\" title=\"Go to Footnote 106\"\u003e[106]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n The expansion is modified by its tendency to\r\nrise, though expanding toward the exterior; and the effort is modified\r\nby its not being sluggish, but active and somewhat violent.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWith regard to the operative definition, the matter is the same. If you\r\nare able to excite a dilating or expansive motion in any natural body,\r\nand so to repress that motion and force it on itself as not to allow\r\nthe expansion to proceed equally, but only to be partially exerted and\r\npartially repressed, you will beyond all doubt produce heat, without\r\nany consideration as to whether the body be of earth (or elementary, as\r\nthey term it), or imbued with celestial influence, luminous or opaque,\r\nrare or dense, locally\r\n expanded\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_159\"\u003e[159]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n or contained within the bounds of its\r\nfirst dimensions, verging to dissolution or remaining fixed, animal,\r\nvegetable, or mineral, water, or oil, or air, or any other substance\r\nwhatever susceptible of such motion. Sensible heat is the same, but\r\nconsidered relatively to the senses. Let us now proceed to further\r\nhelps.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-21\"\u003eXXI.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n After our tables of first review, our rejection or exclusive\r\ntable, and the first vintage derived from them, we must advance to the\r\nremaining helps of the understanding with regard to the interpretation\r\nof nature, and a true and perfect induction, in offering which we\r\nwill take the examples of cold and heat where tables are necessary,\r\nbut where fewer instances are required we will go through a variety\r\nof others, so as neither to confound investigation nor to narrow our\r\ndoctrine.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the first place, therefore, we will treat of prerogative\r\ninstances;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-107\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-107\" title=\"Go to Footnote 107\"\u003e[107]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n 2. Of the supports of induction; 3. Of the\r\n correction\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_160\"\u003e[160]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nof induction; 4. Of varying the investigation according to the\r\nnature of the subject; 5. Of the prerogative natures with respect to\r\ninvestigation, or of what should be the first or last objects of our\r\nresearch; 6. Of the limits of investigation, or a synopsis of all\r\nnatures that exist in the universe; 7. Of the application to practical\r\npurposes, or of what relates to man; 8. Of the preparations for\r\ninvestigation; 9. And lastly, of the ascending and descending scale of\r\naxioms.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-108\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-108\" title=\"Go to Footnote 108\"\u003e[108]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXII. Among the prerogative instances we will first mention solitary\r\ninstances. Solitary instances are those which exhibit the required\r\nnature in subjects that have nothing in common with any other subject\r\nthan the nature in question, or which do not exhibit the required\r\nnature in subjects resembling others in every respect except that\r\nof the nature in question; for these instances manifestly remove\r\nprolixity, and accelerate and confirm exclusion, so that a few of them\r\nare of as much avail as many.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor instance, let the inquiry be the nature of color. Prisms,\r\ncrystalline gems, which yield colors not only internally but on the\r\nwall, dews, etc., are solitary instances;\r\n for\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_161\"\u003e[161]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n they have nothing in\r\ncommon with the fixed colors in flowers and colored gems, metals,\r\nwoods, etc., except the color itself. Hence we easily deduce that\r\ncolor is nothing but a modification of the image of the incident and\r\nabsorbed light, occasioned in the former case by the different degrees\r\nof incidence, in the latter by the various textures and forms of\r\nbodies.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-109\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-109\" title=\"Go to Footnote 109\"\u003e[109]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n These are solitary instances as regards similitude.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, in the same inquiry the distinct veins of white and black in\r\nmarble, and the variegated colors of flowers of the same species, are\r\nsolitary instances; for the black and white of marble, and the spots of\r\nwhite and purple in the flowers of the stock, agree in every respect\r\nbut that of color. Thence we easily deduce that color has not much to\r\ndo with the intrinsic natures of any body, but depends only on the\r\ncoarser and as it were mechanical arrangement of the parts. These are\r\nsolitary instances as regards difference. We call them both solitary or\r\nwild, to borrow a word from the astronomers.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXIII. In the second rank of prerogative instances we will consider\r\nmigrating instances. In these the required nature passes toward\r\ngeneration, having no previous existence, or toward corruption, having\r\nfirst existed. In each of these divisions, therefore, the instances\r\nare always twofold, or rather it is one instance, first in motion or\r\non its passage, and then brought to the opposite conclusion. These\r\ninstances not only hasten and confirm exclusion, but also reduce\r\naffirmation, or the form itself, to a narrow compass; for the form\r\nmust be something conferred by\r\n this\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_162\"\u003e[162]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n migration, or, on the contrary,\r\nremoved and destroyed by it; and although all exclusion advances\r\naffirmation, yet this takes place more directly in the same than in\r\ndifferent subjects; but if the form (as it is quite clear from what\r\nhas been advanced) exhibit itself in one subject, it leads to all. The\r\nmore simple the migration is, the more valuable is the instance. These\r\nmigrating instances are, moreover, very useful in practice, for since\r\nthey manifest the form, coupled with that which causes or destroys it,\r\nthey point out the right practice in some subjects, and thence there\r\nis an easy transition to those with which they are most allied. There\r\nis, however, a degree of danger which demands caution, namely, lest\r\nthey should refer the form too much to its efficient cause, and imbue,\r\nor at least tinge, the understanding with a false notion of the form\r\nfrom the appearance of such cause, which is never more than a vehicle\r\nor conveyance of the form. This may easily be remedied by a proper\r\napplication of exclusion.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet us then give an example of a migrating instance. Let whiteness be\r\nthe required nature. An instance which passes toward generation is\r\nglass in its entire and in its powdered state, or water in its natural\r\nstate, and when agitated to froth; for glass when entire, and water in\r\nits natural state, are transparent and not white, but powdered glass\r\nand the froth of water are white and not transparent. We must inquire,\r\ntherefore, what has happened to the glass or water in the course of\r\nthis migration; for it is manifest that the form of whiteness is\r\nconveyed and introduced by the bruising of the glass and the agitation\r\nof the water; but nothing is found to have been introduced but a\r\ndiminishing of the parts of the glass and water and the insertion\r\nof air. Yet this is no slight progress toward\r\n discovering\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_163\"\u003e[163]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e the form\r\nof whiteness, namely, that two bodies, in themselves more or less\r\ntransparent (as air and water, or air and glass), when brought into\r\ncontact in minute portions, exhibit whiteness from the unequal\r\nrefraction of the rays of light.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut here we must also give an example of the danger and caution of\r\nwhich we spoke; for instance, it will readily occur to an understanding\r\nperverted by efficients, that air is always necessary for producing the\r\nform of whiteness, or that whiteness is only generated by transparent\r\nbodies, which suppositions are both false, and proved to be so by\r\nmany exclusions; nay, it will rather appear (without any particular\r\nregard to air or the like), that all bodies which are even in such of\r\ntheir parts as affect the sight exhibit transparency, those which are\r\nuneven and of simple texture whiteness, those which are uneven and of\r\ncompound but regular texture all the other colors except black, but\r\nthose which are uneven and of a compound irregular and confused texture\r\nexhibit blackness. An example has been given, therefore, of an instance\r\nmigrating toward generation in the required nature of whiteness. An\r\ninstance migrating toward corruption in the same nature is that of\r\ndissolving froth or snow, for they lose their whiteness and assume the\r\ntransparency of water in its pure state without air.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNor should we by any means omit to state, that under migrating\r\ninstances we must comprehend not only those which pass toward\r\ngeneration and destruction, but also those which pass toward increase\r\nor decrease, for they, too, assist in the discovery of the form, as is\r\nclear from our definition of a form and the Table of Degrees. Hence\r\npaper, which is white when dry, is less white when moistened (from\r\nthe exclusion of air and admission of water), and tends more\r\n to\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_164\"\u003e[164]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\ntransparency. The reason is the same as in the above\r\n instances.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-110\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-110\" title=\"Go to Footnote 110\"\u003e[110]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXIV. In the third rank of prerogative instances we will class\r\nconspicuous instances, of which we spoke in our first vintage of the\r\nform of heat, and which we are also wont to call coruscations, or free\r\nand predominant instances. They are such as show the required nature\r\nin its bare substantial shape, and at its height or greatest degree\r\nof power, emancipated and free from all impediments, or at least\r\novercoming, suppressing, and restraining them by the strength of its\r\nqualities; for since every body is susceptible of many united forms of\r\nnatures in the concrete, the consequence is that they mutually deaden,\r\ndepress, break, and confine each other, and the individual forms are\r\nobscured. But there are some subjects in which the required nature\r\nexists in its full vigor rather than in others, either from the absence\r\nof any impediment, or the predominance of its quality. Such instances\r\nare eminently conspicuous. But even in these care must be taken, and\r\nthe hastiness of the understanding checked, for whatever makes a show\r\nof the form, and forces it forward, is to be suspected, and recourse\r\nmust be had to severe and diligent exclusion.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor example, let heat be the required nature. The thermometer is a\r\nconspicuous instance of the expansive motion, which (as has been\r\nobserved) constitutes the chief part of the form of heat; for although\r\nflame clearly exhibits expansion, yet from its being extinguished every\r\nmoment, it does not exhibit the progress of expansion. Boiling water\r\nagain,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_165\"\u003e[165]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n from its rapid conversion into vapor, does not so well exhibit\r\nthe expansion of water in its own shape, while red-hot iron and the\r\nlike are so far from showing this progress, that, on the contrary, the\r\nexpansion itself is scarcely evident to the senses, on account of its\r\nspirit being repressed and weakened by the compact and coarse particles\r\nwhich subdue and restrain it. But the thermometer strikingly exhibits\r\nthe expansion of the air as being evident and progressive, durable and\r\nnot transitory.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-111\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-111\" title=\"Go to Footnote 111\"\u003e[111]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eTake another example. Let the required nature be weight. Quicksilver\r\nis a conspicuous instance of weight; for it is far heavier than any\r\nother substance except gold, which is not much heavier, and it is a\r\nbetter instance than gold for the purpose of indicating the form of\r\nweight; for gold is solid and consistent, which qualities must be\r\nreferred to density, but quicksilver is liquid and teeming with spirit,\r\nyet much heavier than the diamond and other substances considered to\r\nbe most solid; whence it is shown that the form of gravity or weight\r\npredominates only in the quantity of matter, and not in the close\r\nfitting of it.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-112\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-112\" title=\"Go to Footnote 112\"\u003e[112]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-25\"\u003eXXV.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n In the fourth rank of prerogative instances we will class\r\nclandestine instances, which we are also wont\r\n to\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_166\"\u003e[166]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e call twilight\r\ninstances; they are as it were opposed to the conspicuous instances,\r\nfor they show the required nature in its lowest state of efficacy, and\r\nas it were its cradle and first rudiments, making an effort and a sort\r\nof first attempt, but concealed and subdued by a contrary nature. Such\r\ninstances are, however, of great importance in discovering forms, for\r\nas the conspicuous tend easily to differences, so do the clandestine\r\nbest lead to genera, that is, to those common natures of which the\r\nrequired natures are only the limits.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAs an example, let consistency, or that which confines itself, be\r\nthe required nature, the opposite of which is a liquid or flowing\r\nstate. The clandestine instances are such as exhibit some weak and low\r\ndegree of consistency in fluids, as a water bubble, which is a sort\r\nof consistent and bounded pellicle formed out of the substance of the\r\nwater. So eaves’ droppings, if there be enough water to follow them,\r\ndraw themselves out into a thin thread, not to break the continuity\r\nof the water, but if there be not enough to follow, the water forms\r\nitself into a round drop, which is the best form to prevent a breach\r\nof continuity; and at the moment the thread ceases, and the water\r\nbegins to fall in drops, the thread of water recoils upward to avoid\r\nsuch a breach. Nay, in metals, which when melted are liquid but more\r\ntenacious, the melted drops often recoil and are suspended. There is\r\nsomething similar in the instance of the child’s looking-glass, which\r\nlittle boys will sometimes form of spittle between rushes, and where\r\nthe same pellicle of water is observable; and still more in that other\r\namusement of children, when they take some water rendered a little\r\nmore tenacious by soap, and inflate it with a pipe, forming the water\r\ninto a sort of castle of bubbles, which assumes such\r\n consistency,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_167\"\u003e[167]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e by\r\nthe interposition of the air, as to admit of being thrown some little\r\ndistance without bursting. The best example is that of froth and snow,\r\nwhich assume such consistency as almost to admit of being cut, although\r\ncomposed of air and water, both liquids. All these circumstances\r\nclearly show that the terms liquid and consistent are merely vulgar\r\nnotions adapted to the sense, and that in reality all bodies have a\r\ntendency to avoid a breach of continuity, faint and weak in bodies\r\ncomposed of homogeneous parts (as is the case with liquids), but more\r\nvivid and powerful in those composed of heterogeneous parts, because\r\nthe approach of heterogeneous matter binds bodies together, while the\r\ninsinuation of homogeneous matter loosens and relaxes them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, to take another example, let the required nature be attraction\r\nor the cohesion of bodies. The most remarkable conspicuous instance\r\nwith regard to its form is the magnet. The contrary nature to\r\nattraction is non-attraction, though in a similar substance. Thus\r\niron does not attract iron, lead lead, wood wood, nor water water.\r\nBut the clandestine instance is that of the magnet armed with iron,\r\nor rather that of iron in the magnet so armed. For its nature is such\r\nthat the magnet when armed does not attract iron more powerfully at\r\nany given distance than when unarmed; but if the iron be brought in\r\ncontact with the armed magnet, the latter will sustain a much greater\r\nweight than the simple magnet, from the resemblance of substance in the\r\ntwo portions of iron, a quality altogether clandestine and hidden in\r\nthe iron until the magnet was introduced. It is manifest, therefore,\r\nthat the form of cohesion is something which is vivid and robust in\r\nthe magnet, and hidden and weak in the iron. It is to be observed,\r\nalso, that small wooden arrows without an iron point, when discharged\r\nfrom large mortars,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_168\"\u003e[168]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n penetrate further into wooden substances (such\r\nas the ribs of ships or the like), than the same arrows pointed with\r\niron,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-113\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-113\" title=\"Go to Footnote 113\"\u003e[113]\u003c/a\u003e owing to\r\n the similarity of substance, though this quality\r\nwas previously latent in the wood. Again, although in the mass air does\r\nnot appear to attract air, nor water water, yet when one bubble is\r\nbrought near another, they are both more readily dissolved, from the\r\ntendency to contact of the water with the water, and the air with the\r\nair.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-114\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-114\" title=\"Go to Footnote 114\"\u003e[114]\u003c/a\u003e These\r\n clandestine instances (which are, as has been observed,\r\nof the most important service) are principally to be observed in small\r\nportions of bodies, for the larger masses observe more universal and\r\ngeneral forms, as will be mentioned in its proper\r\n place.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-115\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-115\" title=\"Go to Footnote 115\"\u003e[115]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_169\"\u003e[169]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXVI. In the fifth rank of prerogative instances we will class\r\nconstitutive instances, which we are wont also to call collective\r\ninstances. They constitute a species or lesser form, as it were, of the\r\nrequired nature. For since the real forms (which are always convertible\r\nwith the given nature) lie at some depth, and are not easily\r\ndiscovered, the necessity of the case and the infirmity of the human\r\nunderstanding require that the particular forms, which collect certain\r\ngroups of instances (but by no means all) into some common notion,\r\nshould not be neglected, but most diligently observed. For whatever\r\nunites nature, even imperfectly, opens the way to the discovery of the\r\nform. The instances, therefore, which are serviceable in this respect\r\nare of no mean power, but endowed with some degree of prerogative.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHere, nevertheless, great care must be taken that, after the discovery\r\nof several of these particular forms, and the establishing of certain\r\npartitions or divisions of the required nature derived from them, the\r\nhuman understanding do not at once rest satisfied, without preparing\r\nfor the investigation of the great or leading form, and taking it for\r\ngranted that nature is compound and divided from its very root, despise\r\nand reject any further union as a point of superfluous refinement, and\r\ntending to mere abstraction.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor instance, let the required nature be memory, or\r\n that\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_170\"\u003e[170]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e which\r\nexcites and assists memory. The constitutive instances are order or\r\ndistribution, which manifestly assists memory: topics or commonplaces\r\nin artificial memory, which may be either places in their literal\r\nsense, as a gate, a corner, a window, and the like, or familiar persons\r\nand marks, or anything else (provided it be arranged in a determinate\r\norder), as animals, plants, and words, letters, characters, historical\r\npersons, and the like, of which, however, some are more convenient than\r\nothers. All these commonplaces materially assist memory, and raise it\r\nfar above its natural strength. Verse, too, is recollected and learned\r\nmore easily than prose. From this group of three instances—order,\r\nthe commonplaces of artificial memory, and verses—is constituted\r\none species of aid for the\r\n memory,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-116\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-116\" title=\"Go to Footnote 116\"\u003e[116]\u003c/a\u003e which may be well termed a\r\nseparation from infinity. For when a man strives to recollect or recall\r\nanything to memory, without a preconceived notion or perception of\r\nthe object of his search, he inquires about, and labors, and turns\r\nfrom point to point, as if involved in infinity. But if he have any\r\npreconceived notion, this infinity is separated off, and the range of\r\nhis memory is brought within closer limits. In the three instances\r\ngiven above, the preconceived notion is clear and determined. In the\r\nfirst, it must be something that agrees with order; in the second, an\r\nimage which has some relation or agreement with the fixed commonplaces;\r\nin the third, words which fall into a verse: and thus infinity is\r\ndivided off. Other instances will offer another species, namely,\r\nthat whatever brings the intellect into contact\r\n with\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_171\"\u003e[171]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n something that\r\nstrikes the sense (the principal point of artificial memory), assists\r\nthe memory. Others again offer another species, namely, whatever\r\nexcites an impression by any powerful passion, as fear, shame, wonder,\r\ndelight, assists the memory. Other instances will afford another\r\nspecies: thus those impressions remain most fixed in the memory which\r\nare taken from the mind when clear and least occupied by preceding\r\nor succeeding notions, such as the things we learn in childhood, or\r\nimagine before sleep, and the first time of any circumstance happening.\r\nOther instances afford the following species: namely, that a multitude\r\nof circumstances or handles assist the memory, such as writing in\r\nparagraphs, reading aloud, or recitation. Lastly, other instances\r\nafford still another species: thus the things we anticipate, and which\r\nrouse our attention, are more easily remembered than transient events;\r\nas if you read any work twenty times over, you will not learn it by\r\nheart so readily as if you were to read it but ten times, trying each\r\ntime to repeat it, and when your memory fails you looking into the\r\nbook. There are, therefore, six lesser forms, as it were, of things\r\nwhich assist the memory: namely—1, the separation of infinity; 2, the\r\nconnection of the mind with the senses; 3, the impression in strong\r\npassion; 4, the impression on the mind when pure; 5, the multitude of\r\nhandles; 6, anticipation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, for example’s sake, let the required nature be taste or the\r\npower of tasting. The following instances are constitutive: 1. Those\r\nwho do not smell, but are deprived by nature of that sense, do not\r\nperceive or distinguish rancid or putrid food by their taste, nor\r\ngarlic from roses, and the like. 2. Again, those whose nostrils are\r\nobstructed by accident (such as a cold) do not distinguish any putrid\r\nor\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_172\"\u003e[172]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n rancid matter from anything sprinkled with rose-water. 3. If those\r\nwho suffer from a cold blow their noses violently at the very moment\r\nin which they have anything fetid or perfumed in their mouth, or on\r\ntheir palate, they instantly have a clear perception of the fetor or\r\nperfume. These instances afford and constitute this species or division\r\nof taste, namely, that it is in part nothing else than an internal\r\nsmelling, passing and descending through the upper passages of the\r\nnostrils to the mouth and palate. But, on the other hand, those whose\r\npower of smelling is deficient or obstructed, perceive what is salt,\r\nsweet, pungent, acid, rough, and bitter, and the like, as well as any\r\none else: so that the taste is clearly something compounded of the\r\ninternal smelling, and an exquisite species of touch which we will not\r\nhere discuss.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, as another example, let the required nature be the communication\r\nof quality, without intermixture of substance. The instance of light\r\nwill afford or constitute one species of communication, heat and\r\nthe magnet another. For the communication of light is momentary and\r\nimmediately arrested upon the removal of the original light. But heat,\r\nand the magnetic force, when once transmitted to or excited in another\r\nbody, remain fixed for a considerable time after the removal of the\r\nsource.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn fine, the prerogative of constitutive instances is considerable,\r\nfor they materially assist the definitions (especially in detail) and\r\nthe divisions or partitions of natures, concerning which Plato has\r\nwell said, “He who can properly define and divide is to be considered\r\na god.”\u003ca id=\"Anchor-117\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-117\" title=\"Go to Footnote 117\"\u003e[117]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_173\"\u003e[173]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXVII. In the sixth rank of prerogative instances we will place similar\r\nor proportionate instances, which we are also wont to call physical\r\nparallels, or resemblances. They are such as exhibit the resemblances\r\nand connection of things, not in minor forms (as the constitutive do),\r\nbut at once in the concrete. They are, therefore, as it were, the first\r\nand lowest steps toward the union of nature; nor do they immediately\r\nestablish any axiom, but merely indicate and observe a certain relation\r\nof bodies to each other.\r\n But\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_174\"\u003e[174]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n although they be not of much assistance\r\nin discovering forms, yet they are of great advantage in disclosing\r\nthe frame of parts of the universe, upon whose members they practice\r\na species of anatomy, and thence occasionally lead us gently on to\r\nsublime and noble axioms, especially such as relate to the construction\r\nof the world, rather than to simple natures and forms.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAs an example, take the following similar instances: a mirror and the\r\neye; the formation of the ear, and places which return an echo. From\r\nsuch similarity, besides observing the resemblance (which is useful\r\nfor many purposes), it is easy to collect and form this axiom. That\r\nthe organs of the senses, and bodies which produce reflections to the\r\nsenses, are of a similar nature. Again, the understanding once informed\r\nof this, rises easily to a higher and nobler axiom; namely, that the\r\nonly distinction between sensitive and inanimate bodies, in those\r\npoints in which they agree and sympathize, is this: in the former,\r\nanimal spirit is added to the arrangement of the body, in the latter it\r\nis wanting. So that there might be as many senses in animals as there\r\nare points of agreement with inanimate bodies, if the animated body\r\nwere perforated, so as to allow the spirit to have access to the limb\r\nproperly disposed for action, as a fit organ. And, on the other hand,\r\nthere are, without doubt, as many motions in an inanimate as there are\r\nsenses in the animated body, though the animal spirit be absent. There\r\nmust, however, be many more motions in inanimate bodies than senses in\r\nthe animated, from the small number of organs of sense. A very plain\r\nexample of this is afforded by pains. For, as animals are liable to\r\nmany kinds and various descriptions of pains (such as those of burning,\r\nof intense cold, of pricking, squeezing,\r\n stretching,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_175\"\u003e[175]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n and the like),\r\nso is it most certain, that the same circumstances, as far as motion\r\nis concerned, happen to inanimate bodies, such as wood or stone when\r\nburned, frozen, pricked, cut, bent, bruised, and the like; although\r\nthere be no sensation, owing to the absence of animal spirit.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, wonderful as it may appear, the roots and branches of trees\r\nare similar instances. For every vegetable swells and throws out its\r\nconstituent parts toward the circumference, both upward and downward.\r\nAnd there is no difference between the roots and branches, except that\r\nthe root is buried in the earth, and the branches are exposed to the\r\nair and sun. For if one take a young and vigorous shoot, and bend it\r\ndown to a small portion of loose earth, although it be not fixed to\r\nthe ground, yet will it immediately produce a root, and not a branch.\r\nAnd, \u003ci\u003evice versâ\u003c/i\u003e, if earth be placed above, and so forced down with a\r\nstone or any hard substance, as to confine the plant and prevent its\r\nbranching upward, it will throw out branches into the air downward.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe gums of trees, and most rock gems, are similar instances; for both\r\nof them are exudations and filtered juices, derived in the former\r\ninstance from trees, in the latter from stones; the brightness and\r\nclearness of both arising from a delicate and accurate filtering. For\r\nnearly the same reason, the hair of animals is less beautiful and vivid\r\nin its color than the plumage of most birds, because the juices are\r\nless delicately filtered through the skin than through the quills.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe scrotum of males and matrix of females are also similar instances;\r\nso that the noble formation which constitutes the difference of the\r\nsexes appears to differ only as to the one being internal and the other\r\nexternal; a greater degree of heat causing the genitals to protrude in\r\nthe male,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_176\"\u003e[176]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n while the heat of the female being too weak to effect this,\r\nthey are retained internally.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe fins of fishes and the feet of quadrupeds, or the feet and wings of\r\nbirds, are similar instances; to which Aristotle adds the four folds in\r\nthe motion of\r\n serpents;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-118\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-118\" title=\"Go to Footnote 118\"\u003e[118]\u003c/a\u003e so that in the formation of the universe,\r\nthe motion of animals appears to be chiefly effected by four joints or\r\nbendings.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe teeth of land animals, and the beaks of birds, are similar\r\ninstances, whence it is clear, that in all perfect animals there is a\r\ndetermination of some hard substance toward the mouth.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, the resemblance and conformity of man to an inverted plant\r\nis not absurd. For the head is the root of the nerves and animal\r\nfaculties, and the seminal parts are the lowest, not including the\r\nextremities of the legs and arms. But in the plant, the root (which\r\nresembles the head) is regularly placed in the lowest, and the seeds in\r\nthe highest part.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-119\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-119\" title=\"Go to Footnote 119\"\u003e[119]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLastly, we must particularly recommend and suggest, that man’s present\r\nindustry in the investigation and compilation of natural history be\r\nentirely changed, and directed to the reverse of the present system.\r\nFor it has hitherto been active and curious in noting the variety of\r\nthings, and explaining the accurate differences of animals, vegetables,\r\nand minerals, most of which are the mere sport of nature, rather\r\nthan of any real utility as concerns the\r\n sciences.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_177\"\u003e[177]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n Pursuits of this\r\nnature are certainly agreeable, and sometimes of practical advantage,\r\nbut contribute little or nothing to the thorough investigation of\r\nnature. Our labor must therefore be directed toward inquiring into and\r\nobserving resemblances and analogies, both in the whole and its parts,\r\nfor they unite nature, and lay the foundation of the sciences.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHere, however, a severe and rigorous caution must be observed, that we\r\nonly consider as similar and proportionate instances, those which (as\r\nwe first observed) point out physical resemblances; that is, real and\r\nsubstantial resemblances, deeply founded in nature, and not casual and\r\nsuperficial, much less superstitious or curious; such as those which\r\nare constantly put forward by the writers on natural magic (the most\r\nidle of men, and who are scarcely fit to be named in connection with\r\nsuch serious matters as we now treat of), who, with much vanity and\r\nfolly, describe, and sometimes too, invent, unmeaning resemblances and\r\nsympathies.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut leaving such to themselves, similar instances are not to be\r\nneglected, in the greater portions of the world’s conformation; such\r\nas Africa and the Peruvian continent, which reaches to the Straits of\r\nMagellan; both of which possess a similar isthmus and similar capes, a\r\ncircumstance not to be attributed to mere accident.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, the New and Old World are both of them broad and expanded toward\r\nthe north, and narrow and pointed toward the south.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, we have very remarkable similar instances in the intense cold,\r\ntoward the middle regions (as it is termed) of the air, and the violent\r\nfires which are often found to burst from subterraneous spots, the\r\nsimilarity consisting in both being ends and extremes; the extreme of\r\nthe nature of cold,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_178\"\u003e[178]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n for instance, is toward the boundary of heaven,\r\nand that of the nature of heat toward the centre of the earth, by a\r\nsimilar species of opposition or rejection of the contrary nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLastly, in the axioms of the sciences, there is a similarity of\r\ninstances worthy of observation. Thus the rhetorical trope which is\r\ncalled surprise, is similar to that of music termed the declining of\r\na cadence. Again—the mathematical postulate, that things which are\r\nequal to the same are equal to one another, is similar to the form of\r\nthe syllogism in logic, which unites things agreeing in the middle\r\nterm.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-120\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-120\" title=\"Go to Footnote 120\"\u003e[120]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Lastly, a certain degree of sagacity in collecting and\r\nsearching for physical points of similarity, is very useful in many\r\nrespects.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-121\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-121\" title=\"Go to Footnote 121\"\u003e[121]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXVIII. In the seventh rank of prerogative instances, we will place\r\nsingular instances, which we are also wont to call irregular or\r\nheteroclite (to \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027brorrow\u0027\" id=\"p178_borrow\"\u003eborrow\u003c/a\u003e a term from the\r\n grammarians). They are such\r\nas exhibit bodies in the\r\n concrete,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_179\"\u003e[179]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n of an apparently extravagant and\r\nseparate nature, agreeing but little with other things of the same\r\nspecies. For, while the similar instances resemble each other, those\r\nwe now speak of are only like themselves. Their use is much the same\r\nwith that of clandestine instances: they bring out and unite nature,\r\nand discover genera or common natures, which must afterward be limited\r\nby real differences. Nor should we desist from inquiry, until the\r\nproperties and qualities of those things, which may be deemed miracles,\r\nas it were, of nature, be reduced to, and comprehended in, some form or\r\ncertain law; so that all irregularity or singularity may be found to\r\ndepend on some common form; and the miracle only consists in accurate\r\ndifferences, degree, and rare coincidence, not in the species itself.\r\nMan’s meditation proceeds no further at present, than just to consider\r\nthings of this kind as the secrets and vast efforts of nature, without\r\nan assignable cause, and, as it were, exceptions to general rules.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAs examples of singular instances, we have the sun and moon among\r\nthe heavenly bodies; the magnet among minerals; quicksilver among\r\nmetals; the elephant among quadrupeds; the venereal sensation among\r\nthe different kinds of touch; the scent of sporting dogs among those\r\nof smell. The letter S, too, is considered by the grammarians as sui\r\ngeneris, from its easily uniting with double or triple consonants,\r\nwhich no other letter will. These instances are of great value, because\r\nthey excite and keep alive inquiry, and correct an understanding\r\ndepraved by habit and the common course of things.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXIX. In the eighth rank of prerogative instances, we will place\r\ndeviating instances, such as the errors of nature, or strange and\r\nmonstrous objects, in which nature\r\n deviates\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_180\"\u003e[180]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n and turns from her\r\nordinary course. For the errors of nature differ from singular\r\ninstances, inasmuch as the latter are the miracles of species, the\r\nformer of individuals. Their use is much the same, for they rectify the\r\nunderstanding in opposition to habit, and reveal common forms. For with\r\nregard to these, also, we must not desist from inquiry, till we discern\r\nthe cause of the deviation. The cause does not, however, in such cases\r\nrise to a regular form, but only to the latent process toward such a\r\nform. For he who is acquainted with the paths of nature, will more\r\nreadily observe her deviations; and, \u003ci\u003evice versâ\u003c/i\u003e, he who has learned\r\nher deviations will be able more accurately to describe her paths.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThey differ again from singular instances, by being much more apt for\r\npractice and the operative branch. For it would be very difficult to\r\ngenerate new species, but less so to vary known species, and thus\r\nproduce many rare and unusual\r\n results.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-122\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-122\" title=\"Go to Footnote 122\"\u003e[122]\u003c/a\u003e The passage from the\r\nmiracles of nature to those of art is easy; for if nature be once\r\nseized in her variations, and the cause be manifest, it will be easy to\r\nlead her by art to such deviation as she was at first led to by chance;\r\nand not only to that but others, since deviations on the one side\r\nlead and open the way to others in every direction. Of this we do not\r\nrequire any examples, since they are so abundant. For a compilation, or\r\nparticular natural history, must be made of all monsters and prodigious\r\nbirths of nature; of everything, in short, which is new, rare and\r\nunusual in nature. This should be done with a rigorous selection, so as\r\nto be worthy of\r\n credit.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_181\"\u003e[181]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n Those are most to be suspected which depend\r\nupon superstition, as the prodigies of Livy, and those perhaps, but\r\nlittle less, which are found in the works of writers on natural magic,\r\nor even alchemy, and the like; for such men, as it were, are the very\r\nsuitors and lovers of fables; but our instances should be derived from\r\nsome grave and credible history, and faithful narration.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXX. In the ninth rank of prerogative instances, we will place\r\nbordering instances, which we are also wont to term participants. They\r\nare such as exhibit those species of bodies which appear to be composed\r\nof two species, or to be the rudiments between the one and the other.\r\nThey may well be classed with the singular or heteroclite instances;\r\nfor in the whole system of things, they are rare and extraordinary. Yet\r\nfrom their dignity, they must be treated of and classed separately,\r\nfor they point out admirably the order and constitution of things, and\r\nsuggest the causes of the number and quality of the more common species\r\nin the universe, leading the understanding from that which is, to that\r\nwhich is possible.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have examples of them in moss, which is something between\r\nputrescence and a\r\n plant;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-123\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-123\" title=\"Go to Footnote 123\"\u003e[123]\u003c/a\u003e in some comets, which hold a place\r\nbetween stars and ignited meteors; in flying fishes, between fishes and\r\nbirds; and in bats, between birds and\r\n quadrupeds.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-124\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-124\" title=\"Go to Footnote 124\"\u003e[124]\u003c/a\u003e Again,\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"quote\" lang=\"la\"\u003e\r\nSimia quam similis turpissima bestia nobis.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_182\"\u003e[182]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have also biformed fœtus, mingled species and the like.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXI. In the tenth rank of prerogative instances, we will place the\r\ninstances of power, or the fasces (to borrow a term from the insignia\r\nof empire), which we are also wont to call the wit or hands of man.\r\nThese are such works as are most noble and perfect, and, as it were,\r\nthe masterpieces in every art. For since our principal object is to\r\nmake nature subservient to the state and wants of man, it becomes us\r\nwell to note and enumerate the works, which have long since been in the\r\npower of man, especially those which are most polished and perfect:\r\nbecause the passage from these to new and hitherto undiscovered\r\nworks, is more easy and feasible. For if any one, after an attentive\r\ncontemplation of such works as are extant, be willing to push forward\r\nin his design with alacrity and vigor, he will undoubtedly either\r\nadvance them, or turn them to something within their immediate reach,\r\nor even apply and transfer them to some more noble purpose.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNor is this all: for as the understanding is elevated and raised by\r\nrare and unusual works of nature, to investigate and discover the forms\r\nwhich include them also, so is the same effect frequently produced by\r\nthe excellent and wonderful works of art; and even to a greater degree,\r\nbecause the mode of effecting and constructing the miracles of art is\r\ngenerally plain, while that of effecting the miracles of nature is more\r\nobscure. Great care, however, must be taken, that they do not depress\r\nthe understanding, and fix it, as it were, to earth.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor there is some danger, lest the understanding should be astonished\r\nand chained down, and as it were bewitched, by such works of art, as\r\nappear to be the very summit\r\n and\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_183\"\u003e[183]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n pinnacle of human industry, so as not\r\nto become familiar with them, but rather to suppose that nothing of\r\nthe kind can be accomplished, unless the same means be employed, with\r\nperhaps a little more diligence, and more accurate preparation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNow, on the contrary, it may be stated as a fact, that the ways and\r\nmeans hitherto discovered and observed, of effecting any matter or\r\nwork, are for the most part of little value, and that all really\r\nefficient power depends, and is really to be deduced from the sources\r\nof forms, none of which have yet been discovered.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThus (as we have before observed), had any one meditated on ballistic\r\nmachines, and battering rams, as they were used by the ancients,\r\nwhatever application he might have exerted, and though he might have\r\nconsumed a whole life in the pursuit, yet would he never have hit upon\r\nthe invention of flaming engines, acting by means of gunpowder; nor\r\nwould any person, who had made woollen manufactories and cotton the\r\nsubject of his observation and reflection, have ever discovered thereby\r\nthe nature of the silkworm or of silk.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHence all the most noble discoveries have (if you observe) come to\r\nlight, not by any gradual improvement and extension of the arts, but\r\nmerely by chance; while nothing imitates or anticipates chance (which\r\nis wont to act at intervals of ages) but the invention of forms.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere is no necessity for adducing any particular examples of these\r\ninstances, since they are abundant. The plan to be pursued is this:\r\nall the mechanical, and even the liberal arts (as far as they are\r\npractical), should be visited and thoroughly examined, and thence there\r\nshould be formed a compilation or particular history of the great\r\nmasterpieces,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_184\"\u003e[184]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n or most finished works in each, as well as of the mode\r\nof carrying them into effect.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNor do we confine the diligence to be used in such a compilation to the\r\nleading works and secrets only of every art, and such as excite wonder;\r\nfor wonder is engendered by rarity, since that which is rare, although\r\nit be compounded of ordinary natures, always begets wonder.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOn the contrary, that which is really wonderful, from some specific\r\ndifference distinguishing it from other species, is carelessly\r\nobserved, if it be but familiar. Yet the singular instances of art\r\nshould be observed no less than those of nature, which we have before\r\nspoken of: and as in the latter we have classed the sun, the moon, the\r\nmagnet, and the like, all of them most familiar to us, but yet in their\r\nnature singular, so should we proceed with the singular instances of\r\nart.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor example: paper, a very common substance, is a singular instance\r\nof art; for if you consider the subject attentively, you will find\r\nthat artificial substances are either woven by straight and transverse\r\nlines, as silk, woollen, or linen cloth, and the like; or coagulated\r\nfrom concrete juices, such as brick, earthenware, glass, enamel,\r\nporcelain and the like, which admit of a polish if they be compact, but\r\nif not, become hard without being polished; all which latter substances\r\nare brittle, and not adherent or tenacious. On the contrary, paper is\r\na tenacious substance, which can be cut and torn, so as to resemble\r\nand almost rival the skin of any animal, or the leaf of vegetables,\r\nand the like works of nature; being neither brittle like glass, nor\r\nwoven like cloth, but having fibres and not distinct threads, just as\r\nnatural substances, so that scarcely anything similar can be found\r\namong artificial substances, and it is\r\n absolutely\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_185\"\u003e[185]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n singular. And in\r\nartificial works we should certainly prefer those which approach the\r\nnearest to an imitation of nature, or, on the other hand, powerfully\r\ngovern and change her course.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, in these instances which we term the wit and hands of man,\r\ncharms and conjuring should not be altogether despised, for although\r\nmere amusements, and of little use, yet they may afford considerable\r\ninformation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLastly, superstition and magic (in its common acceptation) are not to\r\nbe entirely omitted; for although they be overwhelmed by a mass of lies\r\nand fables, yet some investigation should be made, to see if there be\r\nreally any latent natural operation in them; as in fascination, and the\r\nfortifying of the imagination, the sympathy of distant objects, the\r\ntransmission of impressions from spirit to spirit no less than from\r\nbody to body, and the like.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXII. From the foregoing remarks, it is clear that the last five\r\nspecies of instances (the similar, singular, deviating and bordering\r\ninstances, and those of power) should not be reserved for the\r\ninvestigation of any given nature, as the preceding and many of the\r\nsucceeding instances must, but a collection of them should be made at\r\nonce, in the style of a particular history, so that they may arrange\r\nthe matter which enters the understanding, and correct its depraved\r\nhabit, for it is necessarily imbued, corrupted, perverted and distorted\r\nby daily and habitual impressions.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThey are to be used, therefore, as a preparative, for the purpose of\r\nrectifying and purifying the understanding; for whatever withdraws it\r\nfrom habit, levels and planes down its surface for the reception of the\r\ndry and pure light of true notions.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThese instances, moreover, level and prepare the\r\n way\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_186\"\u003e[186]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n for the operative\r\nbranch, as we will mention in its proper place when speaking of the\r\npractical deductions.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXIII. In the eleventh rank of prerogative instances we will place\r\naccompanying and hostile instances. These are such as exhibit any body\r\nor concrete, where the required nature is constantly found, as an\r\ninseparable companion, or, on the contrary, where the required nature\r\nis constantly avoided, and excluded from attendance, as an enemy. From\r\nthese instances may be formed certain and universal propositions,\r\neither affirmative or negative; the subject of which will be the\r\nconcrete body, and the predicate the required nature. For particular\r\npropositions are by no means fixed, when the required nature is found\r\nto fluctuate and change in the concrete, either approaching and\r\nacquired, or receding and laid aside. Hence particular propositions\r\nhave no great prerogative, except in the case of migration, of which we\r\nhave spoken above. Yet such particular propositions are of great use,\r\nwhen compared with the universal, as will be mentioned in its proper\r\nplace. Nor do we require absolute affirmation or negation, even in\r\nuniversal propositions, for if the exceptions be singular or rare, it\r\nis sufficient for our purpose.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe use of accompanying instances is to narrow the affirmative of\r\nform; for as it is narrowed by the migrating instances, where the form\r\nmust necessarily be something communicated or destroyed by the act of\r\nmigration, so it is narrowed by accompanying instances, where the form\r\nmust necessarily be something which enters into the concretion of the\r\nbody, or, on the contrary, is repugnant to it; and one who is well\r\nacquainted with the constitution or formation of the body, will not be\r\nfar from bringing to light the form of the required nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_187\"\u003e[187]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor example: let the required nature be heat. Flame is an accompanying\r\ninstance; for in water, air, stone, metal, and many other substances,\r\nheat is variable, and can approach or retire; but all flame is hot,\r\nso that heat always accompanies the concretion of flame. We have no\r\nhostile instance of heat; for the senses are unacquainted with the\r\ninterior of the earth, and there is no concretion of any known body\r\nwhich is not susceptible of heat.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let solidity be the required nature. Air is a hostile instance;\r\nfor metals may be liquid or solid, so may glass; even water may become\r\nsolid by congelation, but air cannot become solid or lose its fluidity.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWith regard to these instances of fixed propositions, there are\r\ntwo points to be observed, which are of importance. First, that\r\nif there be no universal affirmative or negative, it be carefully\r\nnoted as not existing. Thus, in heat, we have observed that there\r\nexists no universal negative, in such substances, at least, as have\r\ncome to our knowledge. Again, if the required nature be eternity or\r\nincorruptibility, we have no universal affirmative within our sphere,\r\nfor these qualities cannot be predicated of any bodies below the\r\nheavens, or above the interior of the earth. Secondly, to our general\r\npropositions as to any concrete, whether affirmative or negative, we\r\nshould subjoin the concretes which appear to approach nearest to the\r\nnon-existing substances; such as the most gentle or least-burning\r\nflames in heat, or gold in incorruptibility, since it approaches\r\nnearest to it. For they all serve to show the limit of existence and\r\nnon-existence, and circumscribe forms, so that they cannot wander\r\nbeyond the conditions of matter.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXIV. In the twelfth rank of prerogative\r\n instances,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_188\"\u003e[188]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n we will class\r\nthose subjunctive instances, of which we spoke in the last aphorism,\r\nand which we are also wont to call instances of extremity or limits;\r\nfor they are not only serviceable when subjoined to fixed propositions,\r\nbut also of themselves and from their own nature. They indicate with\r\nsufficient precision the real divisions of nature, and measures of\r\nthings, and the “how far” nature effects or allows of anything, and\r\nher passage thence to something else. Such are gold in weight, iron in\r\nhardness, the whale in the size of animals, the dog in smell, the flame\r\nof gunpowder in rapid expansion, and others of a like nature. Nor are\r\nwe to pass over the extremes in defect, as well as in abundance, as\r\nspirits of wine in weight, the touchstone in softness, the worms upon\r\nthe skin in the size of animals, and the like.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-35\"\u003eXXXV.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n In the thirteenth rank of prerogative instances we will place\r\nthose of alliance or union. They are such as mingle and unite natures\r\nheld to be heterogeneous, and observed and marked as such in received\r\nclassifications.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThese instances show that the operation and effect, which is considered\r\npeculiar to some one of such heterogeneous natures, may also be\r\nattributed to another nature styled heterogeneous, so as to prove that\r\nthe difference of the natures is not real nor essential, but a mere\r\nmodification of a common nature. They are very serviceable, therefore,\r\nin elevating and carrying on the mind, from differences to genera,\r\nand in removing those phantoms and images of things, which meet it in\r\ndisguise in concrete substances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor example: let the required nature be heat. The classification\r\nof heat into three kinds, that of the celestial bodies, that of\r\nanimals, and that of fire, appears to be\r\n settled\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_189\"\u003e[189]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n and admitted; and\r\nthese kinds of heat, especially one of them compared with the other\r\ntwo, are supposed to be different, and clearly heterogeneous in\r\ntheir essence and species, or specific nature, since the heat of the\r\nheavenly bodies and of animals generates and cherishes, while that of\r\nfire corrupts and destroys. We have an instance of alliance, then,\r\nin a very common experiment, that of a vine branch admitted into a\r\nbuilding where there is a constant fire, by which the grapes ripen a\r\nwhole month sooner than in the air; so that fruit upon the tree can\r\nbe ripened by fire, although this appear the peculiar effect of the\r\nsun. From this beginning, therefore, the understanding rejects all\r\nessential difference, and easily ascends to the investigation of the\r\nreal differences between the heat of the sun and that of fire, by which\r\ntheir operation is rendered dissimilar, although they partake of a\r\ncommon nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThese differences will be found to be four in number. 1. The heat of\r\nthe sun is much milder and gentler in degree than that of fire. 2. It\r\nis much more moist in quality, especially as it is transmitted to us\r\nthrough the air. 3. Which is the chief point, it is very unequal,\r\nadvancing and increased at one time, retiring and diminished at\r\nanother, which mainly contributes to the generation of bodies. For\r\nAristotle rightly asserted, that the principal cause of generation and\r\ncorruption on the surface of the earth was the oblique path of the sun\r\nin the zodiac, whence its heat becomes very unequal, partly from the\r\nalternation of night and day, partly from the succession of summer and\r\nwinter. Yet must he immediately corrupt and pervert his discovery,\r\nby dictating to nature according to his habit, and dogmatically\r\nassigning the cause of generation to the approach\r\n of\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_190\"\u003e[190]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e the sun, and\r\nthat of corruption to its retreat; while, in fact, each circumstance\r\nindifferently and not respectively contributes both to generation and\r\ncorruption; for unequal heat tends to generate and corrupt, as equable\r\nheat does to preserve. 4. The fourth difference between the heat of the\r\nsun and fire is of great consequence; namely, that the sun, gradually,\r\nand for a length of time, insinuates its effects, while those of fire\r\n(urged by the impatience of man) are brought to a termination in a\r\nshorter space of time. But if any one were to pay attention to the\r\ntempering of fire, and reducing it to a more moderate and gentle degree\r\n(which may be done in various ways), and then were to sprinkle and mix\r\na degree of humidity with it; and, above all, were to imitate the sun\r\nin its inequality; and, lastly, were patiently to suffer some delay\r\n(not such, however, as is proportioned to the effects of the sun,\r\nbut more than men usually admit of in those of fire), he would soon\r\nbanish the notion of any difference, and would attempt, or equal, or\r\nperhaps sometimes surpass the effect of the sun, by the heat of fire.\r\nA like instance of alliance is that of reviving butterflies, benumbed\r\nand nearly dead from cold, by the gentle warmth of fire; so that fire\r\nis no less able to revive animals than to ripen vegetables. We may\r\nalso mention the celebrated invention of Fracastorius, of applying a\r\npan considerably heated to the head in desperate cases of apoplexy,\r\nwhich clearly expands the animal spirits, when compressed and almost\r\nextinguished by the humors and obstructions of the brain, and excites\r\nthem to action, as the fire would operate on water or air, and in the\r\nresult produces life. Eggs are sometimes hatched by the heat of fire,\r\nan exact imitation of animal heat; and there are many instances of the\r\nlike nature, so that no one can doubt that\r\n the\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_191\"\u003e[191]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n heat of fire, in many\r\ncases, can be modified till it resemble that of the heavenly bodies and\r\nof animals.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required natures be motion and rest. There appears to\r\nbe a settled classification, grounded on the deepest philosophy, that\r\nnatural bodies either revolve, move in a straight line, or stand still\r\nand rest. For there is either motion without limit, or continuance\r\nwithin a certain limit, or a translation toward a certain limit. The\r\neternal motion of revolution appears peculiar to the heavenly bodies,\r\nrest to this our globe, and the other bodies (heavy and light, as they\r\nare termed, that is to say, placed out of their natural position) are\r\nborne in a straight line to masses or aggregates which resemble them,\r\nthe light toward the heaven, the heavy toward the earth; and all this\r\nis very fine language.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut we have an instance of alliance in low comets, which revolve,\r\nthough far below the heavens; and the fiction of Aristotle, of the\r\ncomet being fixed to, or necessarily following some star, has been\r\nlong since exploded; not only because it is improbable in itself, but\r\nfrom the evident fact of the discursive and irregular motion of comets\r\nthrough various parts of the\r\n heavens.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-125\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-125\" title=\"Go to Footnote 125\"\u003e[125]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnother instance of alliance is that of the motion of air, which\r\nappears to revolve from east to west within the tropics, where the\r\ncircles of revolution are the greatest.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe flow and ebb of the sea would perhaps be another instance, if the\r\nwater were once found to have a motion\r\n of\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_192\"\u003e[192]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n revolution, though slow and\r\nhardly perceptible, from east to west, subject, however, to a reaction\r\ntwice a day. If this be so, it is clear that the motion of revolution\r\nis not confined to the celestial bodies, but is shared, also, by air\r\nand water.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain—the supposed peculiar disposition of light bodies to rise is\r\nrather shaken; and here we may find an instance of alliance in a water\r\nbubble. For if air be placed under water, it rises rapidly toward\r\nthe surface by that striking motion (as Democritus terms it) with\r\nwhich the descending water strikes the air and raises it, not by any\r\nstruggle or effort of the air itself; and when it has reached the\r\nsurface of the water, it is prevented from ascending any further, by\r\nthe slight resistance it meets with in the water, which does not allow\r\nan immediate separation of its parts, so that the tendency of the air\r\nto rise must be very slight.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be weight. It is certainly a received\r\nclassification, that dense and solid bodies are borne toward the centre\r\nof the earth, and rare and light bodies to the circumference of the\r\nheavens, as their appropriate places. As far as relates to places\r\n(though these things have much weight in the schools), the notion of\r\nthere being any determinate place is absurd and puerile. Philosophers\r\ntrifle, therefore, when they tell you, that if the earth were\r\nperforated, heavy bodies would stop on their arrival at the centre.\r\nThis centre would indeed be an efficacious nothing, or mathematical\r\npoint, could it affect bodies or be sought by them, for a body is not\r\nacted upon except by a\r\n body.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-126\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-126\" title=\"Go to Footnote 126\"\u003e[126]\u003c/a\u003e In fact, this tendency to ascend\r\nand\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_193\"\u003e[193]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n descend is either in the conformation of the moving body, or in\r\nits harmony and sympathy with another body. But if any dense and solid\r\nbody be found, which does not, however, tend toward the earth, the\r\nclassification is at an end. Now, if we allow of Gilbert’s opinion,\r\nthat the magnetic power of the earth, in attracting heavy bodies, is\r\nnot extended beyond the limit of its peculiar virtue (which operates\r\nalways at a fixed distance and no\r\n further),\u003ca id=\"Anchor-127\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-127\" title=\"Go to Footnote 127\"\u003e[127]\u003c/a\u003e and this be proved by\r\nsome instance, such an instance will be one of alliance in our present\r\nsubject. The nearest approach to it is that of waterspouts, frequently\r\nseen by persons navigating the Atlantic toward either of the Indies.\r\nFor the force and mass of the water suddenly effused by waterspouts,\r\nappears to be so considerable, that the water must have been collected\r\npreviously, and have remained fixed where it was formed, until it was\r\nafterward forced down by some violent cause, rather than made to fall\r\nby the natural motion of gravity: so that it may be conjectured that\r\na dense and compact mass, at a great distance from the earth, may be\r\nsuspended as the earth itself is, and would not fall, unless forced\r\ndown. We do not, however, affirm this as certain. In the meanwhile,\r\nboth in this respect and many others, it will readily be seen how\r\ndeficient we are in\r\n natural\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_194\"\u003e[194]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n history, since we are forced to have\r\nrecourse to suppositions for examples, instead of ascertained instances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be the discursive power of the mind.\r\nThe classification of human reason and animal instinct appears to be\r\nperfectly correct. Yet there are some instances of the actions of\r\nbrutes which seem to show that they, too, can syllogize. Thus it is\r\nrelated, that a crow, which had nearly perished from thirst in a great\r\ndrought, saw some water in the hollow trunk of a tree, but as it was\r\ntoo narrow for him to get into it, he continued to throw in pebbles,\r\nwhich made the water rise till he could drink; and it afterward became\r\na proverb.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be vision. The classification\r\nappears real and certain, which considers light as that which is\r\noriginally visible, and confers the power of seeing; and color, as\r\nbeing secondarily visible, and not capable of being seen without\r\nlight, so as to appear a mere image or modification of light. Yet\r\nthere are instances of alliance in each respect; as in snow when in\r\ngreat quantities, and in the flame of sulphur; the one being a color\r\noriginally and in itself light, the other a light verging toward\r\ncolor.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-128\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-128\" title=\"Go to Footnote 128\"\u003e[128]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXVI. In the fourteenth rank of prerogative instances, we will place\r\nthe instances of the cross, borrowing our metaphor from the crosses\r\nerected where two roads meet, to point out the different directions.\r\nWe are wont also to call them decisive and judicial instances, and in\r\nsome cases instances of the oracle and of command. Their nature is as\r\nfollows: When in investigating any nature the understanding is, as it\r\nwere, balanced, and uncertain to which of two or more natures the cause\r\nof the required\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_195\"\u003e[195]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n nature should be assigned, on account of the frequent\r\nand usual concurrence of several natures, the instances of the cross\r\nshow that the union of one nature with the required nature is firm\r\nand indissoluble, while that of the other is unsteady and separable;\r\nby which means the question is decided, and the first is received as\r\nthe cause, while the other is dismissed and rejected. Such instances,\r\ntherefore, afford great light, and are of great weight, so that the\r\ncourse of interpretation sometimes terminates, and is completed in\r\nthem. Sometimes, however, they are found among the instances already\r\nobserved, but they are generally new, being expressly and purposely\r\nsought for and applied, and brought to light only by attentive and\r\nactive diligence.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor example: let the required nature be the flow and ebb of the sea,\r\nwhich is repeated twice a day, at intervals of six hours between each\r\nadvance and retreat, with some little difference, agreeing with the\r\nmotion of the moon. We have here the following crossways:\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis motion must be occasioned either by the advancing and the retiring\r\nof the sea, like water shaken in a basin, which leaves one side while\r\nit washes the other; or by the rising of the sea from the bottom,\r\nand its again subsiding, like boiling water. But a doubt arises, to\r\nwhich of these causes we should assign the flow and ebb. If the first\r\nassertion be admitted, it follows, that when there is a flood on\r\none side, there must at the same time be an ebb on another, and the\r\nquestion therefore is reduced to this. Now Acosta, and some others,\r\nafter a diligent inquiry, have observed that the flood tide takes place\r\non the coast of Florida, and the opposite coasts of Spain and Africa,\r\nat the same time, as does also the ebb; and that there is not, on the\r\ncontrary, a flood tide at Florida when there is an ebb on the coasts\r\nof\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_196\"\u003e[196]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n Spain and Africa. Yet if one consider the subject attentively,\r\nthis does not prove the necessity of a rising motion, nor refute the\r\nnotion of a progressive motion. For the motion may be progressive, and\r\nyet inundate the opposite shores of a channel at the same time; as if\r\nthe waters be forced and driven together from some other quarter, for\r\ninstance, which takes place in rivers, for they flow and ebb toward\r\neach bank at the same time, yet their motion is clearly progressive,\r\nbeing that of the waters from the sea entering their mouths. So it may\r\nhappen, that the waters coming in a vast body from the eastern Indian\r\nOcean are driven together, and forced into the channel of the Atlantic,\r\nand therefore inundate both coasts at once. We must inquire, therefore,\r\nif there be any other channel by which the waters can at the same time\r\nsink and ebb; and the Southern Ocean at once suggests itself, which is\r\nnot less than the Atlantic, but rather broader and more extensive than\r\nis requisite for this effect.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe at length arrive, then, at an instance of the cross, which is this.\r\nIf it be positively discovered, that when the flood sets in toward\r\nthe opposite coasts of Florida and Spain in the Atlantic, there is at\r\nthe same time a flood tide on the coasts of Peru and the back part\r\nof China, in the Southern Ocean, then assuredly, from this decisive\r\ninstance, we must reject the assertion, that the flood and ebb of the\r\nsea, about which we inquire, takes place by progressive motion; for\r\nno other sea or place is left where there can be an ebb. But this may\r\nmost easily be learned, by inquiring of the inhabitants of Panama and\r\nLima (where the two oceans are separated by a narrow isthmus), whether\r\nthe flood and ebb takes place on the opposite sides of the isthmus\r\nat the same time, or the reverse. This decision or rejection appears\r\ncertain,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_197\"\u003e[197]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n if it be granted that the earth is fixed; but if the earth\r\nrevolves, it may perhaps happen, that from the unequal revolution (as\r\nregards velocity) of the earth and the waters of the sea, there may\r\nbe a violent forcing of the waters into a mass, forming the flood,\r\nand a subsequent relaxation of them (when they can no longer bear the\r\naccumulation), forming the ebb. A separate inquiry must be made into\r\nthis. Even with this hypothesis, however, it remains equally true, that\r\nthere must be an ebb somewhere, at the same time that there is a flood\r\nin another quarter.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be the latter of the two motions we\r\nhave supposed; namely, that of a rising and subsiding motion, if it\r\nshould happen that upon diligent examination the progressive motion\r\nbe rejected. We have, then, three ways before us, with regard to this\r\nnature. The motion, by which the waters raise themselves, and again\r\nfall back, in the floods and ebbs, without the addition of any other\r\nwater rolled toward them, must take place in one of the three following\r\nways: Either the supply of water emanates from the interior of the\r\nearth, and returns back again; or there is really no greater quantity\r\nof water, but the same water (without any augmentation of its quantity)\r\nis extended or rarefied, so as to occupy a greater space and dimension,\r\nand again contracts itself; or there is neither an additional supply\r\nnor any extension, but the same waters (with regard to quantity,\r\ndensity, or rarity) raise themselves and fall from sympathy, by some\r\nmagnetic power attracting and calling them up, as it were, from\r\nabove. Let us then (passing over the first two motions) reduce the\r\ninvestigation to the last, and inquire if there be any such elevation\r\nof the water by sympathy or a magnetic force; and it is evident, in the\r\nfirst place, that the whole mass of water\r\n being\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_198\"\u003e[198]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n placed in the trench\r\nor cavity of the sea, cannot be raised at once, because there would\r\nnot be enough to cover the bottom, so that if there be any tendency of\r\nthis kind in the water to raise itself, yet it would be interrupted\r\nand checked by the cohesion of things, or (as the common expression\r\nis) that there may be no vacuum. The water, therefore, must rise on\r\none side, and for that reason be diminished and ebb on another. But it\r\nwill again necessarily follow that the magnetic power not being able to\r\noperate on the whole, operates most intensely on the centre, so as to\r\nraise the waters there, which, when thus raised successively, desert\r\nand abandon the sides.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-129\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-129\" title=\"Go to Footnote 129\"\u003e[129]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe at length arrive, then, at an instance of the cross, which is this:\r\nif it be found that during the ebb the surface of the waters at sea\r\nis more curved and round, from the waters rising in the middle, and\r\nsinking at the sides or coast, and if, during a flood, it be more even\r\nand level, from the waters returning to their former position, then\r\nassuredly, by this decisive instance, the raising of them by a magnetic\r\nforce can be admitted; if otherwise, it must be entirely rejected.\r\nIt is not difficult to make the experiment (by sounding in straits),\r\nwhether the sea be deeper toward the middle in ebbs, than in floods.\r\nBut it must be observed, if this be the case, that (contrary to common\r\nopinion) the waters rise in ebbs, and only return to their former\r\nposition in floods, so as to bathe and inundate the coast.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be the spontaneous motion of revolution,\r\nand particularly, whether the diurnal motion, by which the sun and\r\nstars appear to us to rise and set,\r\n be\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_199\"\u003e[199]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n a real motion of revolution in\r\nthe heavenly bodies, or only apparent in them, and real in the earth.\r\nThere may be an instance of the cross of the following nature. If there\r\nbe discovered any motion in the ocean from east to west, though very\r\nlanguid and weak, and if the same motion be discovered rather more\r\nswift in the air (particularly within the tropics, where it is more\r\nperceptible from the circles being greater). If it be discovered also\r\nin the low comets, and be already quick and powerful in them; if it\r\nbe found also in the planets, but so tempered and regulated as to be\r\nslower in those nearest the earth, and quicker in those at the greatest\r\ndistance, being quickest of all in the heavens, then the diurnal motion\r\nshould certainly be considered as real in the heavens, and that of the\r\nearth must be rejected; for it will be evident that the motion from\r\neast to west is part of the system of the world and universal; since it\r\nis most rapid in the height of the heavens, and gradually grows weaker,\r\ntill it stops and is extinguished in rest at the earth.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be that other motion of revolution,\r\nso celebrated among astronomers, which is contrary to the diurnal,\r\nnamely, from west to east—and which the ancient astronomers assign\r\nto the planets, and even to the starry sphere, but Copernicus and his\r\nfollowers to the earth also—and let it be examined whether any such\r\nmotion be found in nature, or it be rather a fiction and hypothesis\r\nfor abridging and facilitating calculation, and for promoting that\r\nfine notion of effecting the heavenly motions by perfect circles; for\r\nthere is nothing which proves such a motion in heavenly objects to be\r\ntrue and real, either in a planet’s not returning in its diurnal motion\r\nto the same point of the starry sphere, or in the pole of the zodiac\r\nbeing different\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_200\"\u003e[200]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n from that of the world, which two circumstances have\r\noccasioned this notion. For the first phenomenon is well accounted for\r\nby the spheres overtaking or falling behind each other, and the second\r\nby spiral lines; so that the inaccuracy of the return and declination\r\nto the tropics may be rather modifications of the one diurnal motion\r\nthan contrary motions, or about different poles. And it is most\r\ncertain, if we consider ourselves for a moment as part of the vulgar\r\n(setting aside the fictions of astronomers and the school, who are\r\nwont undeservedly to attack the senses in many respects, and to affect\r\nobscurity), that the apparent motion is such as we have said, a model\r\nof which we have sometimes caused to be represented by wires in a sort\r\nof a machine.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe may take the following instances of the cross upon this subject. If\r\nit be found in any history worthy of credit, that there has existed any\r\ncomet, high or low, which has not revolved in manifest harmony (however\r\nirregularly) with the diurnal motion, then we may decide so far as to\r\nallow such a motion to be possible in nature. But if nothing of the\r\nsort be found, it must be suspected, and recourse must be had to other\r\ninstances of the cross.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be weight or gravity. Heavy and\r\nponderous bodies must, either of their own nature, tend toward the\r\ncentre of the earth by their peculiar formation, or must be attracted\r\nand hurried by the corporeal mass of the earth itself, as being an\r\nassemblage of similar bodies, and be drawn to it by sympathy. But if\r\nthe latter be the cause, it follows that the nearer bodies approach to\r\nthe earth, the more powerfully and rapidly they must be borne toward\r\nit, and the further they are distant, the more faintly and slowly (as\r\nis the case in magnetic\r\n attractions),\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_201\"\u003e[201]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n and that this must happen within\r\na given distance; so that if they be separated at such a distance from\r\nthe earth that the power of the earth cannot act upon them, they will\r\nremain suspended like the earth, and not fall at\r\n all.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-130\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-130\" title=\"Go to Footnote 130\"\u003e[130]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe following instance of the cross may be adopted. Take a clock moved\r\nby leaden weights,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-131\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-131\" title=\"Go to Footnote 131\"\u003e[131]\u003c/a\u003e and another\r\n by\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_202\"\u003e[202]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n a spring, and let them be set\r\nwell together, so that one be neither quicker nor slower than the\r\nother; then let the clock moved by weights be placed on the top of\r\na very high church, and the other be kept below, and let it be well\r\nobserved, if the former move slower than it did, from the diminished\r\npower of the weights. Let the same experiment be made at the bottom\r\nof mines worked to a considerable depth, in order to see whether the\r\nclock move more quickly from the increased power of the weights. But\r\nif this power be found to diminish at a height, and to increase in\r\nsubterraneous places, the attraction of the corporeal mass of the earth\r\nmay be taken as the cause of weight.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be the polarity of the steel needle when\r\ntouched with the magnet. We have these two ways with regard to this\r\nnature—Either the touch of the magnet must communicate polarity to\r\nthe steel toward the north and south, or else it may only excite and\r\nprepare it, while the actual motion is occasioned by the presence of\r\nthe earth, which Gilbert considers to be the case, and endeavors to\r\nprove with so much labor. The particulars he has inquired into with\r\nsuch ingenious zeal amount to this—1. An iron bolt placed for a long\r\ntime toward the north and south acquires polarity from this habit,\r\nwithout the touch of the magnet, as if the earth itself operating\r\nbut weakly from its distance (for the surface or outer crust of the\r\nearth does not, in his opinion, possess the magnetic power), yet, by\r\nlong continued motion, could supply the place of the magnet, excite\r\nthe iron, and convert and change it when excited. 2. Iron, at a red\r\nor white heat, when\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_203\"\u003e[203]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n quenched in a direction parallel to the north\r\nand south, also acquires polarity without the touch of the magnet, as\r\nif the parts of iron being put in motion by ignition, and afterward\r\nrecovering themselves, were, at the moment of being quenched, more\r\nsusceptible and sensitive of the power emanating from the earth, than\r\nat other times, and therefore as it were excited. But these points,\r\nthough well observed, do not completely prove his assertion.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAn instance of the cross on this point might be as follows: Let a small\r\nmagnetic globe be taken, and its poles marked, and placed toward the\r\neast and west, not toward the north and south, and let it continue\r\nthus. Then let an untouched needle be placed over it, and suffered\r\nto remain so for six or seven days. Now, the needle (for this is not\r\ndisputed), while it remains over the magnet, will leave the poles of\r\nthe world and turn to those of the magnet, and therefore, as long as it\r\nremains in the above position, will turn to the east and west. But if\r\nthe needle, when removed from the magnet and placed upon a pivot, be\r\nfound immediately to turn to the north and south, or even by degrees\r\nto return thither, then the presence of the earth must be considered\r\nas the cause, but if it remains turned as at first, toward the east\r\nand west, or lose its polarity, then that cause must be suspected, and\r\nfurther inquiry made.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be the corporeal substance of the\r\nmoon, whether it be rare, fiery, and aërial (as most of the ancient\r\nphilosophers have thought), or solid and dense (as Gilbert and many\r\nof the moderns, with some of the ancients,\r\n hold).\u003ca id=\"Anchor-132\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-132\" title=\"Go to Footnote 132\"\u003e[132]\u003c/a\u003e The reasons\r\nfor this latter opinion\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_204\"\u003e[204]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n are grounded chiefly upon this, that the\r\nmoon reflects the sun’s rays, and that light does not appear capable\r\nof being reflected except by solids. The instances of the cross will\r\ntherefore (if any) be such as to exhibit reflection by a rare body,\r\nsuch as flame, if it be but \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027sufficietly\u0027\" id=\"p204_sufficiently\"\u003esufficiently\u003c/a\u003e\r\n dense. Now, certainly, one\r\nof the reasons of twilight is the\r\n reflection\u003ca id=\"Anchor-133\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-133\" title=\"Go to Footnote 133\"\u003e[133]\u003c/a\u003e of the rays of the\r\nsun by the upper part of the atmosphere. We see the sun’s rays also\r\nreflected on fine evenings by streaks of moist clouds, with a splendor\r\nnot less, but perhaps more bright and glorious than that reflected\r\nfrom the body of the moon, and yet it is not clear that those clouds\r\nhave formed into a dense body of water. We see, also, that the dark\r\nair behind the windows at night reflects the light of a candle in the\r\nsame manner as a dense body would\r\n do.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-134\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-134\" title=\"Go to Footnote 134\"\u003e[134]\u003c/a\u003e The experiment should also\r\nbe made of causing the sun’s rays to fall through a hole upon some dark\r\nand bluish flame. The unconfined rays of the sun, when falling on faint\r\nflames, do certainly appear to deaden them, and render them more like\r\nwhite smoke than flames. These are the only instances which occur at\r\npresent of the nature of those of the cross, and better perhaps can\r\nbe found. But it must always be observed that reflection is not to\r\nbe expected from flame, unless it be of some depth, for otherwise it\r\nbecomes\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_205\"\u003e[205]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n nearly transparent. This at least may be considered certain,\r\nthat light is always either received and transmitted or reflected by an\r\neven surface.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be the motion of projectiles (such\r\nas darts, arrows, and balls) through the air. The school, in its\r\nusual manner, treats this very carelessly, considering it enough to\r\ndistinguish it by the name of violent motion, from that which they\r\nterm natural, and as far as regards the first percussion or impulse,\r\nsatisfies itself by its axiom, that two bodies cannot exist in one\r\nplace, or there would be a penetration of dimensions. With regard to\r\nthis nature we have these two crossways—The motion must arise either\r\nfrom the air carrying the projected body, and collecting behind it,\r\nlike a stream behind boats, or the wind behind straws; or from the\r\nparts of the body itself not supporting the impression, but pushing\r\nthemselves forward in succession to ease it. Fracastorius, and nearly\r\nall those who have entered into any refined inquiry upon the subject,\r\nadopt the first. Nor can it be doubted that the air has some effect,\r\nyet the other motion is without doubt real, as is clear from a vast\r\nnumber of experiments. Among others we may take this instance of the\r\ncross, namely, that a thin plate or wire of iron rather stiff, or even\r\na reed or pen split in two, when drawn up and bent between the finger\r\nand thumb, will leap forward; for it is clear that this cannot be\r\nattributed to the air’s being collected behind the body, because the\r\nsource of motion is in the centre of the plate or pen, and not in its\r\nextremities.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be the rapid and powerful motion of the\r\nexplosion of gunpowder, by which such vast masses are upheaved, and\r\nsuch weights discharged as we observe in large mines and mortars, there\r\nare two crossways\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_206\"\u003e[206]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n before us with regard to this nature. This motion\r\nis excited either by the mere effort of the body expanding itself when\r\ninflamed, or by the assisting effort of the crude spirit, which escapes\r\nrapidly from fire, and bursts violently from the surrounding flame as\r\nfrom a prison. The school, however, and common opinion only consider\r\nthe first effort; for men think that they are great philosophers when\r\nthey assert that flame, from the form of the element, is endowed with\r\na kind of necessity of occupying a greater space than the same body\r\nhad occupied when in the form of powder, and that thence proceeds the\r\nmotion in question. In the meantime they do not observe, that although\r\nthis may be true, on the supposition of flame being generated, yet the\r\ngeneration may be impeded by a weight of sufficient force to compress\r\nand suffocate it, so that no such necessity exists as they assert. They\r\nare right, indeed, in imagining that the expansion and the consequent\r\nemission or removal of the opposing body, is necessary if flame be once\r\ngenerated, but such a necessity is avoided if the solid opposing mass\r\nsuppress the flame before it be generated; and we in fact see that\r\nflame, especially at the moment of its generation, is mild and gentle,\r\nand requires a hollow space where it can play and try its force. The\r\ngreat violence of the effect, therefore, cannot be attributed to this\r\ncause; but the truth is, that the generation of these exploding flames\r\nand fiery blasts arises from the conflict of two bodies of a decidedly\r\nopposite nature—the one very inflammable, as is the sulphur, the\r\nother having an antipathy to flame, namely, the crude spirit of the\r\nnitre; so that an extraordinary conflict takes place while the sulphur\r\nis becoming inflamed as far as it can (for the third body, the willow\r\ncharcoal, merely incorporates and conveniently unites the two others),\r\nand\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_207\"\u003e[207]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n the spirit of nitre is escaping, as far also as it can, and at\r\nthe same time expanding itself (for air, and all crude substances,\r\nand water are expanded by heat), fanning thus, in every direction,\r\nthe flame of the sulphur by its escape and violence, just as if by\r\ninvisible bellows.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eTwo kinds of instances of the cross might here be used—the one of\r\nvery inflammable substances, such as sulphur and camphor, naphtha and\r\nthe like, and their compounds, which take fire more readily and easily\r\nthan gunpowder if left to themselves (and this shows that the effort\r\nto catch fire does not of itself produce such a prodigious effect);\r\nthe other of substances which avoid and repel flame, such as all\r\nsalts; for we see that when they are cast into the fire, the aqueous\r\nspirit escapes with a crackling noise before flame is produced, which\r\nalso happens in a less degree in stiff leaves, from the escape of\r\nthe aqueous part before the oily part has caught fire. This is more\r\nparticularly observed in quicksilver, which is not improperly called\r\nmineral water, and which, without any inflammation, nearly equals the\r\nforce of gunpowder by simple explosion and expansion, and is said, when\r\nmixed with gunpowder, to increase its force.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be the transitory nature of flame and\r\nits momentaneous extinction; for to us the nature of flame does not\r\nappear to be fixed or settled, but to be generated from moment to\r\nmoment, and to be every instant extinguished; it being clear that\r\nthose flames which continue and last, do not owe their continuance to\r\nthe same mass of flame, but to a continued succession of new flame\r\nregularly generated, and that the same identical flame does not\r\ncontinue. This is easily shown by removing the food or source of the\r\nflame, when it at once goes out.\r\n We\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_208\"\u003e[208]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n have the two following crossways\r\nwith regard to this nature:\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis momentary nature either arises from the cessation of the cause\r\nwhich first produced it, as in light, sounds, and violent motions,\r\nas they are termed, or flame may be capable, by its own nature, of\r\nduration, but is subjected to some violence from the contrary natures\r\nwhich surround it, and is destroyed.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe may therefore adopt the following instance of the cross. We see\r\nto what a height the flames rise in great conflagrations; for as the\r\nbase of the flame becomes more extensive, its vertex is more lofty.\r\nIt appears, then, that the commencement of the extinction takes place\r\nat the sides, where the flame is compressed by the air, and is ill\r\nat ease; but the centre of the flame, which is untouched by the air\r\nand surrounded by flame, continues the same, and is not extinguished\r\nuntil compressed by degrees by the air attacking it from the sides.\r\nAll flame, therefore, is pyramidal, having its base near the source,\r\nand its vertex pointed from its being resisted by the air, and not\r\nsupplied from the source. On the contrary, the smoke, which is narrow\r\nat the base, expands in its ascent, and resembles an inverted pyramid,\r\nbecause the air admits the smoke, but compresses the flame; for let\r\nno one dream that the lighted flame is air, since they are clearly\r\nheterogeneous.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe instance of the cross will be more accurate, if the experiment can\r\nbe made by flames of different colors. Take, therefore, a small metal\r\nsconce, and place a lighted taper in it, then put it in a basin, and\r\npour a small quantity of spirits of wine round the sconce, so as not to\r\nreach its edge, and light the spirit. Now the flame of the spirit will\r\nbe blue, and that of the taper yellow; observe,\r\n therefore,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_209\"\u003e[209]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n whether the\r\nlatter (which can easily be distinguished from the former by its color,\r\nfor flames do not mix immediately, as liquids do) continue pyramidal,\r\nor tend more to a globular figure, since there is nothing to destroy or\r\ncompress it. If the latter result be observed, it must be considered\r\nas settled, that flame continues positively the same, while inclosed\r\nwithin another flame, and not exposed to the resisting force of the air.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet this suffice for the instances of the cross. We have dwelt the\r\nlonger upon them in order gradually to teach and accustom mankind to\r\njudge of nature by these instances, and enlightening experiments, and\r\nnot by probable reasons.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-135\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-135\" title=\"Go to Footnote 135\"\u003e[135]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_210\"\u003e[210]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-37\"\u003eXXXVII.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n We will treat of the instances of divorce as the fifteenth of\r\nour prerogative instances. They indicate the separation of natures of\r\nthe most common occurrence. They differ, however, from those subjoined\r\nto the accompanying instances; for the instances of divorce point out\r\nthe separation of a particular nature from some concrete substance with\r\nwhich it is usually found in conjunction, while the hostile instances\r\npoint out the total separation of one nature from another. They differ,\r\nalso, from the instances of the cross, because they decide nothing, but\r\nonly inform us that the one nature is capable of being separated from\r\nthe other. They are of use in exposing false forms, and dissipating\r\nhasty theories derived from obvious facts; so that they add ballast and\r\nweight, as it were, to the understanding.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor instance, let the acquired natures be those four which Telesius\r\nterms associates, and of the same family, namely, heat, light, rarity,\r\nand mobility, or promptitude to motion; yet many instances of divorce\r\ncan be discovered between them. Air is rare and easily moved, but\r\nneither hot nor light; the moon is light but not hot; boiling water is\r\nwarm but not light; the motion of the needle in the compass is swift\r\nand active, and yet its substance is cold, dense, and opaque; and there\r\nare many similar examples.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required natures be corporeal nature and natural action.\r\nThe latter appears incapable of subsisting without some body, yet may\r\nwe, perhaps, even here find an instance of divorce, as in the magnetic\r\nmotion, which draws the iron to the magnet, and heavy bodies to the\r\nglobe of the earth; to which we may add other actions which operate at\r\na distance. For such action takes place in time, by distinct moments,\r\nnot in an instant; and in space, by regular\r\n degrees\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_211\"\u003e[211]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n and distances.\r\nThere is, therefore, some one moment of time and some interval of\r\nspace, in which the power or action is suspended between the two bodies\r\ncreating the motion. Our consideration, then, is reduced to this,\r\nwhether the bodies which are the extremes of motion prepare or alter\r\nthe intermediate bodies, so that the power advances from one extreme\r\nto the other by succession and actual contact, and in the meantime\r\nexists in some intermediate body; or whether there exists in reality\r\nnothing but the bodies, the power, and the space? In the case of the\r\nrays of light, sounds, and heat, and some other objects which operate\r\nat a distance, it is indeed probable that the intermediate bodies\r\nare prepared and altered, the more so because a qualified medium is\r\nrequired for their operation. But the magnetic or attractive power\r\nadmits of an indifferent medium, and it is not impeded in any. But\r\nif that power or action is independent of the intermediate body, it\r\nfollows that it is a natural power or action existing in a certain time\r\nand space without any body, since it exists neither in the extreme nor\r\nin the intermediate bodies. Hence the magnetic action may be taken as\r\nan instance of divorce of corporeal nature and natural action; to which\r\nwe may add, as a corollary and an advantage not to be neglected, that\r\nit may be taken as a proof of essence and substance being separate and\r\nincorporeal, even by those who philosophize according to the senses.\r\nFor if natural power and action emanating from a body can exist at any\r\ntime and place entirely without any body, it is nearly a proof that\r\nit can also emanate originally from an incorporeal substance; for a\r\ncorporeal nature appears to be no less necessary for supporting and\r\nconveying, than for exciting or generating natural action.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_212\"\u003e[212]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXVIII. Next follow five classes of instances which we are wont to\r\ncall by the general term of instances of the lamp, or of immediate\r\ninformation. They are such as assist the senses; for since every\r\ninterpretation of nature sets out from the senses, and leads, by a\r\nregular fixed and well-established road, from the perceptions of\r\nthe senses to those of the understanding (which are true notions\r\nand axioms), it necessarily follows, that in proportion as the\r\nrepresentatives or ministerings of the senses are more abundant and\r\naccurate, everything else must be more easy and successful.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe first of these five sets of instances of the lamp, strengthen,\r\nenlarge, and correct the immediate operations of the senses; the second\r\nreduce to the sphere of the senses such matters as are beyond it; the\r\nthird indicate the continued process or series of such things and\r\nmotions, as for the most part are only observed in their termination,\r\nor in periods; the fourth supply the absolute wants of the senses; the\r\nfifth excite their attention and observation, and at the same time\r\nlimit the subtilty of things. We will now proceed to speak of them\r\nsingly.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXXXIX. In the sixteenth rank, then, of prerogative instances, we will\r\nplace the instances of the door or gate, by which name we designate\r\nsuch as assist the immediate action of the senses. It is obvious,\r\nthat sight holds the first rank among the senses, with regard to\r\ninformation, for which reason we must seek principally helps for that\r\nsense. These helps appear to be threefold, either to enable it to\r\nperceive objects not naturally seen, or to see them from a greater\r\ndistance, or to see them more accurately and distinctly.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have an example of the first (not to speak of spectacles and the\r\nlike, which only correct and remove the\r\n infirmity\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_213\"\u003e[213]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n of a deficient\r\nsight, and therefore give no further information) in the lately\r\ninvented microscopes, which exhibit the latent and invisible minutiæ\r\nof substances, and their hidden formation and motion, by wonderfully\r\nincreasing their apparent magnitude. By their assistance we behold\r\nwith astonishment the accurate form and outline of a flea, moss, and\r\nanimalculæ, as well as their previously invisible color and motion.\r\nIt is said, also, that an apparently straight line, drawn with a\r\npen or pencil, is discovered by such a microscope to be very uneven\r\nand curved, because neither the motion of the hand, when assisted\r\nby a ruler, nor the impression of ink or color, are really regular,\r\nalthough the irregularities are so minute as not to be perceptible\r\nwithout the assistance of the microscope. Men have (as is usual in\r\nnew and wonderful discoveries) added a superstitious remark, that\r\nthe microscope sheds a lustre on the works of nature, and dishonor\r\non those of art, which only means that the tissue of nature is much\r\nmore delicate than that of art. For the microscope is only of use for\r\nminute objects, and Democritus, perhaps, if he had seen it, would have\r\nexulted in the thought of a means being discovered for seeing his atom,\r\nwhich he affirmed to be entirely invisible. But the inadequacy of these\r\nmicroscopes, for the observation of any but the most minute bodies, and\r\neven of those if parts of a larger body, destroys their utility; for\r\nif the invention could be extended to greater bodies, or the minute\r\nparts of greater bodies, so that a piece of cloth would appear like a\r\nnet, and the latent minutiæ and irregularities of gems, liquids, urine,\r\nblood, wounds, and many other things could be rendered visible, the\r\ngreatest advantage would, without doubt, be derived.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_214\"\u003e[214]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have an instance of the second kind in the telescope, discovered\r\nby the wonderful exertions of Galileo; by the assistance of which a\r\nnearer intercourse may be opened (as by boats or vessels) between\r\nourselves and the heavenly objects. For by its aid we are assured\r\nthat the Milky Way is but a knot or constellation of small stars,\r\nclearly defined and separate, which the ancients only conjectured to\r\nbe the case; whence it appears to be capable of demonstration, that\r\nthe spaces of the planetary orbits (as they are termed) are not quite\r\ndestitute of other stars, but that the heaven begins to glitter with\r\nstars before we arrive at the starry sphere, although they may be too\r\nsmall to be visible without the telescope. By the telescope, also, we\r\ncan behold the revolutions of smaller stars round Jupiter, whence it\r\nmay be conjectured that there are several centres of motion among the\r\nstars. By its assistance, also, the irregularity of light and shade on\r\nthe moon’s surface is more clearly observed and determined, so as to\r\nallow of a sort of\r\n selenography.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-136\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-136\" title=\"Go to Footnote 136\"\u003e[136]\u003c/a\u003e By the telescope we see the spots\r\nin the sun, and other similar phenomena; all of which are most noble\r\ndiscoveries, as far as credit can be safely given to demonstrations\r\nof this nature, which are on this account very suspicious, namely,\r\nthat experiment stops at these few, and nothing further has yet\r\nbeen discovered by the same method, among objects equally worthy of\r\nconsideration.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have instances of the third kind in measuring-rods, astrolabes,\r\nand the like, which do not enlarge, but correct and guide the sight.\r\nIf there be other instances which\r\n assist\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_215\"\u003e[215]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n the other senses in their\r\nimmediate and individual action, yet if they add nothing further to\r\ntheir information they are not apposite to our present purpose, and we\r\nhave therefore said nothing of them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-40\"\u003eXL.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n In the seventeenth rank of prerogative instances we will place\r\nciting instances (to borrow a term from the tribunals), because they\r\ncite those things to appear, which have not yet appeared. We are wont\r\nalso to call them invoking instances, and their property is that of\r\nreducing to the sphere of the senses objects which do not immediately\r\nfall within it.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eObjects escape the senses either from their distance, or the\r\nintervention of other bodies, or because they are not calculated\r\nto make an impression upon the senses, or because they are not in\r\nsufficient quantity to strike the senses, or because there is not\r\nsufficient time for their acting upon the senses, or because the\r\nimpression is too violent, or because the senses are previously filled\r\nand possessed by the object, so as to leave no room for any new motion.\r\nThese remarks apply principally to sight, and next to touch, which two\r\nsenses act extensively in giving information, and that too upon general\r\nobjects, while the remaining three inform us only, as it were, by their\r\nimmediate action, and as to specific objects.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere can be no reduction to the sphere of the senses in the first\r\ncase, unless in the place of the object, which cannot be perceived\r\non account of the distance, there be added or substituted some other\r\nobject, which can excite and strike the sense from a greater distance,\r\nas in the communication of intelligence by fires, bells, and the like.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the second case we effect this reduction by rendering those things\r\nwhich are concealed by the interposition\r\n of\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_216\"\u003e[216]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n other bodies, and which\r\ncannot easily be laid open, evident to the senses by means of that\r\nwhich lies at the surface, or proceeds from the interior; thus the\r\nstate of the body is judged of by the pulse, urine, etc.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe third and fourth cases apply to many subjects, and the reduction\r\nto the sphere of the senses must be obtained from every quarter in the\r\ninvestigation of things. There are many examples. It is obvious that\r\nair, and spirit, and the like, whose whole substance is extremely rare\r\nand delicate, can neither be seen nor touched—a reduction, therefore,\r\nto the senses becomes necessary in every investigation relating to such\r\nbodies.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the required nature, therefore, be the action and motion of the\r\nspirit inclosed in tangible bodies; for every tangible body with which\r\nwe are acquainted contains an invisible and intangible spirit, over\r\nwhich it is drawn, and which it seems to clothe. This spirit being\r\nemitted from a tangible substance, leaves the body contracted and dry;\r\nwhen retained, it softens and melts it; when neither wholly emitted nor\r\nretained, it models it, endows it with limbs, assimilates, manifests,\r\norganizes it, and the like. All these points are reduced to the sphere\r\nof the senses by manifest effects.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor in every tangible and inanimate body the inclosed spirit at first\r\nincreases, and as it were feeds on the tangible parts which are most\r\nopen and prepared for it; and when it has digested and modified them,\r\nand turned them into spirit, it escapes with them. This formation and\r\nincrease of spirit is rendered sensible by the diminution of weight;\r\nfor in every desiccation something is lost in quantity, not only of\r\nthe spirit previously existing in the body, but of the body itself,\r\nwhich was previously tangible, and\r\n has\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_217\"\u003e[217]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n been recently changed, for the\r\nspirit itself has no weight. The departure or emission of spirit is\r\nrendered sensible in the rust of metals, and other putrefactions of a\r\nlike nature, which stop before they arrive at the rudiments of life,\r\nwhich belong to the third species of\r\n process.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-137\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-137\" title=\"Go to Footnote 137\"\u003e[137]\u003c/a\u003e In compact bodies\r\nthe spirit does not find pores and passages for its escape, and is\r\ntherefore obliged to force out, and drive before it, the tangible parts\r\nalso, which consequently protrude, whence arises rust and the like. The\r\ncontraction of the tangible parts, occasioned by the emission of part\r\nof the spirit (whence arises desiccation), is rendered sensible by the\r\nincreased hardness of the substance, and still more by the fissures,\r\ncontractions, shrivelling, and folds of the bodies thus produced. For\r\nthe parts of wood split and contract, skins become shrivelled, and not\r\nonly that, but, if the spirit be emitted suddenly by the heat of the\r\nfire, become so hastily contracted as to twist and roll themselves up.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOn the contrary, when the spirit is retained, and yet expanded and\r\nexcited by heat or the like (which happens in solid and tenacious\r\nbodies), then the bodies are softened, as in hot iron; or flow, as in\r\nmetals; or melt, as in gums, wax, and the like. The contrary effects\r\nof heat, therefore (hardening some substances and melting others), are\r\neasily reconciled,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-138\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-138\" title=\"Go to Footnote 138\"\u003e[138]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n because the spirit is emitted in the former,\r\nand\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_218\"\u003e[218]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n agitated and retained in the latter; the latter action is that of\r\nheat and the spirit, the former that of the tangible parts themselves,\r\nafter the spirit’s emission.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut when the spirit is neither entirely retained nor emitted, but\r\nonly strives and exercises itself, within its limits, and meets with\r\ntangible parts, which obey and readily follow it wherever it leads\r\nthem, then follows the formation of an organic body, and of limbs, and\r\nthe other vital actions of vegetables and animals. These are rendered\r\nsensible chiefly by diligent observation of the first beginnings, and\r\nrudiments or effects of life in animalculæ sprung from putrefaction, as\r\nin the eggs of ants, worms, mosses, frogs after rain, etc. Both a mild\r\nheat and a pliant substance, however, are necessary for the production\r\nof life, in order that the spirit may neither hastily escape, nor be\r\nrestrained by the obstinacy of the parts, so as not to be able to bend\r\nand model them like wax.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, the difference of spirit which is important and of effect\r\nin many points (as unconnected spirit, branching spirit, branching\r\nand cellular spirit, the first of which is that of all inanimate\r\nsubstances, the second of vegetables, and the third of animals), is\r\nplaced, as it were, before the eyes by many reducing instances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, it is clear that the more refined tissue and conformation of\r\nthings (though forming the whole body of visible or tangible objects)\r\nare neither visible nor tangible. Our information, therefore, must\r\nhere also be derived from reduction to the sphere of the senses. But\r\nthe most radical and primary difference of formation depends on the\r\nabundance or scarcity of matter within the same space or dimensions.\r\nFor the other formations which regard the dissimilarity of the parts\r\ncontained in the same body, and\r\n their\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_219\"\u003e[219]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n collocation and position, are\r\nsecondary in comparison with the former.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the required nature then be the expansion or coherence of matter in\r\ndifferent bodies, or the quantity of matter relative to the dimensions\r\nof each. For there is nothing in nature more true than the twofold\r\nproposition—that nothing proceeds from nothing and that nothing is\r\nreduced to nothing, but that the quantum, or sum total of matter, is\r\nconstant, and is neither increased nor diminished. Nor is it less true,\r\nthat out of this given quantity of matter, there is a greater or less\r\nquantity, contained within the same space or dimensions according to\r\nthe difference of bodies; as, for instance, water contains more than\r\nair. So that if any one were to assert that a given content of water\r\ncan be changed into an equal content of air, it is the same as if he\r\nwere to assert that something can be reduced into nothing. On the\r\ncontrary, if any one were to assert that a given content of air can be\r\nchanged into an equal content of water, it is the same as if he were\r\nto assert that something can proceed from nothing. From this abundance\r\nor scarcity of matter are properly derived the notions of density and\r\nrarity, which are taken in various and promiscuous senses.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis third assertion may be considered as being also sufficiently\r\ncertain; namely, that the greater or less quantity of matter in this or\r\nthat body, may, by comparison, be reduced to calculation, and exact, or\r\nnearly exact, proportion. Thus, if one should say that there is such\r\nan accumulation of matter in a given \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027quanity\u0027\" id=\"p219_quantity\"\u003equantity\u003c/a\u003e\r\n of gold, that it would\r\nrequire twenty-one times the quantity in dimension of spirits of wine,\r\nto make up the same quantity of matter, it would not be far from the\r\ntruth.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_220\"\u003e[220]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe accumulation of matter, however, and its relative quantity, are\r\nrendered sensible by weight; for weight is proportionate to the\r\nquantity of matter, as regards the parts of a tangible substance, but\r\nspirit and its quantity of matter are not to be computed by weight,\r\nwhich spirit rather diminishes than augments.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have made a tolerably accurate table of weight, in which we have\r\nselected the weights and size of all the metals, the principal\r\nminerals, stones, liquids, oils, and many other natural and artificial\r\nbodies: a very useful proceeding both as regards theory and practice,\r\nand which is capable of revealing many unexpected results. Nor is this\r\nof little consequence, that it serves to demonstrate that the whole\r\nrange of the variety of tangible bodies with which we are acquainted\r\n(we mean tolerably close, and not spongy, hollow bodies, which are for\r\na considerable part filled with air), does not exceed the ratio of one\r\nto twenty-one. So limited is nature, or at least that part of it to\r\nwhich we are most habituated.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have also thought it deserving our industry, to try if we could\r\narrive at the ratio of intangible or pneumatic bodies to tangible\r\nbodies, which we attempted by the following contrivance. We took a\r\nvial capable of containing about an ounce, using a small vessel in\r\norder to effect the subsequent evaporation with less heat. We filled\r\nthis vial, almost to the neck, with spirits of wine, selecting it as\r\nthe tangible body which, by our table, was the rarest, and contained a\r\nless quantity of matter in a given space than all other tangible bodies\r\nwhich are compact and not hollow. Then we noted exactly the weight\r\nof the liquid and vial. We next took a bladder, containing about two\r\npints, and squeezed all the air out of it, as completely as possible,\r\nand\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_221\"\u003e[221]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n until the sides of the bladder met. We first, however, rubbed the\r\nbladder gently with oil, so as to make it air-tight, by closing its\r\npores with the oil. We tied the bladder tightly round the mouth of the\r\nvial, which we had inserted in it, and with a piece of waxed thread\r\nto make it fit better and more tightly, and then placed the vial on\r\nsome hot coals in a brazier. The vapor or steam of the spirit, dilated\r\nand become aëriform by the heat, gradually swelled out the bladder,\r\nand stretched it in every direction like a sail. As soon as that was\r\naccomplished, we removed the vial from the fire and placed it on a\r\ncarpet, that it might not be cracked by the cold; we also pricked the\r\nbladder immediately, that the steam might not return to a liquid state\r\nby the cessation of heat, and confound the proportions. We then removed\r\nthe bladder, and again took the weight of the spirit which remained;\r\nand so calculated the quantity which had been converted into vapor, or\r\nan aëriform shape, and then examined how much space had been occupied\r\nby the body in its form of spirits of wine in the vial, and how much,\r\non the other hand, had been occupied by it in its aëriform shape in the\r\nbladder, and subtracted the results; from which it was clear that the\r\nbody, thus converted and changed, acquired an expansion of one hundred\r\ntimes beyond its former bulk.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be heat or cold, of such a degree as\r\nnot to be sensible from its weakness. They are rendered sensible by\r\nthe thermometer, as we described it\r\n above;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-139\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-139\" title=\"Go to Footnote 139\"\u003e[139]\u003c/a\u003e for the cold and heat\r\nare not actually perceived by the touch, but heat expands and cold\r\ncontracts the air. Nor, again, is that expansion or contraction of the\r\nair in\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_222\"\u003e[222]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n itself visible, but the air when expanded depresses the water,\r\nand when contracted raises it, which is the first reduction to sight.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, let the required nature be the mixture of bodies; namely,\r\nhow much aqueous, oleaginous or spirituous, ashy or salt parts they\r\ncontain; or, as a particular example, how much butter, cheese, and whey\r\nthere is in milk, and the like. These things are rendered sensible by\r\nartificial and skilful separations in tangible substances; and the\r\nnature of the spirit in them, though not immediately perceptible, is\r\nnevertheless discovered by the various motions and efforts of bodies.\r\nAnd, indeed, in this branch men have labored hard in distillations\r\nand artificial separations, but with little more success than in\r\ntheir other experiments now in use; their methods being mere guesses\r\nand blind attempts, and more industrious than intelligent; and what\r\nis worst of all, without any imitation or rivalry of nature, but\r\nrather by violent heats and too energetic agents, to the destruction\r\nof any delicate conformation, in which principally consist the\r\nhidden virtues and sympathies. Nor do men in these separations ever\r\nattend to or observe what we have before pointed out; namely, that\r\nin attacking bodies by fire, or other methods, many qualities are\r\nsuperinduced by the fire itself, and the other bodies used to effect\r\nthe separation, which were not originally in the compound. Hence arise\r\nmost extraordinary fallacies; for the mass of vapor which is emitted\r\nfrom water by fire, for instance, did not exist as vapor or air in the\r\nwater, but is chiefly created by the expansion of the water by the heat\r\nof the fire.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSo, in general, all delicate experiments on natural or artificial\r\nbodies, by which the genuine are distinguished from the adulterated,\r\nand the better from the more\r\n common,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_223\"\u003e[223]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n should be referred to this\r\ndivision; for they bring that which is not the object of the senses\r\nwithin their sphere. They are therefore to be everywhere diligently\r\nsought after.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWith regard to the fifth cause of objects escaping our senses, it is\r\nclear that the action of the sense takes place by motion, and this\r\nmotion is time. If, therefore, the motion of any body be either so slow\r\nor so swift as not to be proportioned to the necessary momentum which\r\noperates on the senses, the object is not perceived at all; as in the\r\nmotion of the hour hand, and that, again, of a musket-ball. The motion\r\nwhich is imperceptible by the senses from its slowness, is readily and\r\nusually rendered sensible by the accumulation of motion; that which is\r\nimperceptible from its velocity, has not as yet been well measured; it\r\nis necessary, however, that this should be done in some cases, with a\r\nview to a proper investigation of nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe sixth case, where the sense is impeded by the power of the object,\r\nadmits of a reduction to the sensible sphere, either by removing the\r\nobject to a greater distance, or by deadening its effects by the\r\ninterposition of a medium, which may weaken and not destroy the object;\r\nor by the admission of its reflection where the direct impression is\r\ntoo strong, as that of the sun in a basin of water.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe seventh case, where the senses are so overcharged with the object\r\nas to leave no further room, scarcely occurs except in the smell or\r\ntaste, and is not of much consequence as regards our present subject.\r\nLet what we have said, therefore, suffice with regard to the reduction\r\nto the sensible sphere of objects not naturally within its compass.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSometimes, however, this reduction is not extended to the senses of\r\nman, but to those of some other animal, whose senses, in some points,\r\nexceed those of man; as (with\r\n regard\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_224\"\u003e[224]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n to some scents) to that of the\r\ndog, and with regard to light existing imperceptibly in the air, when\r\nnot illuminated from any extraneous source, to the sense of the cat,\r\nthe owl, and other animals which see by night. For Telesius has well\r\nobserved, that there appears to be an original portion of light even\r\nin the air itself,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-140\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-140\" title=\"Go to Footnote 140\"\u003e[140]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n although but slight and meagre, and of no use\r\nfor the most part to the eyes of men, and those of the generality\r\nof animals; because those animals to whose senses this light is\r\nproportioned can see by night, which does not, in all probability,\r\nproceed from their seeing either without light or by any internal light.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHere, too, we would observe, that we at present discuss only the\r\nwants of the senses, and their remedies; for their deceptions must be\r\nreferred to the inquiries appropriated to the senses, and sensible\r\nobjects; except that important deception, which makes them define\r\nobjects in their relation to man, and not in their relation to the\r\nuniverse, and which is only corrected by universal reasoning and\r\nphilosophy.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-141\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-141\" title=\"Go to Footnote 141\"\u003e[141]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLI. In the eighteenth rank of prerogative instances we will class the\r\ninstances of the road, which we are also wont to call itinerant and\r\njointed instances. They are such as indicate the gradually continued\r\nmotions of nature.\r\n This\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_225\"\u003e[225]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n species of instances escapes rather our\r\nobservation than our senses; for men are wonderfully indolent upon\r\nthis subject, consulting nature in a desultory manner, and at periodic\r\nintervals, when bodies have been regularly finished and completed,\r\nand not during her work. But if any one were desirous of examining\r\nand contemplating the talents and industry of an artificer, he would\r\nnot merely wish to see the rude materials of his art, and then his\r\nwork when finished, but rather to be present while he is at labor,\r\nand proceeding with his work. Something of the same kind should be\r\ndone with regard to nature. For instance, if any one investigate the\r\nvegetation of plants, he should observe from the first sowing of any\r\nseed (which can easily be done, by pulling up every day seeds which\r\nhave been two, three, or four days in the ground, and examining them\r\ndiligently), how and when the seed begins to swell and break, and be\r\nfilled, as it were, with spirit; then how it begins to burst the bark\r\nand push out fibres, raising itself a little at the same time, unless\r\nthe ground be very stiff; then how it pushes out these fibres, some\r\ndownward for roots, others upward for the stem, sometimes also creeping\r\nlaterally, if it find the earth open and more yielding on one side, and\r\nthe like. The same should be done in observing the hatching of eggs,\r\nwhere we may easily see the process of animation and organization, and\r\nwhat parts are formed of the yolk, and what of the white of the egg,\r\nand the like. The same may be said of the inquiry into the formation\r\nof animals from putrefaction; for it would not be so humane to inquire\r\ninto perfect and terrestrial animals, by cutting the fœtus from the\r\nwomb; but opportunities may perhaps be offered of abortions, animals\r\nkilled in hunting, and the like. Nature, therefore, must, as it were,\r\nbe watched, as being\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_226\"\u003e[226]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n more easily observed by night than by day: for\r\ncontemplations of this kind may be considered as carried on by night,\r\nfrom the minuteness and perpetual burning of our watch-light.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe same must be attempted with inanimate objects, which we have\r\nourselves done by inquiring into the opening of liquids by fire.\r\nFor the mode in which water expands is different from that observed\r\nin wine, vinegar, or verjuice, and very different, again, from that\r\nobserved in milk and oil, and the like; and this was easily seen by\r\nboiling them with slow heat, in a glass vessel, through which the\r\nwhole may be clearly perceived. But we merely mention this, intending\r\nto treat of it more at large and more closely when we come to the\r\ndiscovery of the latent process; for it should always be remembered\r\nthat we do not here treat of things themselves, but merely propose\r\nexamples.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-142\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-142\" title=\"Go to Footnote 142\"\u003e[142]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLII. In the nineteenth rank of prerogative instances we will class\r\nsupplementary or substitutive instances, which we are also wont to call\r\ninstances of refuge. They are such as supply information, where the\r\nsenses are entirely deficient, and we therefore have recourse to them\r\nwhen appropriate instances cannot be obtained. This substitution\r\n is\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_227\"\u003e[227]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\ntwofold, either by approximation or by analogy. For instance, there is\r\nno known medium which entirely prevents the effect of the magnet in\r\nattracting iron—neither gold, nor silver, nor stone, nor glass, wood,\r\nwater, oil, cloth, or fibrous bodies, air, flame, or the like. Yet by\r\naccurate experiment, a medium may perhaps be found which would deaden\r\nits effect, more than another comparatively and in degree; as, for\r\ninstance, the magnet would not perhaps attract iron through the same\r\nthickness of gold as of air, or the same quantity of ignited as of cold\r\nsilver, and so on; for we have not ourselves made the experiment, but\r\nit will suffice as an example. Again, there is no known body which is\r\nnot susceptible of heat, when brought near the fire; yet air becomes\r\nwarm much sooner than stone. These are examples of substitution by\r\napproximation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSubstitution by analogy is useful, but less sure, and therefore to be\r\nadopted with some judgment. It serves to reduce that which is not the\r\nobject of the senses to their sphere, not by the perceptible operations\r\nof the imperceptible body, but by the consideration of some similar\r\nperceptible body. For instance, let the subject for inquiry be the\r\nmixture of spirits, which are invisible bodies. There appears to be\r\nsome relation between bodies and their sources or support. Now, the\r\nsource of flame seems to be oil and fat; that of air, water, and watery\r\nsubstances; for flame increases over the exhalation of oil, and air\r\nover that of water. One must therefore consider the mixture of oil and\r\nwater, which is manifest to the senses, since that of air and flame in\r\ngeneral escapes the senses. But oil and water mix very imperfectly by\r\ncomposition or stirring, while they are exactly and nicely mixed in\r\nherbs, blood, and the parts of animals. Something similar, therefore,\r\nmay take place in\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_228\"\u003e[228]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n the mixture of flame and air in spirituous\r\nsubstances, not bearing mixture very well by simple collision, while\r\nthey appear, however, to be well mixed in the spirits of plants and\r\nanimals.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, if the inquiry do not relate to perfect mixtures of spirits,\r\nbut merely to their composition, as whether they easily incorporate\r\nwith each other, or there be rather (as an example) certain winds and\r\nexhalations, or other spiritual bodies, which do not mix with common\r\nair, but only adhere to and float in it in globules and drops, and\r\nare rather broken and pounded by the air, than received into, and\r\nincorporated with it; this cannot be perceived in common air, and other\r\naëriform substances, on account of the rarity of the bodies, but an\r\nimage, as it were, of this process may be conceived in such liquids\r\nas quicksilver, oil, water, and even air, when broken and dissipated\r\nit ascends in small portions through water, and also in the thicker\r\nkinds of smoke; lastly, in dust, raised and remaining in the air, in\r\nall of which there is no incorporation: and the above representation\r\nin this respect is not a bad one, if it be first diligently\r\ninvestigated, whether there can be such a difference of nature between\r\nspirituous substances, as between liquids, for then these images might\r\nconveniently be substituted by analogy.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnd although we have observed of these supplementary instances, that\r\ninformation is to be derived from them, when appropriate instances are\r\nwanting, by way of refuge, yet we would have it understood, that they\r\nare also of great use, when the appropriate instances are at hand, in\r\norder to confirm the information afforded by them; of which we will\r\nspeak more at length, when our subject leads us, in due course, to the\r\nsupport of induction.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_229\"\u003e[229]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLIII. In the twentieth rank of prerogative instances we will place\r\nlancing instances, which we are also wont (but for a different reason)\r\nto call twitching instances. We adopt the latter name, because they\r\ntwitch the understanding, and the former because they pierce nature,\r\nwhence we style them occasionally the instances of\r\n Democritus.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-143\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-143\" title=\"Go to Footnote 143\"\u003e[143]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThey are such as warn the understanding of the admirable and\r\nexquisite subtilty of nature, so that it becomes roused and awakened\r\nto attention, observation, and proper inquiry; as, for instance,\r\nthat a little drop of ink should be drawn out into so many letters;\r\nthat silver merely gilt on its surface should be stretched to such a\r\nlength of gilt wire; that a little worm, such as you may find on the\r\nskin, should possess both a spirit and a varied conformation of its\r\nparts; that a little saffron should imbue a whole tub of water with\r\nits color; that a little musk or aroma should imbue a much greater\r\nextent of air with its perfume; that a cloud of smoke should be\r\nraised by a little incense; that such accurate differences of sounds\r\nas articulate words should be conveyed in all directions through the\r\nair, and even penetrate the pores of wood and water (though they\r\nbecome much weakened), that they should be, moreover, reflected, and\r\nthat with such distinctness and velocity; that light and color should\r\nfor such an extent and so rapidly pass through solid bodies, such as\r\nglass and water, with so great and so exquisite a variety of images,\r\nand should be refracted and reflected; that the magnet should attract\r\nthrough every description of body, even the most compact; but (what\r\nis still more wonderful) that in all these cases the action of one\r\nshould not impede that of another in a\r\n common\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_230\"\u003e[230]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n medium, such as air;\r\nand that there should be borne through the air, at the same time, so\r\nmany images of visible objects, so many impulses of articulation, so\r\nmany different perfumes, as of the violet, rose, etc., besides cold and\r\nheat, and magnetic attractions; all of them, I say, at once, without\r\nany impediment from each other, as if each had its paths and peculiar\r\npassage set apart for it, without infringing against or meeting each\r\nother.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eTo these lancing instances, however, we are wont, not without some\r\nadvantage, to add those which we call the limits of such instances.\r\nThus, in the cases we have pointed out, one action does not disturb or\r\nimpede another of a different nature, yet those of a similar nature\r\nsubdue and extinguish each other; as the light of the sun does that of\r\nthe candle, the sound of a cannon that of the voice, a strong perfume a\r\nmore delicate one, a powerful heat a more gentle one, a plate of iron\r\nbetween the magnet and other iron the effect of the magnet. But the\r\nproper place for mentioning these will be also among the supports of\r\ninduction.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLIV. We have now spoken of the instances which assist the senses,\r\nand which are principally of service as regards information; for\r\ninformation begins from the senses. But our whole labor terminates in\r\npractice, and as the former is the beginning, so is the latter the\r\nend of our subject. The following instances, therefore, will be those\r\nwhich are chiefly useful in practice. They are comprehended in two\r\nclasses, and are seven in number. We call them all by the general name\r\nof practical instances. Now there are two defects in practice, and as\r\nmany divisions of important instances. Practice is either deceptive or\r\ntoo laborious. It is generally deceptive (especially after a\r\n diligent\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_231\"\u003e[231]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nexamination of natures), on account of the power and actions of\r\nbodies being ill defined and determined. Now the powers and actions\r\nof bodies are defined and determined either by space or by time, or\r\nby the quantity at a given period, or by the predominance of energy;\r\nand if these four circumstances be not well and diligently considered,\r\nthe sciences may indeed be beautiful in theory, but are of no effect\r\nin practice. We call the four instances referred to this class,\r\nmathematical instances and instances of measure.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003ePractice is laborious either from the multitude of instruments, or\r\nthe bulk of matter and substances requisite for any given work. Those\r\ninstances, therefore, are valuable, which either direct practice to\r\nthat which is of most consequence to mankind, or lessen the number of\r\ninstruments or of matter to be worked upon. We assign to the three\r\ninstances relating to this class, the common name of propitious or\r\nbenevolent instances. We will now separately discuss these seven\r\ninstances, and conclude with them that part of our work which relates\r\nto the prerogative or illustrious instances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-15\"\u003eXLV.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n In the twenty-first rank of prerogative instances we will place\r\nthe instances of the rod or rule, which we are also wont to call the\r\ninstances of completion or \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003enon ultrà\u003c/i\u003e.\r\n For the powers and motions of\r\nbodies do not act and take effect through indefinite and accidental,\r\nbut through limited and certain spaces; and it is of great importance\r\nto practice that these should be understood and noted in every nature\r\nwhich is investigated, not only to prevent deception, but to render\r\npractice more extensive and efficient. For it is sometimes possible to\r\nextend these powers, and bring the distance, as it were, nearer, as in\r\nthe example of telescopes.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMany powers act and take effect only by actual touch,\r\n as\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_232\"\u003e[232]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e in the\r\npercussion of bodies, where the one does not remove the other, unless\r\nthe impelling touch the impelled body. External applications in\r\nmedicine, as ointment and plasters, do not exercise their efficacy\r\nexcept when in contact with the body. Lastly, the objects of touch and\r\ntaste only strike those senses when in contact with their organs.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOther powers act at a distance, though it be very small, of which but\r\nfew have as yet been noted, although there be more than men suspect;\r\nthis happens (to take everyday instances) when amber or jet attracts\r\nstraws, bubbles dissolve bubbles, some purgative medicines draw humors\r\nfrom above, and the like. The magnetic power by which iron and the\r\nmagnet, or two magnets, are attracted together, acts within a definite\r\nand narrow sphere, but if there be any magnetic power emanating from\r\nthe earth a little below its surface, and affecting the needle in its\r\npolarity, it must act at a great distance.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, if there be any magnetic force which acts by sympathy between\r\nthe globe of the earth and heavy bodies, or between that of the moon\r\nand the waters of the sea (as seems most probable from the particular\r\nfloods and ebbs which occur twice in the month), or between the starry\r\nsphere and the planets, by which they are summoned and raised to their\r\napogees, these must all operate at very great\r\n distances.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-144\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-144\" title=\"Go to Footnote 144\"\u003e[144]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_233\"\u003e[233]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, some conflagrations and the kindling of flames take place\r\nat very considerable distances with particular substances, as they\r\nreport of the naphtha of Babylon. Heat, too, insinuates itself at wide\r\ndistances, as does also cold, so that the masses of ice which are\r\nbroken off and float upon the Northern Ocean, and are borne through the\r\nAtlantic to the coast of Canada, become perceptible by the inhabitants,\r\nand strike them with cold from a distance. Perfumes also (though here\r\nthere appears to be always some corporeal emission) act at remarkable\r\ndistances, as is experienced by persons sailing by the coast of\r\nFlorida, or parts of Spain, where there are whole woods of lemons,\r\noranges, and other odoriferous plants, or rosemary and marjoram bushes,\r\nand the like. Lastly, the rays of light and the impressions of sound\r\nact at extensive distances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eYet all these powers, whether acting at a small or great distance,\r\ncertainly act within definite distances, which are well ascertained\r\nby nature, so that there is a limit depending either on the mass or\r\nquantity of the bodies, the vigor or faintness of the powers, or the\r\nfavorable or impeding nature of the medium, all of which should be\r\ntaken into\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_234\"\u003e[234]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n account and observed. We must also note the boundaries of\r\nviolent motions, such as missiles, projectiles, wheels and the like,\r\nsince they are also manifestly confined to certain limits.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSome motions and virtues are to be found of a directly contrary nature\r\nto these, which act in contact but not at a distance; namely, such as\r\noperate at a distance and not in contact, and again act with less force\r\nat a less distance, and the reverse. Sight, for instance, is not easily\r\neffective in contact, but requires a medium and distance; although I\r\nremember having heard from a person deserving of credit, that in being\r\ncured of a cataract (which was done by putting a small silver needle\r\nwithin the first coat of the eye, to remove the thin pellicle of the\r\ncataract, and force it into a corner of the eye), he had distinctly\r\nseen the needle moving across the pupil. Still, though this may be\r\ntrue, it is clear that large bodies cannot be seen well or distinctly,\r\nunless at the vertex of a cone, where the rays from the object meet\r\nat some distance from the eye. In old persons the eye sees better if\r\nthe object be moved a little further, and not nearer. Again, it is\r\ncertain that in projectiles the impact is not so violent at too short\r\na distance as a little\r\n afterward.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-145\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-145\" title=\"Go to Footnote 145\"\u003e[145]\u003c/a\u003e Such are the observations to be\r\nmade on the measure of motions as regards distance.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere is another measure of motion in space which\r\n must\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_235\"\u003e[235]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e not be passed\r\nover, not relating to progressive but spherical motion—that is,\r\nthe expansion of bodies into a greater, or their contraction into a\r\nlesser sphere. For in our measure of this motion we must inquire what\r\ndegree of compression or extension bodies easily and readily admit of,\r\naccording to their nature, and at what point they begin to resist it,\r\nso as at last to bear it no further—as when an inflated bladder is\r\ncompressed, it allows a certain compression of the air, but if this be\r\nincreased, the air does not suffer it, and the bladder is burst.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have proved this by a more delicate experiment. We took a metal\r\nbell, of a light and thin sort, such as is used for salt-cellars, and\r\nimmersed it in a basin of water, so as to carry the air contained in\r\nits interior down with it to the bottom of the basin. We had first,\r\nhowever, placed a small globe at the bottom of the basin, over which\r\nwe placed the bell. The result was, that if the globe were small\r\ncompared with the interior of the bell, the air would contract itself,\r\nand be compressed without being forced out, but if it were too large\r\nfor the air readily to yield to it, the latter became impatient of the\r\npressure, raised the bell partly up, and ascended in bubbles.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eTo prove, also, the extension (as well as the compression) which air\r\nadmits of, we adopted the following method:—We took a glass egg, with\r\na small hole at one end; we drew out the air by violent suction at\r\nthis hole, and then closed the hole with the finger, immersed the egg\r\nin water, and then removed the finger. The air being constrained by\r\nthe effort made in suction, and dilated beyond its natural state, and\r\ntherefore striving to recover and contract itself (so that if the egg\r\nhad not been immersed in water, it would have drawn in the air with a\r\nhissing sound), now drew\r\n in\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_236\"\u003e[236]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n a sufficient quantity of water to allow\r\nthe air to recover its former\r\n dimensions.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-146\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-146\" title=\"Go to Footnote 146\"\u003e[146]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is well ascertained that rare bodies (such as air) admit of\r\nconsiderable contraction, as has been before observed; but tangible\r\nbodies (such as water) admit of it much less readily, and to a less\r\nextent. We investigated the latter point by the following experiment:\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe had a leaden globe made, capable of containing about two pints, wine\r\nmeasure, and of tolerable thickness, so as to support considerable\r\npressure. We poured water into it through an aperture, which we\r\nafterward closed with melted lead, as soon as the globe was filled with\r\nwater, so that the whole became perfectly solid. We next flattened the\r\ntwo opposite sides with a heavy hammer, which necessarily caused the\r\nwater to occupy a less space, since the sphere is the solid of greatest\r\ncontent; and when hammering failed from the resistance of the water,\r\nwe made use of a mill or press, till at last the water, refusing to\r\nsubmit to a greater pressure, exuded like a fine dew through the solid\r\nlead. We then computed the extent to which the original space had been\r\nreduced, and concluded that water admitted such a degree of compression\r\nwhen constrained by great violence.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe more solid, dry or compact bodies, such as stones, wood and metals,\r\nadmit of much less, and indeed scarcely any perceptible compression or\r\nexpansion, but escape by breaking, slipping forward, or other efforts;\r\nas appears in bending wood, or steel for watch-springs, in projectiles,\r\nhammering and many other motions, all of which,\r\n together\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_237\"\u003e[237]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n with their\r\ndegrees, are to be observed and examined in the investigation of\r\nnature, either to a certainty, or by estimation, or comparison, as\r\nopportunity permits.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLVI. In the twenty-second rank of prerogative instances we will\r\nplace the instances of the course, which we are also wont to call\r\nwater instances, borrowing our expression from the water hour-glasses\r\nemployed by the ancients instead of those with sand. They are such as\r\nmeasure nature by the moments of time, as the last instances do by the\r\ndegrees of space. For all motion or natural action takes place in time,\r\nmore or less rapidly, but still in determined moments well ascertained\r\nby nature. Even those actions which appear to take effect suddenly, and\r\nin the twinkling of an eye (as we express it), are found to admit of\r\ngreater or less rapidity.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the first place, then, we see that the return of the heavenly bodies\r\nto the same place takes place in regular times, as does the flood and\r\nebb of the sea. The descent of heavy bodies toward the earth, and\r\nthe ascent of light bodies toward the heavenly sphere, take place in\r\ndefinite times,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-147\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-147\" title=\"Go to Footnote 147\"\u003e[147]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n according to the nature of the body, and of the\r\nmedium through which it moves. The sailing of ships, the motions of\r\nanimals, the transmission of projectiles,\r\n all\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_238\"\u003e[238]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n take place in times\r\nthe sums of which can be computed. With regard to heat, we see that\r\nboys in winter bathe their hands in the flame without being burned;\r\nand conjurers, by quick and regular movements, overturn vessels filled\r\nwith wine or water, and replace them without spilling the liquid, with\r\nseveral similar instances. The compression, expansion and eruption\r\nof several bodies, take place more or less rapidly, according to the\r\nnature of the body and its motion, but still in definite moments.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the explosion of several cannon at once (which are sometimes heard\r\nat the distance of thirty miles), the sound of those nearest to the\r\nspot is heard before that of the most distant. Even in sight (whose\r\naction is most rapid), it is clear that a definite time is necessary\r\nfor its exertion, which is proved by certain objects being invisible\r\nfrom the velocity of their motion, such as a musket-ball; for the\r\nflight of the ball is too swift to allow an impression of its figure to\r\nbe conveyed to the sight.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis last instance, and others of a like nature, have sometimes excited\r\nin us a most marvellous doubt, no less than whether the image of the\r\nsky and stars is perceived as at the actual moment of its existence,\r\nor rather a little after, and whether there is not (with regard to the\r\nvisible appearance of the heavenly bodies) a true and apparent time,\r\nas well as a true and apparent place, which is observed by astronomers\r\nin parallaxes. It appeared so incredible to us, that the images or\r\nradiations of heavenly bodies could suddenly be conveyed through such\r\nimmense spaces to the sight, and it seemed that they ought rather to be\r\ntransmitted in a definite\r\n time.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-148\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-148\" title=\"Go to Footnote 148\"\u003e[148]\u003c/a\u003e That doubt,\r\n however\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_239\"\u003e[239]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n (as far as\r\nregards any great difference between the true and apparent time), was\r\nsubsequently completely set at rest, when we considered the infinite\r\nloss and diminution of size as regards the real and apparent magnitude\r\nof a star, occasioned by its distance, and at the same time observed\r\nat how great a distance (at least sixty miles) bodies which are merely\r\nwhite can be suddenly seen by us. For there is no doubt, that the light\r\nof the heavenly bodies not only far surpasses the vivid appearance of\r\nwhite, but even the light of any flame (with which we are acquainted)\r\nin the vigor of its radiation. The immense velocity of the bodies\r\nthemselves, which is perceived in their diurnal motion, and has so\r\nastonished thinking men, that they have been more ready to believe in\r\nthe motion of the earth, renders the motion of radiation from them\r\n(marvellous as it is in its rapidity) more worthy of belief. That\r\nwhich has weighed most with us, however, is, that if there were any\r\nconsiderable interval of time between the reality and the appearance,\r\nthe images would often be interrupted and confused by clouds formed in\r\nthe meantime, and similar disturbances of the medium. Let this suffice\r\nwith regard to the simple measures of time.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is not merely the absolute, but still more the relative measure of\r\nmotions and actions which must be inquired into, for this latter is\r\nof great use and application. We perceive that the flame of firearms\r\nis seen sooner than the sound is heard, although the ball must have\r\nstruck the air before the flame, which was behind it, could escape:\r\nthe reason of which is, that light moves with greater\r\n velocity\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_240\"\u003e[240]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e than\r\nsound. We perceive, also, that visible images are received by the sight\r\nwith greater rapidity than they are dismissed, and for this reason, a\r\nviolin string touched with the finger appears double or triple, because\r\nthe new image is received before the former one is dismissed. Hence,\r\nalso, rings when spinning appear globular, and a lighted torch, borne\r\nrapidly along at night, appears to have a tail. Upon the principle of\r\nthe inequality of motion, also, Galileo attempted an explanation of\r\nthe flood and ebb of the sea, supposing the earth to move rapidly, and\r\nthe water slowly, by which means the water, after accumulating, would\r\nat intervals fall back, as is shown in a vessel of water made to move\r\nrapidly. He has, however, imagined this on data which cannot be granted\r\n(namely, the earth’s motion), and besides, does not satisfactorily\r\naccount for the tide taking place every six hours.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAn example of our present point (the relative measure of motion), and,\r\nat the same time, of its remarkable use of which we have spoken, is\r\nconspicuous in mines filled with gunpowder, where immense weights of\r\nearth, buildings, and the like, are overthrown and prostrated by a\r\nsmall quantity of powder; the reason of which is decidedly this, that\r\nthe motion of the expansion of the gunpowder is much more rapid than\r\nthat of gravity,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-149\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-149\" title=\"Go to Footnote 149\"\u003e[149]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n which would resist it, so that the former has\r\nterminated before the latter has commenced. Hence, also, in missiles,\r\na strong blow will not carry them so far as a sharp and rapid one.\r\nNor could a small portion of animal spirit in animals, especially in\r\nsuch\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_241\"\u003e[241]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n vast bodies as those of the whale and elephant, have ever bent or\r\ndirected such a mass of body, were it not owing to the velocity of the\r\nformer, and the slowness of the latter in resisting its motion.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn short, this point is one of the principal foundations of the magic\r\nexperiments (of which we shall presently speak), where a small mass\r\nof matter overcomes and regulates a much larger, if there but be an\r\nanticipation of motion, by the velocity of one before the other is\r\nprepared to act.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, the point of the first and last should be observed in all\r\nnatural actions. Thus, in an infusion of rhubarb the purgative property\r\nis first extracted, and then the astringent; we have experienced\r\nsomething of the same kind in steeping violets in vinegar, which first\r\nextracts the sweet and delicate odor of the flower, and then the\r\nmore earthy part, which disturbs the perfume; so that if the violets\r\nbe steeped a whole day, a much fainter perfume is extracted than if\r\nthey were steeped for a quarter of an hour only, and then taken out;\r\nand since the odoriferous spirit in the violet is not abundant, let\r\nother and fresh violets be steeped in the vinegar every quarter of an\r\nhour, as many as six times, when the infusion becomes so strengthened,\r\nthat although the violets have not altogether remained there for more\r\nthan one hour and a half, there remains a most pleasing perfume, not\r\ninferior to the flower itself, for a whole year. It must be observed,\r\nhowever, that the perfume does not acquire its full strength till\r\nabout a month after the infusion. In the distillation of aromatic\r\nplants macerated in spirits of wine, it is well known that an aqueous\r\nand useless phlegm rises first, then water containing more of the\r\nspirit, and, lastly, water containing more of\r\n the\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_242\"\u003e[242]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n aroma; and many\r\nobservations of the like kind, well worthy of notice, are to be made in\r\ndistillations. But let these suffice as\r\n examples.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-150\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-150\" title=\"Go to Footnote 150\"\u003e[150]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_243\"\u003e[243]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLVII. In the twenty-third rank of prerogative instances we will place\r\ninstances of quantity, which we are also wont to call the doses of\r\nnature (borrowing a word from medicine). They are such as measure the\r\npowers by the quantity of bodies, and point out the effect of the\r\nquantity in the degree of power. And in the first place, some powers\r\nonly subsist in the universal quantity, or such as bears a relation to\r\nthe confirmation and fabric of the universe. Thus the earth is fixed,\r\nits parts fall. The waters in the sea flow and ebb, but not in the\r\nrivers, except by the admission of the sea. Then, again, almost all\r\nparticular powers act according to the greater or less quantity of the\r\nbody. Large masses of water are not easily rendered foul, small are.\r\nNew wine and beer become ripe and drinkable in small skins much more\r\nreadily than in large casks. If a herb be placed in a considerable\r\nquantity of liquid, infusion takes place rather than impregnation;\r\nif in less, the reverse. A bath, therefore, and a light sprinkling,\r\nproduce different effects on the human body. Light dew, again, never\r\nfalls, but is dissipated and incorporated with the air; thus we see\r\nthat in breathing on gems, the slight quantity of moisture, like a\r\nsmall cloud in the air, is immediately dissolved. Again, a piece of\r\nthe same magnet does not attract so much iron as the whole magnet did.\r\nThere are some powers where the smallness of the quantity is of more\r\navail; as in boring, a sharp point pierces more readily than a blunt\r\none; the diamond, when pointed, makes an impression on glass, and the\r\nlike.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHere, too, we must not rest contented with a vague result, but inquire\r\ninto the exact proportion of quantity requisite for a particular\r\nexertion of power; for one would be apt to suppose that the power bears\r\nan exact proportion\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_244\"\u003e[244]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n to the quantity; that if a leaden bullet of one\r\nounce, for instance, would fall in a given time, one of two ounces\r\nought to fall twice as rapidly, which is most erroneous. Nor does the\r\nsame ratio prevail in every kind of power, their difference being\r\nconsiderable. The measure, therefore, must be determined by experiment,\r\nand not by probability or conjecture.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLastly, we must in all our investigations of nature observe what\r\nquantity, or dose, of the body is requisite for a given effect, and\r\nmust at the same time be guarded against estimating it at too much or\r\ntoo little.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca class=\"anchor\" id=\"Book-II_Aph-48\"\u003eXLVIII.\u003c/a\u003e\r\n In the twenty-fourth rank of prerogative instances we will\r\nplace wrestling instances, which we are also wont to call instances\r\nof predominance. They are such as point out the predominance and\r\nsubmission of powers compared with each other, and which of them is the\r\nmore energetic and superior, or more weak and inferior. For the motions\r\nand effects of bodies are compounded, decomposed, and combined, no less\r\nthan the bodies themselves. We will exhibit, therefore, the principal\r\nkinds of motions or active powers, in order that their comparative\r\nstrength, and thence a demonstration and definition of the instances in\r\nquestion, may be rendered more clear.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the first motion be that of the resistance of matter, which exists\r\nin every particle, and completely prevents its annihilation; so that\r\nno conflagration, weight, pressure, violence, or length of time can\r\nreduce even the smallest portion of matter to nothing, or prevent it\r\nfrom being something, and occupying some space, and delivering itself\r\n(whatever straits it be put to), by changing its form or place, or, if\r\nthat be impossible, remaining as it is; nor can it ever happen that it\r\nshould either be nothing or\r\n nowhere.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_245\"\u003e[245]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n This motion is designated by the\r\nschools (which generally name and define everything by its effects and\r\ninconveniences rather than by its inherent cause) by the axiom, that\r\ntwo bodies cannot exist in the same place, or they call it a motion to\r\nprevent the penetration of dimensions. It is useless to give examples\r\nof this motion, since it exists in every body.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the second motion be that which we term the motion of connection,\r\nby which bodies do not allow themselves to be separated at any point\r\nfrom the contact of another body, delighting, as it were, in the\r\nmutual connection and contact. This is called by the schools a motion\r\nto prevent a vacuum. It takes place when water is drawn up by suction\r\nor a syringe, the flesh by cupping, or when the water remains without\r\nescaping from perforated jars, unless the mouth be opened to admit the\r\nair, and innumerable instances of a like nature.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the third be that which we term the motion of liberty, by which\r\nbodies strive to deliver themselves from any unnatural pressure or\r\ntension, and to restore themselves to the dimensions suited to their\r\nmass; and of which, also, there are innumerable examples. Thus, we have\r\nexamples of their escaping from pressure, in the water in swimming, in\r\nthe air in flying, in the water again in rowing, and in the air in the\r\nundulation of the winds, and in springs of watches. An exact instance\r\nof the motion of compressed air is seen in children’s popguns, which\r\nthey make by scooping out elder-branches or some such matter, and\r\nforcing in a piece of some pulpy root or the like, at each end; then\r\nthey force the root or other pellet with a ramrod to the opposite end,\r\nfrom which the lower pellet is emitted and projected with a report,\r\nand that before it is\r\n touched\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_246\"\u003e[246]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n by the other piece of root or pellet,\r\nor by the ramrod. We have examples of their escape from tension, in\r\nthe motion of the air that remains in glass eggs after suction, in\r\nstrings, leather, and cloth, which recoil after tension, unless it be\r\nlong continued. The schools define this by the term of motion from the\r\nform of the element; injudiciously enough, since this motion is to be\r\nfound not only in air, water, or fire, but in every species of solid,\r\nas wood, iron, lead, cloth, parchment, etc., each of which has its own\r\nproper size, and is with difficulty stretched to any other. Since,\r\nhowever, this motion of liberty is the most obvious of all, and to be\r\nseen in an infinite number of cases, it will be as well to distinguish\r\nit correctly and clearly; for some most carelessly confound this with\r\nthe two others of resistance and connection; namely, the freedom from\r\npressure with the former, and that from tension with the latter, as if\r\nbodies when compressed yielded or expanded to prevent a penetration of\r\ndimensions, and when stretched rebounded and contracted themselves to\r\nprevent a vacuum. But if the air, when compressed, could be brought to\r\nthe density of water, or wood to that of stone, there would be no need\r\nof any penetration of dimensions, and yet the compression would be much\r\ngreater than they actually admit of. So if water could be expanded till\r\nit became as rare as air, or stone as rare as wood, there would be no\r\nneed of a vacuum, and yet the expansion would be much greater than they\r\nactually admit of.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe do not, therefore, arrive at a penetration of dimensions or a vacuum\r\nbefore the extremes of condensation and rarefaction, while the motion\r\nwe speak of stops and exerts itself much within them, and is nothing\r\nmore than a desire of bodies to preserve their specific density\r\n (or,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_247\"\u003e[247]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nif it be preferred, their form), and not to desert them suddenly, but\r\nonly to change by degrees, and of their own accord. It is, however,\r\nmuch more necessary to intimate to mankind (because many other points\r\ndepend upon this), that the violent motion which we call mechanical,\r\nand Democritus (who, in explaining his primary motions, is to be ranked\r\neven below the middling class of philosophers) termed the motion of a\r\nblow, is nothing else than this motion of liberty, namely, a tendency\r\nto relaxation from compression. For in all simple impulsion or flight\r\nthrough the air, the body is not displaced or moved in space, until its\r\nparts are placed in an unnatural state, and compressed by the impelling\r\nforce. When that takes place, the different parts urging the other in\r\nsuccession, the whole is moved, and that with a rotatory as well as\r\nprogressive motion, in order that the parts may, by this means also,\r\nset themselves at liberty, or more readily submit. Let this suffice for\r\nthe motion in question.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the fourth be that which we term the motion of matter, and which\r\nis opposed to the last; for in the motion of liberty, bodies abhor,\r\nreject, and avoid, a new size or volume, or any new expansion or\r\ncontraction (for these different terms have the same meaning), and\r\nstrive, with all their power, to rebound and resume their former\r\ndensity; on the contrary, in the motion of matter, they are anxious\r\nto acquire a new volume or dimension, and attempt it willingly and\r\nrapidly, and occasionally by a most vigorous effort, as in the example\r\nof gunpowder. The most powerful, or at least most frequent, though not\r\nthe only instruments of this motion, are heat and cold. For instance,\r\nthe air, if expanded by tension (as by suction in the glass egg),\r\nstruggles\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_248\"\u003e[248]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n anxiously to restore itself; but if heat be applied, it\r\nstrives, on the contrary, to dilate itself, and longs for a larger\r\nvolume, regularly passing and migrating into it, as into a new form (as\r\nit is termed); nor after a certain degree of expansion is it anxious\r\nto return, unless it be invited to do so by the application of cold,\r\nwhich is not indeed a return, but a fresh change. So also water, when\r\nconfined by compression, resists, and wishes to become as it was\r\nbefore, namely, more expanded; but if there happen an intense and\r\ncontinued cold, it changes itself readily, and of its own accord, into\r\nthe condensed state of ice; and if the cold be long continued, without\r\nany intervening warmth (as in grottoes and deep caves), it is changed\r\ninto crystal or similar matter, and never resumes its form.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the fifth be that which we term the motion of continuity. We do\r\nnot understand by this simple and primary continuity with any other\r\nbody (for that is the motion of connection), but the continuity of\r\na particular body in itself; for it is most certain that all bodies\r\nabhor a solution of continuity, some more and some less, but all\r\npartially. In hard bodies (such as steel and glass) the resistance to\r\nan interruption of continuity is most powerful and efficacious, while\r\nalthough in liquids it appears to be faint and languid, yet it is not\r\naltogether null, but exists in the lowest degree, and shows itself in\r\nmany experiments, such as bubbles, the round form of drops, the thin\r\nthreads which drip from roofs, the cohesion of glutinous substances,\r\nand the like. It is most conspicuous, however, if an attempt be made to\r\npush this separation to still smaller particles. Thus, in mortars, the\r\npestle produces no effect after a certain degree of contusion, water\r\ndoes not penetrate small fissures, and the air itself, notwithstanding\r\nits subtilty,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_249\"\u003e[249]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n does not penetrate the pores of solid vessels at once,\r\nbut only by long-continued insinuation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the sixth be that which we term the motion of acquisition, or the\r\nmotion of need.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-151\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-151\" title=\"Go to Footnote 151\"\u003e[151]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n It is that by which bodies placed among others\r\nof a heterogeneous and, as it were, hostile nature, if they meet with\r\nthe means or opportunity of avoiding them, and uniting themselves with\r\nothers of a more analogous nature, even when these latter are not\r\nclosely allied to them, immediately seize and, as it were, select them,\r\nand appear to consider it as something acquired (whence we derive the\r\nname), and to have need of these latter bodies. For instance, gold, or\r\nany other metal in leaf, does not like the neighborhood of air; if,\r\ntherefore, they meet with any tangible and thick substance (such as the\r\nfinger, paper, or the like), they immediately adhere to it, and are\r\nnot easily torn from it. Paper, too, and cloth, and the like, do not\r\nagree with the air, which is inherent and mixed in their pores. They\r\nreadily, therefore, imbibe water or other liquids, and get rid of the\r\nair. Sugar, or a sponge, dipped in water or wine, and though part of\r\nit be out of the water or wine, and at some height above it, will yet\r\ngradually absorb them.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-152\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-152\" title=\"Go to Footnote 152\"\u003e[152]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHence an excellent rule is derived for the opening and dissolution of\r\nbodies; for (not to mention corrosive and strong waters, which force\r\ntheir way) if a body can be found which is more adapted, suited, and\r\nfriendly to a given solid, than that with which it is by some necessity\r\nunited, the given solid immediately opens and\r\n dissolves\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_250\"\u003e[250]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e itself to\r\nreceive the former, and excludes or removes the\r\n latter.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-153\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-153\" title=\"Go to Footnote 153\"\u003e[153]\u003c/a\u003e Nor is the\r\neffect or power of this motion confined to contact, for the electric\r\nenergy (of which Gilbert and others after him have told so many fables)\r\nis only the energy excited in a body by gentle friction, and which does\r\nnot endure the air, but prefers some tangible substance if there be any\r\nat hand.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the seventh be that which we term the motion of greater\r\ncongregation, by which bodies are borne toward masses of a similar\r\nnature, for instance, heavy bodies toward the earth, light to the\r\nsphere of heaven. The schools termed this natural motion, by a\r\nsuperficial consideration of it, because produced by no external\r\nvisible agent, which made them consider it innate in the substances; or\r\nperhaps because it does not cease, which is little to be wondered at,\r\nsince heaven and earth are always present, while the causes and sources\r\nof many other motions are sometimes absent and sometimes present.\r\nThey therefore called this perpetual and proper, because it is never\r\ninterrupted, but instantly takes place when the others are interrupted,\r\nand they called the others adscititious. The former, however, is in\r\nreality weak and slow, since it yields, and is inferior to the others\r\nas long as they act, unless the mass of the body be great; and although\r\nthis motion have so filled men’s minds, as almost to have obscured all\r\nothers, yet they know but little about it, and commit many errors in\r\nits estimate.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the eighth be that which we term the motion of lesser congregation,\r\nby which the homogeneous parts\r\n in\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_251\"\u003e[251]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n any body separate themselves from\r\nthe heterogeneous and unite together, and whole bodies of a similar\r\nsubstance coalesce and tend toward each other, and are sometimes\r\ncongregated, attracted, and meet, from some distance; thus in milk the\r\ncream rises after a certain time, and in wine the dregs and tartar\r\nsink; which effects are not to be attributed to gravity and levity\r\nonly, so as to account for the rising of some parts and the sinking\r\nof others, but much more to the desire of the homogeneous bodies to\r\nmeet and unite. This motion differs from that of need in two points:\r\n1st, because the latter is the stimulus of a malignant and contrary\r\nnature, while in this of which we treat (if there be no impediment or\r\nrestraint), the parts are united by their affinity, although there be\r\nno foreign nature to create a struggle; 2dly, because the union is\r\ncloser and more select. For in the other motion, bodies which have no\r\ngreat affinity unite, if they can but avoid the hostile body, while in\r\nthis, substances which are connected by a decided kindred resemblance\r\ncome together and are molded into one. It is a motion existing in all\r\ncompound bodies, and would be readily seen in each, if it were not\r\nconfined and checked by the other affections and necessities of bodies\r\nwhich disturb the union.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis motion is usually confined in the three following manners: by\r\nthe torpor of the bodies; by the power of the predominating body; by\r\nexternal motion. With regard to the first, it is certain that there\r\nis more or less sluggishness in tangible bodies, and an abhorrence of\r\nlocomotion; so that unless excited they prefer remaining contented with\r\ntheir actual state, to placing themselves in a better position. There\r\nare three means of breaking through this sluggishness—heat; the active\r\npower of a similar body; vivid\r\n and\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_252\"\u003e[252]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n powerful motion. With regard to\r\nthe first, heat is, on this account, defined as that which separates\r\nheterogeneous, and draws together homogeneous substances; a definition\r\nof the Peripatetics which is justly ridiculed by Gilbert, who says it\r\nis as if one were to define man to be that which sows wheat and plants\r\nvineyards; being only a definition deduced from effects, and those but\r\npartial. But it is still more to be blamed, because those effects, such\r\nas they are, are not a peculiar property of heat, but a mere accident\r\n(for cold, as we shall afterward show, does the same), arising from\r\nthe desire of the homogeneous parts to unite; the heat then assists\r\nthem in breaking through that sluggishness which before restrained\r\ntheir desire. With regard to the assistance derived from the power of\r\na similar body, it is most conspicuous in the magnet when armed with\r\nsteel, for it excites in the steel a power of adhering to steel, as a\r\nhomogeneous substance, the power of the magnet breaking through the\r\nsluggishness of the steel. With regard to the assistance of motion,\r\nit is seen in wooden arrows or points, which penetrate more deeply\r\ninto wood than if they were tipped with iron, from the similarity\r\nof the substance, the swiftness of the motion breaking through the\r\nsluggishness of the wood; of which two last experiments we have spoken\r\nabove in the aphorism on clandestine\r\n instances.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-154\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-154\" title=\"Go to Footnote 154\"\u003e[154]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe confinement of the motion of lesser congregation, which arises\r\nfrom the power of the predominant body, is shown in the decomposition\r\nof blood and urine by cold. For as long as these substances are filled\r\nwith the active spirit, which regulates and restrains each of their\r\ncomponent parts, as the predominant ruler of the whole, the\r\n several\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_253\"\u003e[253]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\ndifferent parts do not collect themselves separately on account of the\r\ncheck; but as soon as that spirit has evaporated, or has been choked by\r\nthe cold, then the decomposed parts unite, according to their natural\r\ndesire. Hence it happens, that all bodies which contain a sharp spirit\r\n(as salts and the like), last without decomposition, owing to the\r\npermanent and durable power of the predominating and imperious spirit.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe confinement of the motion of lesser congregation, which arises from\r\nexternal motion, is very evident in that agitation of bodies which\r\npreserves them from putrefaction. For all putrefaction depends on the\r\ncongregation of the homogeneous parts, whence, by degrees, there ensues\r\na corruption of the first form (as it is called), and the generation of\r\nanother. For the decomposition of the original form, which is itself\r\nthe union of the homogeneous parts, precedes the putrefaction, which\r\nprepares the way for the generation of another. This decomposition,\r\nif not interrupted, is simple; but if there be various obstacles,\r\nputrefactions ensue, which are the rudiments of a new generation. But\r\nif (to come to our present point) a frequent agitation be excited by\r\nexternal motion, the motion toward union (which is delicate and gentle,\r\nand requires to be free from all external influence) is disturbed, and\r\nceases; which we perceive to be the case in innumerable instances.\r\nThus, the daily agitation or flowing of water prevents putrefaction;\r\nwinds prevent the air from being pestilent; corn turned about and\r\nshaken in granaries continues clean: in short, everything which is\r\nexternally agitated will with difficulty rot internally.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe must not omit that union of the parts of bodies which is the\r\nprincipal cause of induration and\r\n desiccation.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_254\"\u003e[254]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n When the spirit or\r\nmoisture, which has evaporated into spirit, has escaped from a porous\r\nbody (such as wood, bone, parchment, and the like), the thicker parts\r\nare drawn together, and united with a greater effort, and induration\r\nor desiccation is the consequence; and this we attribute not so much\r\nto the motion of connection (in order to prevent a vacuum), as to this\r\nmotion of friendship and union.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eUnion from a distance is rare, and yet is to be met with in more\r\ninstances than are generally observed. We perceive it when one bubble\r\ndissolves another, when medicines attract humors from a similarity of\r\nsubstance, when one string moves another in unison with it on different\r\ninstruments, and the like. We are of opinion that this motion is very\r\nprevalent also in animal spirits, but are quite ignorant of the fact.\r\nIt is, however, conspicuous in the magnet, and magnetized iron. While\r\nspeaking of the motions of the magnet, we must plainly distinguish\r\nthem, for there are four distinct powers or effects of the magnet which\r\nshould not be confounded, although the wonder and astonishment of\r\nmankind has classed them together. 1. The attraction of the magnet to\r\nthe magnet, or of iron to the magnet, or of magnetized iron to iron.\r\n2. Its polarity toward the north and south, and its variation. 3. Its\r\npenetration through gold, glass, stone, and all other substances.\r\n4. The communication of power from the mineral to iron, and from iron\r\nto iron, without any communication of the substances. Here, however, we\r\nonly speak of the first. There is also a singular motion of attraction\r\nbetween quicksilver and gold, so that the gold attracts quicksilver\r\neven when made use of in ointment; and those who work surrounded by\r\nthe vapors of quicksilver, are wont to hold a piece of gold in their\r\nmouths, to collect the\r\n exhalations,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_255\"\u003e[255]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n which would otherwise attack their\r\nheads and bones, and this piece soon grows\r\n white.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-155\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-155\" title=\"Go to Footnote 155\"\u003e[155]\u003c/a\u003e Let this suffice\r\nfor the motion of lesser congregation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the ninth be the magnetic motion, which, although of the nature of\r\nthat last mentioned, yet, when operating at great distances, and on\r\ngreat masses, deserves a separate inquiry, especially if it neither\r\nbegin in contact, as most motions of congregation do, nor end by\r\nbringing the substances into contact, as all do, but only raise them,\r\nand make them swell without any further effect. For if the moon raise\r\nthe waters, or cause moist substances to swell, or if the starry\r\nsphere attract the planets toward their apogees, or the sun confine\r\nthe planets Mercury and Venus to within a certain distance of his\r\nmass;\u003ca id=\"Anchor-156\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-156\" title=\"Go to Footnote 156\"\u003e[156]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n these motions do not appear capable of being classed under\r\neither of those of congregation, but to be, as it were, intermediately\r\nand imperfectly congregative, and thus to form a distinct species.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the tenth motion be that of avoidance, or that which is opposed\r\nto the motion of lesser congregation, by which bodies, with a kind of\r\nantipathy, avoid and disperse, and separate themselves from, or refuse\r\nto unite themselves with others of a hostile nature. For although this\r\nmay sometimes appear to be an accidental motion, necessarily attendant\r\nupon that of the lesser congregation, because the homogeneous parts\r\ncannot unite, unless the heterogeneous be first removed and excluded,\r\nyet it is still to be classed\r\n separately,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-157\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-157\" title=\"Go to Footnote 157\"\u003e[157]\u003c/a\u003e and considered as a\r\ndistinct species,\r\n because,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_256\"\u003e[256]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n in many cases, the desire of avoidance\r\nappears to be more marked than that of union.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is very conspicuous in the excrements of animals, nor less, perhaps,\r\nin objects odious to particular senses, especially the smell and\r\ntaste; for a fetid smell is rejected by the nose, so as to produce a\r\nsympathetic motion of expulsion at the mouth of the stomach; a bitter\r\nand rough taste is rejected by the palate or throat, so as to produce\r\na sympathetic concussion and shivering of the head. This motion is\r\nvisible also in other cases. Thus it is observed in some kinds of\r\nantiperistasis, as in the middle region of the air, the cold of which\r\nappears to be occasioned by the rejection of cold from the regions\r\nof the heavenly bodies; and also in the heat and combustion observed\r\nin subterranean spots, which appear to be owing to the rejection of\r\nheat from the centre of the earth. For heat and cold, when in small\r\nquantities, mutually destroy each other, while in larger quantities,\r\nlike armies equally matched, they remove and eject each other in\r\nopen conflict. It is said, also that cinnamon and other perfumes\r\nretain their odor longer when placed near privies and foul places,\r\nbecause they will not unite and mix with stinks. It is well known that\r\nquicksilver, which would otherwise reunite into a complete mass, is\r\nprevented from so doing by man’s spittle, pork lard, turpentine and\r\nthe like, from the little affinity of its parts with those substances,\r\nso that when surrounded by them it draws itself back, and its\r\navoidance of these intervening obstacles is greater than its desire of\r\nreuniting itself to its homogeneous parts; which is what they term the\r\nmortification of quicksilver. Again, the difference in weight of oil\r\nand water is not the only reason for their refusing to mix, but it is\r\nalso owing to the little affinity of the two; for\r\n spirits\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_257\"\u003e[257]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e of wine,\r\nwhich are lighter than oil, mix very well with water. A very remarkable\r\ninstance of the motion in question is seen in nitre, and crude bodies\r\nof a like nature, which abhor flame, as may be observed in gunpowder,\r\nquicksilver and gold. The avoidance of one pole of the magnet by iron\r\nis not (as Gilbert has well observed), strictly speaking, an avoidance,\r\nbut a conformity, or attraction to a more convenient situation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the eleventh motion be that of assimilation, or\r\nself-multiplication, or simple generation, by which latter term we do\r\nnot mean the simple generation of integral bodies, such as plants or\r\nanimals, but of homogeneous bodies. By this motion homogeneous bodies\r\nconvert those which are allied to them, or at least well disposed and\r\nprepared, into their own substance and nature. Thus flame multiplies\r\nitself over vapors and oily substances and generates fresh flame; the\r\nair over water and watery substances multiplies itself and generates\r\nfresh air; the vegetable and animal spirit, over the thin particles of\r\na watery or oleaginous spirit contained in its food, multiplies itself\r\nand generates fresh spirit; the solid parts of plants and animals, as\r\nthe leaf, flower, the flesh, bone and the like, each of them assimilate\r\nsome part of the juices contained in their food, and generate a\r\nsuccessive and daily substance. For let none rave with Paracelsus, who\r\n(blinded by his distillations) would have it, that nutrition takes\r\nplace by mere separation, and that the eye, nose, brain and liver lie\r\nconcealed in bread and meat, the root, leaf and flower, in the juice of\r\nthe earth; asserting that just as the artist brings out a leaf, flower,\r\neye, nose, hand, foot and the like, from a rude mass of stone or wood\r\nby the separation and rejection of what is superfluous; so the great\r\nartist within us\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_258\"\u003e[258]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n brings out our several limbs and parts by separation\r\nand rejection. But to leave such trifling, it is most certain that\r\nall the parts of vegetables and animals, as well the homogeneous as\r\norganic, first of all attract those juices contained in their food,\r\nwhich are nearly common, or at least not very different, and then\r\nassimilate and convert them into their own nature. Nor does this\r\nassimilation, or simple generation, take place in animated bodies only,\r\nbut the inanimate also participate in the same property (as we have\r\nobserved of flame and air), and that languid spirit, which is contained\r\nin every tangible animated substance, is perpetually working upon the\r\ncoarser parts, and converting them into spirit, which afterward is\r\nexhaled, whence ensues a diminution of weight, and a desiccation of\r\nwhich we have spoken elsewhere.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-158\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-158\" title=\"Go to Footnote 158\"\u003e[158]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eNor should we, in speaking of assimilation, neglect to mention the\r\naccretion which is usually distinguished from aliment, and which is\r\nobserved when mud grows into a mass between stones, and is converted\r\ninto a stony substance, and the scaly substance round the teeth is\r\nconverted into one no less hard than the teeth themselves; for we are\r\nof opinion that there exists in all bodies a desire of assimilation,\r\nas well as of uniting with homogeneous masses. Each of these powers,\r\nhowever, is confined, although in different manners, and should be\r\ndiligently investigated, because they are connected with the revival\r\nof old age. Lastly, it is worthy of observation, that in the nine\r\npreceding motions, bodies appear to aim at the mere preservation of\r\ntheir nature, while in this they attempt its propagation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_259\"\u003e[259]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the twelfth motion be that of excitement, which appears to be\r\na species of the last, and is sometimes mentioned by us under that\r\nname. It is, like that, a diffusive, communicative, transitive and\r\nmultiplying motion; and they agree remarkably in their effect, although\r\nthey differ in their mode of action, and in their subject matter. The\r\nformer proceeds imperiously and with authority; it orders and compels\r\nthe assimilated to be converted and changed into the assimilating\r\nbody. The latter proceeds by art, insinuation and stealth, inviting\r\nand disposing the excited toward the nature of the exciting body. The\r\nformer both multiplies and transforms bodies and substances; thus a\r\ngreater quantity of flame, air, spirit and flesh is formed; but in\r\nthe latter, the powers only are multiplied and changed, and heat,\r\nthe magnetic power, and putrefaction, in the above instances, are\r\nincreased. Heat does not diffuse itself when heating other bodies\r\nby any communication of the original heat, but only by exciting the\r\nparts of the heated body to that motion which is the form of heat, and\r\nof which we spoke in the first vintage of the nature of heat. Heat,\r\ntherefore, is excited much less rapidly and readily in stone or metal\r\nthan in air, on account of the inaptitude and sluggishness of those\r\nbodies in acquiring that motion, so that it is probable, that there may\r\nbe some substances, toward the centre of the earth, quite incapable of\r\nbeing heated, on account of their density, which may deprive them of\r\nthe spirit by which the motion of excitement is usually commenced. Thus\r\nalso the magnet creates in the iron a new disposition of its parts, and\r\na conformable motion, without losing any of its virtue. So the leaven\r\nof bread, yeast, rennet and some poisons, excite and invite successive\r\nand continued motion in dough, beer, cheese\r\n or\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_260\"\u003e[260]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n the human body; not so\r\nmuch from the power of the exciting, as the predisposition and yielding\r\nof the excited body.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the thirteenth motion be that of impression, which is also a\r\nspecies of motion of assimilation, and the most subtile of diffusive\r\nmotions. We have thought it right, however, to consider it as a\r\ndistinct species, on account of its remarkable difference from the\r\nlast two; for the simple motion of assimilation transforms the bodies\r\nthemselves, so that if you remove the first agent, you diminish not\r\nthe effect of those which succeed; thus, neither the first lighting\r\nof flame, nor the first conversion into air, are of any importance to\r\nthe flame or air next generated. So, also, the motion of excitement\r\nstill continues for a considerable time after the removal of the first\r\nagent, as in a heated body on the removal of the original heat, in the\r\nexcited iron on the removal of the magnet, and in the dough on the\r\nremoval of the leaven. But the motion of impression, although diffusive\r\nand transitive, appears, nevertheless, to depend on the first agent,\r\nso that upon the removal of the latter the former immediately fails\r\nand perishes; for which reason also it takes effect in a moment, or at\r\nleast a very short space of time. We are wont to call the two former\r\nmotions the motions of the generation of Jupiter, because when born\r\nthey continue to exist; and the latter, the motion of the generation\r\nof Saturn, because it is immediately devoured and absorbed. It may be\r\nseen in three instances: 1, in the rays of light; 2, in the percussions\r\nof sounds; 3, in magnetic attractions as regards communication. For,\r\non the removal of light, colors and all its other images disappear,\r\nas on the cessation of the first percussion and the vibration of the\r\nbody, sound soon fails, and\r\n although\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_261\"\u003e[261]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n sounds are agitated by the wind,\r\nlike waves, yet it is to be observed, that the same sound does not\r\nlast during the whole time of the reverberation. Thus, when a bell is\r\nstruck, the sound appears to be continued for a considerable time, and\r\none might easily be led into the mistake of supposing it to float and\r\nremain in the air during the whole time, which is most\r\n erroneous.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-159\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-159\" title=\"Go to Footnote 159\"\u003e[159]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nFor the reverberation is not one identical sound, but the repetition\r\nof sounds, which is made manifest by stopping and confining the\r\nsonorous body; thus, if a bell be stopped and held tightly, so as to\r\nbe immovable, the sound fails, and there is no further reverberation,\r\nand if a musical string be touched after the first vibration, either\r\nwith the finger (as in the harp), or a quill (as in the harpsichord),\r\nthe sound immediately ceases. If the magnet be removed the iron falls.\r\nThe moon, however, cannot be removed from the sea, nor the earth from\r\na heavy falling body, and we can, therefore, make no experiment upon\r\nthem; but the case is the same.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the fourteenth motion be that configuration or position, by\r\nwhich bodies appear to desire a peculiar situation, collocation, and\r\nconfiguration with others, rather than union or separation. This is\r\na very abstruse notion, and has not been well investigated; and, in\r\nsome instances, appears to occur almost without any cause, although\r\nwe\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_262\"\u003e[262]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n be mistaken in supposing this to be really the case. For if it be\r\nasked, why the heavens revolve from east to west, rather than from\r\nwest to east, or why they turn on poles situate near the Bears, rather\r\nthan round Orion or any other part of the heaven, such a question\r\nappears to be unreasonable, since these phenomena should be received\r\nas determinate and the objects of our experience. There are, indeed,\r\nsome ultimate and self-existing phenomena in nature, but those which\r\nwe have just mentioned are not to be referred to that class: for we\r\nattribute them to a certain harmony and consent of the universe, which\r\nhas not yet been properly observed. But if the motion of the earth from\r\nwest to east be allowed, the same question may be put, for it must also\r\nrevolve round certain poles, and why should they be placed where they\r\nare, rather than elsewhere? The polarity and variation of the needle\r\ncome under our present head. There is also observed in both natural and\r\nartificial bodies, especially solids rather than fluids, a particular\r\ncollocation and position of parts, resembling hairs or fibres, which\r\nshould be diligently investigated, since, without a discovery of them,\r\nbodies cannot be conveniently controlled or wrought upon. The eddies\r\nobservable in liquids by which, when compressed, they successively\r\nraise different parts of their mass before they can escape, so as to\r\nequalize the pressure, is more correctly assigned to the motion of\r\nliberty.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the fifteenth motion be that of transmission or of passage, by\r\nwhich the powers of bodies are more or less impeded or advanced by\r\nthe medium, according to the nature of the bodies and their effective\r\npowers, and also according to that of the medium. For one medium is\r\nadapted to light, another to sound, another to heat\r\n and\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_263\"\u003e[263]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e cold, another\r\nto magnetic action, and so on with regard to the other actions.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the sixteenth be that which we term the royal or political motion,\r\nby which the predominant and governing parts of any body check,\r\nsubdue, reduce, and regulate the others, and force them to unite,\r\nseparate, stand still, move, or assume a certain position, not from any\r\ninclination of their own, but according to a certain order, and as best\r\nsuits the convenience of the governing part, so that there is a sort\r\nof dominion and civil government exercised by the ruling part over its\r\nsubjects. The motion is very conspicuous in the spirits of animals,\r\nwhere, as long as it is in force, it tempers all the motions of the\r\nother parts. It is found in a less degree in other bodies, as we have\r\nobserved in blood and urine, which are not decomposed until the spirit,\r\nwhich mixed and retained their parts, has been emitted or extinguished.\r\nNor is this motion peculiar to spirits only, although in most bodies\r\nthe spirit predominates, owing to its rapid motion and penetration;\r\nfor the grosser parts predominate in denser bodies, which are not\r\nfilled with a quick and active spirit (such as exists in quicksilver\r\nor vitriol), so that unless this check or yoke be thrown off by some\r\ncontrivance, there is no hope of any transformation of such bodies. And\r\nlet not any one suppose that we have forgotten our subject, because\r\nwe speak of predominance in this classification of motions, which is\r\nmade entirely with the view of assisting the investigation of wrestling\r\ninstances, or instances of predominance. For we do not now treat of\r\nthe general predominance of motions or powers, but of that of parts in\r\nwhole bodies, which constitutes the particular species here considered.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the seventeenth motion be the spontaneous\r\n motion\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_264\"\u003e[264]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n of revolution,\r\nby which bodies having a tendency to move, and placed in a favorable\r\nsituation, enjoy their peculiar nature, pursuing themselves and nothing\r\nelse, and seeking, as it were, to embrace themselves. For bodies seem\r\neither to move without any limit, or to tend toward a limit, arrived at\r\nwhich they either revolve according to their peculiar nature, or rest.\r\nThose which are favorably situated, and have a tendency to motion,\r\nmove in a circle with an eternal and unlimited motion; those which\r\nare favorably situated and abhor motion, rest. Those which are not\r\nfavorably situated move in a straight line (as their shortest path),\r\nin order to unite with others of a congenial nature. This motion of\r\nrevolution admits of nine differences: 1, with regard to the centre\r\nabout which the bodies move; 2, the poles round which they move; 3,\r\nthe circumference or orbit relatively to its distance from the centre;\r\n4, the velocity, or greater or less speed with which they revolve;\r\n5, the direction of the motion as from east to west, or the reverse;\r\n6, the deviation from a perfect circle, by spiral lines at a greater\r\nor less distance from the centre; 7, the deviation from the circle,\r\nby spiral lines at a greater or less distance from the poles; 8, the\r\ngreater or less distance of these spirals from each other; 9, and\r\nlastly, the variation of the poles if they be movable; which, however,\r\nonly affects revolution when circular. The motion in question is,\r\naccording to common and long-received opinion, considered to be that\r\nof the heavenly bodies. There exists, however, with regard to this, a\r\nconsiderable dispute between some of the ancients as well as moderns,\r\nwho have attributed a motion of revolution to the earth. A much more\r\nreasonable controversy, perhaps, exists (if it be not a matter beyond\r\ndispute), whether the motion in question\r\n (on\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_265\"\u003e[265]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n the hypothesis of the\r\nearth’s being fixed) is confined to the heavens, or rather descends and\r\nis communicated to the air and water. The rotation of missiles, as in\r\ndarts, musket-balls, and the like, we refer entirely to the motion of\r\nliberty.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the eighteenth motion be that of\r\n trepidation,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-160\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-160\" title=\"Go to Footnote 160\"\u003e[160]\u003c/a\u003e to which (in\r\nthe sense assigned to it by astronomers) we do not give much credit;\r\nbut in our serious and general search after the tendencies of natural\r\nbodies, this motion occurs, and appears worthy of forming a distinct\r\nspecies. It is the motion of an (as it were) eternal captivity; when\r\nbodies, for instance, being placed not altogether according to their\r\nnature, and yet not exactly ill, constantly tremble, and are restless,\r\nnot contented with their position, and yet not daring to advance.\r\nSuch is the motion of the heart and pulse of animals, and it must\r\nnecessarily occur in all bodies which are situated in a mean state,\r\nbetween conveniences and inconveniences; so that being removed from\r\ntheir proper position, they strive to escape, are repulsed, and again\r\ncontinue to make the attempt.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLet the nineteenth and last motion be one which can scarcely be termed\r\na motion, and yet is one; and which we may call the motion of repose,\r\nor of abhorrence of motion. It is by this motion that the earth stands\r\nby its own weight, while its extremes move toward the middle, not\r\nto an imaginary centre, but in order to unite. It is owing to the\r\nsame tendency, that all bodies of considerable density abhor motion,\r\nand their only tendency is not to move, which nature they preserve,\r\nalthough excited and\r\n urged\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_266\"\u003e[266]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n in a variety of ways to motion. But if they\r\nbe compelled to move, yet do they always appear anxious to recover\r\ntheir former state, and to cease from motion, in which respect they\r\ncertainly appear active, and attempt it with sufficient swiftness and\r\nrapidity, as if fatigued, and impatient of delay. We can only have a\r\npartial representation of this tendency, because with us every tangible\r\nsubstance is not only not condensed to the utmost, but even some spirit\r\nis added, owing to the action and concocting influence of the heavenly\r\nbodies.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe have now, therefore, exhibited the species, or simple elements of\r\nthe motions, tendencies, and active powers, which are most universal\r\nin nature; and no small portion of natural science has been thus\r\nsketched out. We do not, however, deny that other instances can perhaps\r\nbe added, and our divisions changed according to some more natural\r\norder of things, and also reduced to a less number; in which respect\r\nwe do not allude to any abstract classification, as if one were to\r\nsay, that bodies desire the preservation, exaltation, propagation, or\r\nfruition of their nature; or, that motion tends to the preservation and\r\nbenefit either of the universe (as in the case of those of resistance\r\nand connection), or of extensive wholes, as in the case of those of\r\nthe greater congregation, revolution, and abhorrence of motion, or\r\nof particular forms, as in the case of the others. For although such\r\nremarks be just, yet, unless they terminate in matter and construction,\r\naccording to true definitions, they are speculative, and of little use.\r\nIn the meantime, our classification will suffice, and be of much use\r\nin the consideration of the predominance of powers, and examining the\r\nwrestling instances which constitute our present subject.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_267\"\u003e[267]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor of the motions here laid down, some are quite invincible, some more\r\npowerful than others, which they confine, check, and modify; others\r\nextend to a greater distance, others are more immediate and swift,\r\nothers strengthen, increase, and accelerate the rest.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe motion of resistance is most adamantine and invincible. We are\r\nyet in doubt whether such be the nature of that of connection; for\r\nwe cannot with certainty determine whether there be a vacuum, either\r\nextensive or intermixed with matter. Of one thing, however, we are\r\nsatisfied, that the reason assigned by Leucippus and Democritus for\r\nthe introduction of a vacuum (namely, that the same bodies could not\r\notherwise comprehend, and fill greater and less spaces) is false. For\r\nthere is clearly a folding of matter, by which it wraps and unwraps\r\nitself in space within certain limits, without the intervention of a\r\nvacuum. Nor is there two thousand times more of vacuum in air than in\r\ngold, as there should be on this hypothesis; a fact demonstrated by\r\nthe very powerful energies of fluids (which would otherwise float like\r\nfine dust \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003ein vacuo\u003c/i\u003e), and many other\r\n proofs. The other motions direct,\r\nand are directed by each other, according to their strength, quantity,\r\nexcitement, emission, or the assistance or impediments they meet with.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor instance; some armed magnets hold and support iron of sixty times\r\ntheir own weight; so far does the motion of lesser congregation\r\npredominate over that of the greater; but if the weight be increased,\r\nit yields. A lever of a certain strength will raise a given weight,\r\nand so far the motion of liberty predominates over that of the greater\r\ncongregation, but if the weight be greater, the former motion yields.\r\nA piece of leather stretched to a certain point does not break, and\r\nso far the motion of\r\n continuity\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_268\"\u003e[268]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n predominates over that of tension,\r\nbut if the tension be greater, the leather breaks, and the motion of\r\ncontinuity yields. A certain quantity of water flows through a chink,\r\nand so far the motion of greater congregation predominates over that\r\nof continuity, but if the chink be smaller it yields. If a musket be\r\ncharged with ball and powdered sulphur alone, and fire be applied,\r\nthe ball is not discharged, in which case the motion of greater\r\ncongregation overcomes that of matter; but when gunpowder is used, the\r\nmotion of matter in the sulphur predominates, being assisted by that\r\nmotion, and the motion of avoidance in the nitre; and so of the rest.\r\nFor wrestling instances (which show the predominance of powers, and in\r\nwhat manner and proportion they predominate and yield) must be searched\r\nfor with active and industrious diligence.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe methods and nature of this yielding must also be diligently\r\nexamined, as for instance, whether the motions completely cease, or\r\nexert themselves, but are constrained. For in the bodies with which\r\nwe are acquainted, there is no real but an apparent rest, either in\r\nthe whole or in parts. This apparent rest is occasioned either by\r\nequilibrium, or the absolute predominance of motions. By equilibrium,\r\nas in the scales of the balance, which rest if the weights be equal. By\r\npredominance, as in perforated jars, in which the water rests, and is\r\nprevented from falling by the predominance of the motion of connection.\r\nIt is, however, to be observed (as we have said before), how far the\r\nyielding motions exert themselves. For if a man be held stretched out\r\non the ground against his will, with arms and legs bound down, or\r\notherwise confined, and yet strive with all his power to get up, the\r\nstruggle is not the less, although ineffectual. The real state of the\r\ncase (namely, whether\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_269\"\u003e[269]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n the yielding motion be, as it were, annihilated\r\nby the predominance, or there be rather a continued, although an\r\ninvisible effort) will, perhaps, appear in the concurrence of motions,\r\nalthough it escape our notice in their conflict. For instance: let an\r\nexperiment be made with muskets; whether a musket-ball, at its utmost\r\nrange in a straight line, or (as it is commonly called) point-blank,\r\nstrike with less force when projected upward, where the motion of the\r\nblow is simple, than when projected downward, where the motion of\r\ngravity concurs with the blow.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe rules of such instances of predominance as occur should be\r\ncollected: such as the following; the more general the desired\r\nadvantage is, the stronger will be the motion; the motion of\r\nconnection, for instance, which relates to the intercourse of the parts\r\nof the universe, is more powerful than that of gravity, which relates\r\nto the intercourse of dense bodies only. Again, the desire of a private\r\ngood does not in general prevail against that of a public one, except\r\nwhere the quantities are small. Would that such were the case in civil\r\nmatters!\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eXLIX. In the twenty-fifth rank of prerogative instances we will place\r\nsuggesting instances; such as suggest, or point out, that which is\r\nadvantageous to mankind; for bare power and knowledge in themselves\r\nexalt rather than enrich human nature. We must, therefore, select from\r\nthe general store such things as are most useful to mankind. We shall\r\nhave a better opportunity of discussing these when we treat of the\r\napplication to practice; besides, in the work of interpretation, we\r\nleave room, on every subject, for the human or optative chart; for it\r\nis a part of science to make judicious inquiries and wishes.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eL. In the twenty-sixth rank of prerogative instances\r\n we\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_270\"\u003e[270]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e will place the\r\ngenerally useful instances. They are such as relate to various points,\r\nand frequently occur, sparing by that means considerable labor and new\r\ntrials. The proper place for treating of instruments and contrivances,\r\nwill be that in which we speak of the application to practice, and the\r\nmethods of experiment. All that has hitherto been ascertained, and\r\nmade use of, will be described in the particular history of each art.\r\nAt present, we will subjoin a few general examples of the instances in\r\nquestion.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMan acts, then, upon natural bodies (besides merely bringing them\r\ntogether or removing them) by seven principal methods: 1, by the\r\nexclusion of all that impedes and disturbs; 2, by compression,\r\nextension, agitation, and the like; 3, by heat and cold; 4, by\r\ndetention in a suitable place; 5, by checking or directing motion;\r\n6, by peculiar harmonies; 7, by a seasonable and proper alternation,\r\nseries, and succession of all these, or, at least, of some of them.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e1. With regard to the first—common air, which is always at hand, and\r\nforces its admission, as also the rays of the heavenly bodies, create\r\nmuch disturbance. Whatever, therefore, tends to exclude them may\r\nwell be considered as generally useful. The substance and thickness\r\nof vessels in which bodies are placed when prepared for operations\r\nmay be referred to this head. So also may the accurate methods of\r\nclosing vessels by consolidation, or the \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003elutum\r\n sapientiæ\u003c/i\u003e, as the\r\nchemists call it. The exclusion of air by means of liquids at the\r\nextremity is also very useful, as when they pour oil on wine, or the\r\njuices of herbs, which by spreading itself upon the top like a cover,\r\npreserves them uninjured from the air. Powders, also, are serviceable,\r\nfor although they contain air mixed up in them, yet they ward off\r\nthe power of the mass of circumambient\r\n air,\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_271\"\u003e[271]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n which is seen in the\r\npreservation of grapes and other fruits in sand or flour. Wax, honey,\r\npitch, and other resinous bodies, are well used in order to make the\r\nexclusion more perfect, and to remove the air and celestial influence.\r\nWe have sometimes made an experiment by placing a vessel or other\r\nbodies in quicksilver, the most dense of all substances capable of\r\nbeing poured round others. Grottoes and subterraneous caves are of\r\ngreat use in keeping off the effects of the sun, and the predatory\r\naction of air, and in the north of Germany are used for granaries.\r\nThe depositing of bodies at the bottom of water may be also mentioned\r\nhere; and I remember having heard of some bottles of wine being let\r\ndown into a deep well in order to cool them, but left there by chance,\r\ncarelessness, and forgetfulness for several years, and then taken out;\r\nby which means the wine not only escaped becoming flat or dead, but\r\nwas much more excellent in flavor, arising (as it appears) from a more\r\ncomplete mixture of its parts. But if the case require that bodies\r\nshould be sunk to the bottom of water, as in rivers or the sea, and\r\nyet should not touch the water, nor be inclosed in sealed vessels, but\r\nsurrounded only by air, it would be right to use that vessel which has\r\nbeen sometimes employed under water above ships that have sunk, in\r\norder to enable the divers to remain below and breathe occasionally\r\nby turns. It was of the following nature: A hollow tub of metal was\r\nformed, and sunk so as to have its bottom parallel with the surface of\r\nthe water; it thus carried down with it to the bottom of the sea all\r\nthe air contained in the tub. It stood upon three feet (like a tripod),\r\nbeing of rather less height than a man, so that, when the diver was\r\nin want of breath, he could put his head into the hollow of the tub,\r\nbreathe, and then continue his\r\n work.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_272\"\u003e[272]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n We hear that some sort of boat\r\nor vessel has now been invented, capable of carrying men some distance\r\nunder water. Any bodies, however, can easily be suspended under some\r\nsuch vessel as we have mentioned, which has occasioned our remarks upon\r\nthe experiment.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnother advantage of the careful and hermetical closing of bodies is\r\nthis—not only the admission of external air is prevented (of which we\r\nhave treated), but the spirit of bodies also is prevented from making\r\nits escape, which is an internal operation. For any one operating on\r\nnatural bodies must be certain as to their quantity, and that nothing\r\nhas evaporated or escaped, since profound alterations take place in\r\nbodies, when art prevents the loss or escape of any portion, while\r\nnature prevents their annihilation. With regard to this circumstance,\r\na false idea has prevailed (which if true would make us despair of\r\npreserving quantity without diminution), namely, that the spirit of\r\nbodies, and air when rarefied by a great degree of heat, cannot be so\r\nkept in by being inclosed in any vessel as not to escape by the small\r\npores. Men are led into this idea by the common experiments of a cup\r\ninverted over water, with a candle or piece of lighted paper in it,\r\nby which the water is drawn up, and of those cups which, when heated,\r\ndraw up the flesh. For they think that in each experiment the rarefied\r\nair escapes, and that its quantity is therefore diminished, by which\r\nmeans the water or flesh rises by the motion of connection. This is,\r\nhowever, most incorrect. For the air is not diminished in quantity, but\r\ncontracted in\r\n dimensions,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-161\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-161\" title=\"Go to Footnote 161\"\u003e[161]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n nor does this motion of the rising of\r\nthe water\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_273\"\u003e[273]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n begin till the flame is extinguished, or the air cooled, so\r\nthat physicians place cold sponges, moistened with water, on the cups,\r\nin order to increase their attraction. There is, therefore, no reason\r\nwhy men should fear much from the ready escape of air: for although it\r\nbe true that the most solid bodies have their pores, yet neither air,\r\nnor spirit, readily suffers itself to be rarefied to such an extreme\r\ndegree; just as water will not escape by a small chink.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e2. With regard to the second of the seven above-mentioned methods, we\r\nmust especially observe, that compression and similar violence have a\r\nmost powerful effect either in producing locomotion, and other motions\r\nof the same nature, as may be observed in engines and projectiles, or\r\nin destroying the organic body, and those qualities, which consist\r\nentirely in motion (for all life, and every description of flame and\r\nignition are destroyed by compression, which also injures and deranges\r\nevery machine); or in destroying those qualities which consist in\r\nposition and a coarse difference of parts, as in colors; for the color\r\nof a flower when whole, differs from that it presents when bruised, and\r\nthe same may be observed of whole and powdered amber; or in tastes,\r\nfor the taste of a pear before it is ripe, and of the same pear when\r\nbruised and softened, is different, since it becomes perceptibly\r\nmore sweet. But such violence is of little avail in the more noble\r\ntransformations and changes of homogeneous bodies, for they do not,\r\nby such means, acquire any constantly and permanently new state, but\r\none that is transitory, and always struggling to return to its former\r\nhabit and freedom. It would not, however, be\r\n useless\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_274\"\u003e[274]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n to make some\r\nmore diligent experiments with regard to this; whether, for instance,\r\nthe condensation of a perfectly homogeneous body (such as air, water,\r\noil, and the like) or their rarefaction, when effected by violence,\r\ncan become permanent, fixed, and, as it were, so changed, as to become\r\na nature. This might at first be tried by simple perseverance, and\r\nthen by means of helps and harmonies. It might readily have been\r\nattempted (if we had but thought of it), when we condensed water (as\r\nwas mentioned above), by hammering and compression, until it burst\r\nout. For we ought to have left the flattened globe untouched for some\r\ndays, and then to have drawn off the water, in order to try whether it\r\nwould have immediately occupied the same dimensions as it did before\r\nthe condensation. If it had not done so, either immediately, or soon\r\nafterward, the condensation would have appeared to have been rendered\r\nconstant; if not, it would have appeared that a restitution took place,\r\nand that the condensation had been transitory. Something of the same\r\nkind might have been tried with the glass eggs; the egg should have\r\nbeen sealed up suddenly and firmly, after a complete exhaustion of\r\nthe air, and should have been allowed to remain so for some days, and\r\nit might then have been tried whether, on opening the aperture, the\r\nair would be drawn in with a hissing noise, or whether as much water\r\nwould be drawn into it when immersed, as would have been drawn into it\r\nat first, if it had not continued sealed. For it is probable (or, at\r\nleast, worth making the experiment) that this might have happened, or\r\nmight happen, because perseverance has a similar effect upon bodies\r\nwhich are a little less homogeneous. A stick bent together for some\r\ntime does not rebound, which is not owing to any loss of quantity in\r\nthe wood during the time, for the same\r\n would\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_275\"\u003e[275]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n occur (after a larger\r\ntime) in a plate of steel, which does not evaporate. If the experiment\r\nof simple perseverance should fail, the matter should not be given up,\r\nbut other means should be employed. For it would be no small advantage,\r\nif bodies could be endued with fixed and constant natures by violence.\r\nAir could then be converted into water by condensation, with other\r\nsimilar effects; for man is more the master of violent motions than of\r\nany other means.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e3. The third of our seven methods is referred to that great practical\r\nengine of nature, as well as of art, cold and heat. Here, man’s power\r\nlimps, as it were, with one leg. For we possess the heat of fire, which\r\nis infinitely more powerful and intense than that of the sun (as it\r\nreaches us), and that of animals. But we want\r\n cold,\u003ca id=\"Anchor-162\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-162\" title=\"Go to Footnote 162\"\u003e[162]\u003c/a\u003e except such\r\nas we can obtain in winter, in caverns, or by surrounding objects\r\nwith snow and ice, which, perhaps, may be compared in degree with\r\nthe noontide heat of the sun in tropical countries, increased by the\r\nreflection of mountains and walls. For this degree of heat and cold can\r\nbe borne for a short period only by animals, yet it is nothing compared\r\nwith the heat of a burning furnace, or the corresponding degree of\r\ncold.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-163\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-163\" title=\"Go to Footnote 163\"\u003e[163]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n Everything with us has a tendency to become rarefied,\r\ndry and wasted, and\r\n nothing\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_276\"\u003e[276]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n to become condensed or soft, except\r\nby mixtures, and, as it were, spurious methods. Instances of cold,\r\ntherefore, should be searched for most diligently, such as may be found\r\nby exposing bodies upon buildings in a hard frost, in subterraneous\r\ncaverns, by surrounding bodies with snow and ice in deep places\r\nexcavated for that purpose, by letting bodies down into wells, by\r\nburying bodies in quicksilver and metals, by immersing them in streams\r\nwhich petrify wood, by burying them in the earth (which the Chinese\r\nare reported to do with their china, masses of which, made for that\r\npurpose, are said to remain in the ground for forty or fifty years, and\r\nto be transmitted to their heirs as a sort of artificial mine) and the\r\nlike. The condensations which take place in nature, by means of cold,\r\nshould also be investigated, that by learning their causes, they may\r\nbe introduced into the arts; such as are observed in the exudation of\r\nmarble and stones, in the dew upon the panes of glass in a room toward\r\nmorning after a frosty night, in the formation and the gathering of\r\nvapors under the earth into water, whence spring fountains and the like.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBesides the substances which are cold to the touch, there are others\r\nwhich have also the effect of cold, and condense; they appear, however,\r\nto act only upon the bodies of animals, and scarcely any further. Of\r\nthese we have many instances, in medicines and plasters. Some condense\r\nthe flesh and tangible parts, such as astringent and inspissating\r\nmedicines, others the spirits, such as soporifics. There are two modes\r\nof condensing the spirits, by soporifics or provocatives to sleep;\r\nthe one by calming the motion, the other by expelling the spirit. The\r\nviolet, dried roses, lettuces, and other benign or mild remedies,\r\nby their friendly and gently cooling vapors, invite the\r\n spirits\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_277\"\u003e[277]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e to\r\nunite, and restrain their violent and perturbed motion. Rose-water,\r\nfor instance, applied to the nostrils in fainting fits, causes the\r\nresolved and relaxed spirits to recover themselves, and, as it were,\r\ncherishes them. But opiates, and the like, banish the spirits by\r\ntheir malignant and hostile quality. If they be applied, therefore,\r\nexternally, the spirits immediately quit the part and no longer readily\r\nflow into it; but if they be taken internally, their vapor, mounting\r\nto the head, expels, in all directions, the spirits contained in the\r\nventricles of the brain, and since these spirits retreat, but cannot\r\nescape, they consequently meet and are condensed, and are sometimes\r\ncompletely extinguished and suffocated; although the same opiates, when\r\ntaken in moderation, by a secondary accident (the condensation which\r\nsucceeds their union), strengthen the spirits, render them more robust,\r\nand check their useless and inflammatory motion, by which means they\r\ncontribute not a little to the cure of diseases, and the prolongation\r\nof life.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe preparations of bodies, also, for the reception of cold should not\r\nbe omitted, such as that water a little warmed is more easily frozen\r\nthan that which is quite cold, and the like.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMoreover, since nature supplies cold so sparingly, we must act like the\r\napothecaries, who, when they cannot obtain any simple ingredient, take\r\na succedaneum, or \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003equid pro quo\u003c/i\u003e,\r\n as they term it, such as aloes for\r\nxylobalsamum, cassia for cinnamon. In the same manner we should look\r\ndiligently about us, to ascertain whether there may be any substitutes\r\nfor cold, that is to say, in what other manner condensation can be\r\neffected, which is the peculiar operation of cold. Such condensations\r\nappear hitherto to be of four kinds only. 1. By simple compression,\r\nwhich is of little\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_278\"\u003e[278]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n avail toward permanent condensation, on account\r\nof the elasticity of substances, but may still, however, be of some\r\nassistance. 2. By the contraction of the coarser, after the escape\r\nor departure of the finer parts of a given body; as is exemplified\r\nin induration by fire, and the repeated heating and extinguishing of\r\nmetals, and the like. 3. By the cohesion of the most solid homogeneous\r\nparts of a given body, which were previously separated, and mixed with\r\nothers less solid, as in the return of sublimated mercury to its simple\r\nstate, in which it occupies much less space than it did in powder, and\r\nthe same may be observed of the cleansing of all metals from their\r\ndross. 4. By harmony, or the application of substances which condense\r\nby some latent power. These harmonies are as yet but rarely observed,\r\nat which we cannot be surprised, since there is little to hope for from\r\ntheir investigation, unless the discovery of forms and confirmation\r\nbe attained. With regard to animal bodies, it is not to be questioned\r\nthat there are many internal and external medicines which condense\r\nby harmony, as we have before observed, but this action is rare in\r\ninanimate bodies. Written accounts, as well as report, have certainly\r\nspoken of a tree in one of the Tercera or Canary Islands (for I do\r\nnot exactly recollect which) that drips perpetually, so as to supply\r\nthe inhabitants, in some degree, with water; and Paracelsus says that\r\nthe herb called \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eros solis\u003c/i\u003e is filled\r\n with dew at noon, while the sun\r\ngives out its greatest heat, and all other herbs around it are dry. We\r\ntreat both these accounts as fables; they would, however, if true, be\r\nof the most important service, and most worthy of examination. As to\r\nthe honey-dew, resembling manna, which is found in May on the leaves\r\nof the oak, we are of opinion that it is not condensed by any harmony\r\nor peculiarity\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_279\"\u003e[279]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n of the oak leaf, but that while it falls equally upon\r\nother leaves it is retained and continues on those of the oak, because\r\ntheir texture is closer, and not so porous as that of most of the other\r\nleaves.\u003ca id=\"Anchor-164\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote-164\" title=\"Go to Footnote 164\"\u003e[164]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWith regard to heat, man possesses abundant means and power; but his\r\nobservation and inquiry are defective in some respects, and those of\r\nthe greatest importance, notwithstanding the boasting of quacks. For\r\nthe effects of intense heat are examined and observed, while those of\r\na more gentle degree of heat, being of the most frequent occurrence\r\nin the paths of nature, are, on that very account, least known. We\r\nsee, therefore, the furnaces, which are most esteemed, employed in\r\nincreasing the spirits of bodies to a great extent, as in the strong\r\nacids, and some chemical oils; while the tangible parts are hardened,\r\nand, when the volatile part has escaped, become sometimes fixed; the\r\nhomogeneous parts are separated, and the heterogeneous incorporated and\r\nagglomerated in a coarse lump; and (what is chiefly worthy of remark)\r\nthe junction of compound bodies, and the more delicate conformations\r\nare destroyed and confounded. But the operation of a less violent heat\r\nshould be tried and investigated, by which more delicate mixtures and\r\nregular conformations may be produced and elicited, according to the\r\nexample of nature, and in imitation of the effect of the sun, which we\r\nhave alluded to in the \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-35\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eaphorism on the instances\r\n of alliance\u003c/a\u003e. For the\r\nworks of nature are carried on in much smaller portions, and in more\r\ndelicate and varied positions than those of fire, as we now employ\r\nit. But man will then appear to have really augmented his power, when\r\nthe works of nature can\r\n be\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_280\"\u003e[280]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n imitated in species, perfected in power,\r\nand varied in quantity; to which should be added the acceleration in\r\npoint of time. Rust, for instance, is the result of a long process, but\r\n\u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003ecrocus martis\u003c/i\u003e is obtained immediately;\r\n and the same may be observed\r\nof natural verdigris and ceruse. Crystal is formed slowly, while glass\r\nis blown immediately: stones increase slowly, while bricks are baked\r\nimmediately, etc. In the meantime (with regard to our present subject)\r\nevery different species of heat should, with its peculiar effects, be\r\ndiligently collected and inquired into; that of the heavenly bodies,\r\nwhether their rays be direct, reflected, or refracted, or condensed by\r\na burning-glass; that of lightning, flame, and ignited charcoal; that\r\nof fire of different materials, either open or confined, straitened or\r\noverflowing, qualified by the different forms of the furnaces, excited\r\nby the bellows, or quiescent, removed to a greater or less distance,\r\nor passing through different media; moist heats, such as the\r\n \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003ebalneum\r\nMariæ\u003c/i\u003e, and the dunghill; the external and internal heat of animals;\r\ndry heats, such as the heat of ashes, lime, warm sand; in short, the\r\nnature of every kind of heat, and its degrees.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe should, however, particularly attend to the investigation and\r\ndiscovery of the effects and operations of heat, when made to approach\r\nand retire by degrees, regularly, periodically, and by proper intervals\r\nof space and time. For this systematical inequality is in truth the\r\ndaughter of heaven and mother of generation, nor can any great result\r\nbe expected from a vehement, precipitate, or desultory heat. For this\r\nis not only most evident in vegetables, but in the wombs of animals\r\nalso there arises a great inequality of heat, from the motion, sleep,\r\nfood, and passions of the female. The same inequality prevails in\r\nthose subterraneous\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_281\"\u003e[281]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n beds where metals and fossils are perpetually\r\nforming, which renders yet more remarkable the ignorance of some of the\r\nreformed alchemists, who imagined they could attain their object by the\r\nequable heat of lamps, or the like, burning uniformly. Let this suffice\r\nconcerning the operation and effects of heat; nor is it time for us\r\nto investigate them thoroughly before the forms and conformations\r\nof bodies have been further examined and brought to light. When we\r\nhave determined upon our models, we may seek, apply, and arrange our\r\ninstruments.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e4. The fourth mode of action is by continuance, the very steward and\r\nalmoner, as it were, of nature. We apply the term continuance to the\r\nabandonment of a body to itself for an observable time, guarded and\r\nprotected in the meanwhile from all external force. For the internal\r\nmotion then commences to betray and exert itself when the external and\r\nadventitious is removed. The effects of time, however, are far more\r\ndelicate than those of fire. Wine, for instance, cannot be clarified\r\nby fire as it is by continuance. Nor are the ashes produced by\r\ncombustion so fine as the particles dissolved or wasted by the lapse\r\nof ages. The incorporations and mixtures, which are hurried by fire,\r\nare very inferior to those obtained by continuance; and the various\r\nconformations assumed by bodies left to themselves, such as mouldiness,\r\netc., are put a stop to by fire or a strong heat. It is not, in the\r\nmeantime, unimportant to remark that there is a certain degree of\r\nviolence in the motion of bodies entirely confined; for the confinement\r\nimpedes the proper motion of the body. Continuance in an open vessel,\r\ntherefore, is useful for separations, and in one hermetically sealed\r\nfor mixtures, that in a vessel partly closed, but admitting the air,\r\nfor putrefaction. But instances of\r\n the\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_282\"\u003e[282]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n operation and effect of\r\ncontinuance must be collected diligently from every quarter.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e5. The direction of motion (which is the fifth method of action) is\r\nof no small use. We adopt this term, when speaking of a body which,\r\nmeeting with another, either arrests, repels, allows, or directs\r\nits original motion. This is the case principally in the figure and\r\nposition of vessels. An upright cone, for instance, promotes the\r\ncondensation of vapor in alembics, but when reversed, as in inverted\r\nvessels, it assists the refining of sugar. Sometimes a curved form,\r\nor one alternately contracted and dilated, is required. Strainers may\r\nbe ranged under this head, where the opposed body opens a way for\r\none portion of another substance and impedes the rest. Nor is this\r\nprocess or any other direction of motion carried on externally only,\r\nbut sometimes by one body within another. Thus, pebbles are thrown\r\ninto water to collect the muddy particles, and syrups are refined by\r\nthe white of an egg, which glues the grosser particles together so as\r\nto facilitate their removal. Telesius, indeed, rashly and ignorantly\r\nenough attributes the formation of animals to this cause, by means of\r\nthe channels and folds of the womb. He ought to have observed a similar\r\nformation of the young in eggs which have no wrinkles or inequalities.\r\nOne may observe a real result of this direction of motion in casting\r\nand modelling.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e6. The effects produced by harmony and aversion (which is the\r\nsixth method) are frequently buried in obscurity; for these occult\r\nand specific properties (as they are termed), the sympathies and\r\nantipathies, are for the most part but a corruption of philosophy. Nor\r\ncan we form any great expectation of the discovery of the harmony which\r\nexists between natural objects, before that of their forms\r\n and\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_283\"\u003e[283]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e simple\r\nconformations, for it is nothing more than the symmetry between these\r\nforms and conformations.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe greater and more universal species of harmony are not, however,\r\nso wholly obscure, and with them, therefore, we must commence. The\r\nfirst and principal distinction between them is this; that some bodies\r\ndiffer considerably in the abundance and rarity of their substance, but\r\ncorrespond in their conformation; others, on the contrary, correspond\r\nin the former and differ in the latter. Thus the chemists have well\r\nobserved, that in their trial of first principles sulphur and mercury,\r\nas it were, pervade the universe; their reasoning about salt, however,\r\nis absurd, and merely introduced to comprise earthy dry fixed bodies.\r\nIn the other two, indeed, one of the most universal species of natural\r\nharmony manifests itself. Thus there is a correspondence between\r\nsulphur, oil, greasy exhalations, flame, and, perhaps, the substance of\r\nthe stars. On the other hand, there is a like correspondence between\r\nmercury, water, aqueous vapor, air, and, perhaps, pure inter-sidereal\r\nether. Yet do these two quaternions, or great natural tribes (each\r\nwithin its own limits), differ immensely in quantity and density of\r\nsubstance, while they generally agree in conformation, as is manifest\r\nin many instances. On the other hand, the metals agree in such quantity\r\nand density (especially when compared with vegetables, etc.), but\r\ndiffer in many respects in conformation. Animals and vegetables, in\r\nlike manner, vary in their almost infinite modes of conformation, but\r\nrange within very limited degrees of quantity and density of substance.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe next most general correspondence is that between individual bodies\r\nand those which supply them by way of menstruum or support. Inquiry,\r\ntherefore, must be\r\n made\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_284\"\u003e[284]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n as to the climate, soil, and depth at which\r\neach metal is generated, and the same of gems, whether produced in\r\nrocks or mines, also as to the soil in which particular trees, shrubs,\r\nand herbs, mostly grow and, as it were, delight; and as to the best\r\nspecies of manure, whether dung, chalk, sea sand, or ashes, etc., and\r\ntheir different propriety and advantage according to the variety of\r\nsoils. So also the grafting and setting of trees and plants (as regards\r\nthe readiness of grafting one particular species on another) depends\r\nvery much upon harmony, and it would be amusing to try an experiment\r\nI have lately heard of, in grafting forest trees (garden trees alone\r\nhaving hitherto been adopted), by which means the leaves and fruit\r\nare enlarged, and the trees produce more shade. The specific food of\r\nanimals again should be observed, as well as that which cannot be used.\r\nThus the carnivorous cannot be fed on herbs, for which reason the order\r\nof feuilletans, the experiment having been made, has nearly vanished;\r\nhuman nature being incapable of supporting their regimen, although the\r\nhuman will has more power over the bodily frame than that of other\r\nanimals. The different kinds of putrefaction from which animals are\r\ngenerated should be noted.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe harmony of principal bodies with those subordinate to them (such\r\nindeed may be deemed those we have alluded to above) are sufficiently\r\nmanifest, to which may be added those that exist between different\r\nbodies and their objects, and, since these latter are more apparent,\r\nthey may throw great light when well observed and diligently examined\r\nupon those which are more latent.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe more internal harmony and aversion, or friendship and enmity\r\n(for superstition and folly have rendered the terms of sympathy and\r\nantipathy almost disgusting),\r\n have\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_285\"\u003e[285]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n been either falsely assigned,\r\nor mixed with fable, or most rarely discovered from neglect. For if\r\none were to allege that there is an enmity between the vine and the\r\ncabbage, because they will not come up well when sown together, there\r\nis a sufficient reason for it in the succulent and absorbent nature\r\nof each plant, so that the one defrauds the other. Again, if one were\r\nto say that there is a harmony and friendship between the corn and\r\nthe corn-flower, or the wild poppy, because the latter seldom grow\r\nanywhere but in cultivated soils, he ought rather to say, there is an\r\nenmity between them, for the poppy and the corn-flower are produced and\r\ncreated by those juices which the corn has left and rejected, so that\r\nthe sowing of the corn prepares the ground for their production. And\r\nthere are a vast number of similar false assertions. As for fables,\r\nthey must be totally exterminated. There remains, then, but a scanty\r\nsupply of such species of harmony as has borne the test of experiment,\r\nsuch as that between the magnet and iron, gold and quicksilver, and\r\nthe like. In chemical experiments on metals, however, there are some\r\nothers worthy of notice, but the greatest abundance (where the whole\r\nare so few in numbers) is discovered in certain medicines, which,\r\nfrom their occult and specific qualities (as they are termed), affect\r\nparticular limbs, humors, diseases, or constitutions. Nor should we\r\nomit the harmony between the motion and phenomena of the moon, and\r\ntheir effects on lower bodies, which may be brought together by an\r\naccurate and honest selection from the experiments of agriculture,\r\nnavigation, and medicine, or of other sciences. By as much as these\r\ngeneral instances, however, of more latent harmony, are rare, with\r\nso much the more diligence are they to be inquired after, through\r\ntradition, and faithful and\r\n honest\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_286\"\u003e[286]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n reports, but without rashness\r\nand credulity, with an anxious and, as it were, hesitating degree of\r\nreliance. There remains one species of harmony which, though simple in\r\nits mode of action, is yet most valuable in its use, and must by no\r\nmeans be omitted, but rather diligently investigated. It is the ready\r\nor difficult coition or union of bodies in composition, or simple\r\njuxtaposition. For some bodies readily and willingly mix, and are\r\nincorporated, others tardily and perversely; thus powders mix best with\r\nwater, chalk and ashes with oils, and the like. Nor are these instances\r\nof readiness and aversion to mixture to be alone collected, but others,\r\nalso, of the collocation, distribution, and digestion of the parts when\r\nmingled, and the predominance after the mixture is complete.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e7. Lastly, there remains the seventh, and last of the seven, modes\r\nof action; namely, that by the alternation and interchange of the\r\nother six; but of this, it will not be the right time to offer any\r\nexamples, until some deeper investigation shall have taken place of\r\neach of the others. The series, or chain of this alternation, in its\r\nmode of application to separate effects, is no less powerful in its\r\noperation than difficult to be traced. But men are possessed with the\r\nmost extreme impatience, both of such inquiries, and their practical\r\napplication, although it be the clew of the labyrinth in all greater\r\nworks. Thus far of the generally useful instances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLI. The twenty-seventh and last place we will assign to the magical\r\ninstances, a term which we apply to those where the matter or efficient\r\nagent is scanty or small, in comparison with the grandeur of the work\r\nor effect produced; so that even when common they appear miraculous,\r\nsome at first sight, others even upon more attentive\r\n observation.\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_287\"\u003e[287]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\nNature, however, of herself, supplies these but sparingly. What she\r\nwill do when her whole store is thrown open, and after the discovery\r\nof forms, processes, and conformation, will appear hereafter. As far\r\nas we can yet conjecture, these magic effects are produced in three\r\nways, either by self-multiplication, as in fire, and the poisons termed\r\nspecific, and the motions transferred and multiplied from wheel to\r\nwheel; or by the excitement, or, as it were, invitation of another\r\nsubstance, as in the magnet, which excites innumerable needles without\r\nlosing or diminishing its power; and again in leaven, and the like; or\r\nby the excess of rapidity of one species of motion over another, as\r\nhas been observed in the case of gunpowder, cannon, and mines. The two\r\nformer require an investigation of harmonies, the latter of a measure\r\nof motion. Whether there be any mode of changing bodies\r\n \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eper minima\u003c/i\u003e\r\n(as it is termed), and transferring the delicate conformations of\r\nmatter, which is of importance in all transformations of bodies, so as\r\nto enable art to effect, in a short time, that which nature works out\r\nby divers expedients, is a point of which we have as yet no indication.\r\nBut, as we aspire to the extremest and highest results in that which is\r\nsolid and true, so do we ever detest, and, as far as in us lies, expel\r\nall that is empty and vain.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLII. Let this suffice as to the respective dignity of prerogatives of\r\ninstances. But it must be noted, that in this our organ, we treat of\r\nlogic, and not of philosophy. Seeing, however, that our logic instructs\r\nand informs the understanding, in order that it may not, with the small\r\nhooks, as it were, of the mind, catch at, and grasp mere abstractions,\r\nbut rather actually penetrate nature, and discover the properties and\r\neffects of bodies, and the determinate laws\r\n of\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_288\"\u003e[288]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n their substance (so\r\nthat this science of ours springs from the nature of things, as well as\r\nfrom that of the mind); it is not to be wondered at, if it have been\r\ncontinually interspersed and illustrated with natural observations and\r\nexperiments, as instances of our method. The prerogative instances are,\r\nas appears from what has preceded, twenty-seven in number, and are\r\ntermed, solitary instances, migrating instances, conspicuous instances,\r\nclandestine instances, constitutive instances, similar instances,\r\nsingular instances, deviating instances, bordering instances,\r\ninstances of power, accompanying and hostile instances, subjunctive\r\ninstances, instances of alliance, instances of the cross, instances\r\nof divorce, instances of the gate, citing instances, instances of the\r\nroad, supplementary instances, lancing instances, instances of the\r\nrod, instances of the course, doses of nature, wrestling instances,\r\nsuggesting instances, generally useful instances, and magical\r\ninstances. The advantage, by which these instances excel the more\r\nordinary, regards specifically either theory or practice, or both. With\r\nregard to theory, they assist either the senses or the understanding;\r\nthe senses, as in the five instances of the lamp; the understanding,\r\neither by expediting the exclusive mode of arriving at the form, as in\r\nsolitary instances, or by confining, and more immediately indicating\r\nthe affirmative, as in the migrating, conspicuous, accompanying, and\r\nsubjunctive instances; or by elevating the understanding, and leading\r\nit to general and common natures, and that either immediately, as in\r\nthe clandestine and singular instances, and those of alliance; or very\r\nnearly so, as in the constitutive; or still less so, as in the similar\r\ninstances; or by correcting the understanding of its habits, as in\r\nthe deviating instances; or by leading to the grand form or fabric of\r\nthe universe, as in the\r\n bordering\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_289\"\u003e[289]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n instances; or by guarding it from\r\nfalse forms and causes, as in those of the cross and of divorce. With\r\nregard to practice, they either point it out, or measure, or elevate\r\nit. They point it out, either by showing where we must commence in\r\norder not to repeat the labors of others, as in the instances of power;\r\nor by inducing us to aspire to that which may be possible, as in the\r\nsuggesting instances; the four mathematical instances measure it. The\r\ngenerally useful and the magical elevate it.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, out of these twenty-seven instances, some must be collected\r\nimmediately, without waiting for a particular investigation of\r\nproperties. Such are the similar, singular, deviating, and bordering\r\ninstances, those of power, and of the gate, and suggesting, generally\r\nuseful, and magical instances; for these either assist and cure\r\nthe understanding and senses, or furnish our general practice. The\r\nremainder are to be collected when we finish our synoptical tables for\r\nthe work of the interpreter, upon any particular nature; for these\r\ninstances, honored and gifted with such prerogatives, are like the\r\nsoul amid the vulgar crowd of instances, and (as we from the first\r\nobserved) a few of them are worth a multitude of the others. When,\r\ntherefore, we are forming our tables they must be searched out with the\r\ngreatest zeal, and placed in the table. And, since mention must be made\r\nof them in what follows, a treatise upon their nature has necessarily\r\nbeen prefixed. We must next, however, proceed to the supports and\r\ncorrections of induction, and thence to concretes, the latent process,\r\nand latent conformations, and the other matters, which we have\r\nenumerated in their order in the \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-21\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003etwenty-first\r\n aphorism\u003c/a\u003e, in order that,\r\nlike good and faithful guardians, we may yield up their fortune to\r\nmankind upon the emancipation and\r\n majority\u003cspan class=\"pagenum\"\u003e\u003ca id=\"Page_290\"\u003e[290]\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n of their understanding;\r\nfrom which must necessarily follow an improvement of their estate, and\r\nan increase of their power over nature. For man, by the fall, lost\r\nat once his state of innocence, and his empire over creation, both\r\nof which can be partially recovered even in this life, the first by\r\nreligion and faith, the second by the arts and sciences. For creation\r\ndid not become entirely and utterly rebellious by the curse, but in\r\nconsequence of the Divine decree, “in the sweat of thy brow shalt\r\nthou eat bread,” she is compelled by our labors (not assuredly by our\r\ndisputes or magical ceremonies), at length, to afford mankind in some\r\ndegree his bread, that is to say, to supply man’s daily wants.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"end\"\u003e\r\nEND OF “\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eNOVUM ORGANUM\u003c/span\u003e”\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch3\u003eFOOTNOTES\u003c/h3\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-71\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-71\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[71]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"To ti ên einai\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eΤὸ τὶ ἦν εἶναι\u003c/span\u003e, or\r\n \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"ên ousia\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eἦν\r\n \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027οὐδία\u0027\" id=\"fn71_ousia\"\u003eοὐσία\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e of Aristotle.—See\r\n lib. iii.\r\n\u003cabbr title=\"Metaphysics\"\u003eMetap.\u003c/abbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-72\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-72\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[72]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThese divisions are from Aristotle’s Metaphysics, where\r\nthey are termed, 1. \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"hylê ê to hypokeimenon\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eὓλη ἢ τὸ ὑποκείμενον\u003c/span\u003e.\r\n 2. \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"to ti ên einai\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eτὸ τὶ ἦν εἶναι\u003c/span\u003e.\r\n 3. \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"hothen hê archê tês kinêseôs\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eὅθεν ἡ\r\nἀρχὴ τῆς κινήσεως\u003c/span\u003e. 4. \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"to hou heneken–kai to agathon\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eτὸ οὗ ἕνεκεν—καὶ τὸ ἀγαθόν\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-73\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-73\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[73]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-51\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAphorism li.\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-65_para-2\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003esecond\r\n paragraph of Aphorism lxv.\u003c/a\u003e in\r\nthe first book.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-74\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-74\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[74]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon means, that although there exist in nature only\r\nindividualities, yet a certain number of these may have common\r\nproperties, and be controlled by the same laws. Now, these homogeneous\r\nqualities which distinguish them from other individuals, lead us to\r\nclass them under one expression, and sometimes under a single term. Yet\r\nthese classes are only pure conceptions in Bacon’s opinion, and cannot\r\nbe taken for distinct substances. He evidently here aims a blow at the\r\nRealists, who concluded that the essence which united individualities\r\nin a class was the only real and immutable existence in nature,\r\ninasmuch as it entered into their ideas of individual substances as\r\na distinct and essential property, and continued in the mind as the\r\nmold, type or pattern of the class, while its individual forms were\r\nundergoing perpetual renovation and decay.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-75\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-75\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[75]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon’s definition is obscure. All the idea we have\r\nof a law of nature consists in invariable sequence between certain\r\nclasses of phenomena; but this cannot be the complete sense attached\r\nby Bacon to the term form, as he employs it in the\r\n \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-4\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003efourth aphorism\u003c/a\u003e as\r\nconvertible with the nature of any object; and again, in the\r\n \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-1\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003efirst\r\naphorism\u003c/a\u003e, as the \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003enatura naturans\u003c/i\u003e,\r\n or general law or condition in\r\nany substance or quality—\u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003enatura\r\n naturata\u003c/i\u003e—which is whatever its\r\nform is, or that particular combination of forces which impresses a\r\ncertain nature upon matter subject to its influence. Thus, in the\r\nNewtonian sense, the form of whiteness would be that combination of\r\nthe seven primitive rays of light which give rise to that color. In\r\ncombination with this word, and affording a still further insight into\r\nits meaning, we have the phrases, \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003elatens\r\n processus ad formam, et\r\nlatens schematismus corporum\u003c/i\u003e. Now, the\r\n \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003elatens schematismus\u003c/i\u003e signifies\r\nthe internal texture, structure, or configuration of bodies, or the\r\nresult of the respective situation of all the parts of a body; while\r\nthe \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003elatens processus ad formam\u003c/i\u003e\r\n points out the gradation of movements\r\nwhich takes place among the \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003emolecula\u003c/span\u003e\r\n of bodies when they either\r\nconserve or change their figure. Hence we may consider the form of any\r\nquality in body as something convertible with that quality, \u003ci\u003ei.e.\u003c/i\u003e,\r\nwhen it exists the quality is present, and \u003ci\u003evice versâ\u003c/i\u003e. In this sense,\r\nthe form of a thing differs only from its efficient cause in being\r\npermanent, whereas we apply cause to that which exists in order of\r\ntime. The \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003elatens processus\u003c/i\u003e and\r\n \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003elatens schematismus\u003c/i\u003e are subordinate\r\nto form, as concrete exemplifications of its essence. The former is the\r\nsecret and invisible process by which change is effected, and involves\r\nthe principle since called the law of continuity. Thus, the succession\r\nof events between the application of the match to the expulsion of the\r\nbullet is an instance of latent progress which we can now trace with\r\nsome degree of accuracy. It also more directly refers to the operation\r\nby which one form or condition of being is induced upon another. For\r\nexample, when the surface of iron becomes rusty, or when water is\r\nconverted into steam, some change has taken place, or latent process\r\nfrom one form to another. Mechanics afford many exemplifications of\r\nthe first latent process we have denoted, and chemistry of the second.\r\nThe \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003elatens schematismus\u003c/i\u003e is that visible\r\n structure of bodies on\r\nwhich so many of their properties depend. When we inquire into the\r\nconstitution of crystals, and into the internal structure of plants, we\r\nare examining into their latent schematism.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-76\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-76\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[76]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBy the recent discoveries in electric magnetism, copper\r\nwires, or, indeed, wires of any metal, may be transformed into magnets;\r\nthe magnetic law, or form, having been to that extent discovered.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-77\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-77\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[77]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nHaller has pursued this investigation in his\r\n“Physiology,” and has left his successors little else to do than repeat\r\nhis discoveries.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-78\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-78\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[78]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon here first seems pregnant with the important\r\ndevelopment of the higher calculus, which, in the hands of Newton and\r\nDescartes, was to effect as great a revolution in philosophy as his\r\nmethod.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-79\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-79\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[79]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBy spirit, Bacon here plainly implies material fluid\r\ntoo fine to be grasped by the unassisted sense, which rather operates\r\nthan reasons. We sometimes adopt the same mode of expression, as in\r\nthe words spirits of nitre, spirits of wine. Some such agency has been\r\nassumed by nearly all the modern physicists, a few of whom, along with\r\nBacon, would leave us to gather from their expressions, that they\r\nbelieve such bodies endowed with the sentient powers of perception.\r\nAs another specimen of his sentiment on this subject, we may refer to\r\na paragraph on the decomposition of compounds, in his essay on death,\r\nbeginning—“The spirit which exists in all living bodies, keeps all the\r\nparts in due subjection; when it escapes, the body decomposes, or the\r\nsimilar parts unite.”—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-80\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-80\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[80]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe theory of the Epicureans and others. The atoms are\r\nsupposed to be invisible, unalterable particles, endued with all the\r\nproperties of the given body, and forming that body by their union.\r\nThey must be separated, of course, which either takes a vacuum for\r\ngranted, or introduces a \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003etertium quid\u003c/span\u003e\r\n into the composition of the body.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-81\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-81\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[81]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nCompare the three following aphorisms with the last three\r\nchapters of the third book of the “\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eDe Augmentis Scientiarum\u003c/span\u003e.”\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-82\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-82\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[82]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon gives this unfortunate term its proper\r\nsignification; \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"meta\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eμετα\u003c/span\u003e, in composition, with the Greeks signifying\r\nchange or mutation. Most of our readers, no doubt, are aware that the\r\nobtrusion of this word into technical philosophy was purely capricious,\r\nand is of no older date than the publication of Aristotle’s works by\r\nAndronicus of Rhodes, one of the learned men into whose hands the\r\nmanuscripts of that philosopher fell, after they were brought by\r\nSylla from Athens to Rome. To fourteen books in these MSS. with no\r\ndistinguishing title, Andronicus is said to have prefixed the words\r\n \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"ta meta ta physika\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eτα\r\nμετα τα φυσικα\u003c/span\u003e, to denote the place which they ought to hold either\r\nin the order of Aristotle’s arrangement, or in that of study. These\r\nbooks treat first of those subjects which are common to matter and\r\nmind; secondly, of things separate from matter, \u003ci\u003ei.e.\u003c/i\u003e of God, and\r\nof the subordinate spirits, which were supposed by the Peripatetics\r\nto watch over particular portions of the universe. The followers of\r\nAristotle accepted the whimsical title of Andronicus, and in their\r\nusual manner allowed a word to unite things into one science which were\r\nplainly heterogeneous. Their error was adopted by the Peripatetics of\r\nthe Christian Church. The schoolmen added to the notion of ontology,\r\nthe science of the mind, or pneumatology, and as that genus of being\r\nhas since become extinct with the schools, metaphysics thus in modern\r\nparlance comes to be synonymous with psychology. It were to be wished\r\nthat Bacon’s definition of the term had been accepted, and mental\r\nscience delivered from one of the greatest monstrosities in its\r\nnomenclature, yet Bacon whimsically enough in his \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eDe Augmentis\u003c/span\u003e includes\r\nmathematics in metaphysics.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"label-left\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-83\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-83\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[83]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"poem poem-fn83\" lang=\"la\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"stanza\"\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i0\"\u003e“Ne tenues pluviæ, rapidive potentia solis\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eAcrior, aut Boreæ penetrabile frigus adurat.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"source\"\u003e—\u003cabbr title=\"Virgil\"\u003eVirg.\u003c/abbr\u003e\r\n\u003cabbr title=\"Georgics\"\u003eGeorg.\u003c/abbr\u003e i. 92, 93.\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-84\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-84\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[84]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis notion, which he repeats again, and particularizes\r\nin the \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-18\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003e18th aph.\u003c/a\u003e of this book,\r\n is borrowed from the ancients, and we\r\nneed not say is as wise as their other astronomical conjectures. The\r\nsun also approaches stars quite as large in other quarters of the\r\nzodiac, when it looks down upon the earth through the murky clouds\r\nof winter. When that luminary is in Leo, the heat of the earth is\r\ncertainly greater than at any other period, but this arises from the\r\naccumulation of heat after the solstice, for the same reason that the\r\nmaximum heat of the day is at two o’clock instead of noon.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-85\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-85\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[85]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003eBouguer,\u003c/span\u003e employed by Louis XIV.\r\n in philosophical\r\nresearches, ascended the Andes to discover the globular form of the\r\nearth, and published an account of his passage, which verifies the\r\nstatement of Bacon.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-86\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-86\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[86]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nMontanari asserts in his book against the astrologers\r\nthat he had satisfied himself by numerous and oft-repeated experiments,\r\nthat the lunar rays gathered to a focus produced a sensible degree of\r\nheat. \u003cspan lang=\"de\"\u003eMuschenbröck\u003c/span\u003e, however, adopts\r\n the opposite opinion, and asserts\r\nthat himself, \u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003eDe la Hire\u003c/span\u003e,\r\n \u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003eVillet\u003c/span\u003e, and\r\n \u003cspan lang=\"de\"\u003eTschirnhausen\u003c/span\u003e had tried with\r\nthat view the strongest burning-glasses in vain.\r\n (\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eOpera de Igne\u003c/span\u003e.) \u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003eDe\r\nla Lande\u003c/span\u003e makes a similar confession in his Astronomy (vol. ii. vii.\r\n§ 1413). \u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003eBouguer\u003c/span\u003e, whom we have\r\n just quoted, demonstrated that the\r\nlight of the moon was 300,000 degrees less than that of the sun; it\r\nwould consequently be \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027necesary\u0027\" id=\"fn86_necessary\"\u003enecessary\u003c/a\u003e to invent a glass with an absorbing\r\npower 300,000 degrees greater than those ordinarily in use, to try the\r\nexperiment Bacon speaks of.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-87\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-87\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[87]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIn this thermometer, mercury was not dilated by heat or\r\ncontracted by cold, as the one now in use, but a mass of air employed\r\ninstead, which filled the cavity of the bulb. This being placed in an\r\ninverted position to ours, that is to say, with the bulb uppermost,\r\npressed down the liquor when the air became dilated by heat, as ours\r\npress it upward; and when the heat diminished, the \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027liqour\u0027\" id=\"fn87_liquor\"\u003eliquor\u003c/a\u003e rose to\r\noccupy the place vacated by the air, as the one now in use descends. It\r\nconsequently was liable to be affected by a change in the temperature,\r\nas by the weight of air, and could afford only a rude standard of\r\naccuracy in scientific investigations. This thermometer was not Bacon’s\r\nown contrivance, as is commonly supposed, but that of Drebbel.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-88\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-88\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[88]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003eLa Lande\u003c/span\u003e is indignant that the Chaldeans should have more\r\ncorrect notions of the nature of comets than the modern physicists,\r\nand charges Bacon with entertaining the idea that they were the mere\r\neffects of vapor and heat. This passage, with two others more positive,\r\nin the “\u003cabbr title=\"De Augmentis\" lang=\"la\"\u003eDe Aug.\u003c/abbr\u003e”\r\n (cap. xl.) and the “\u003cabbr title=\"Descriptio Globi Intellectualis\" lang=\"la\"\u003eDescript. Globi Intellect.\u003c/abbr\u003e”\r\n(cap. vi.) certainly afford ground for the assertion; but if Bacon\r\nerred, he erred with Galileo, and with the foremost spirits of the\r\ntimes. It is true that Pythagoras and Seneca had asserted their belief\r\nin the solidity of these bodies, but the wide dominion which Aristotle\r\nsubsequently exercised, threw their opinions into the shade, and made\r\nthe opposite doctrine everywhere paramount.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-89\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-89\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[89]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nWas it a silk apron which exhibited electric sparks? Silk\r\nwas then scarce.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-90\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-90\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[90]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe Italian fire-fly.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-91\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-91\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[91]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis last is found to be the real reason, air not being\r\na good conductor, and therefore not allowing the escape of heat. The\r\nconfined air is disengaged when these substances are placed under an\r\nexhausted receiver.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-92\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-92\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[92]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis is erroneous. Air, in fact, is one of the worst, and\r\nmetals are the best conductors of heat.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-93\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-93\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[93]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee \u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-28\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eNo. 28 in the table of the degrees of heat\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-94\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-94\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[94]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon here mistakes sensation confined to ourselves\r\nfor an internal property of distinct substances. Metals are denser\r\nthan wood, and our bodies consequently coming into contact with more\r\nparticles of matter when we touch them, lose a greater quantity of heat\r\nthan in the case of lighter substances.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-95\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-95\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[95]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis was the ancient opinion, but the moderns incline to\r\nthe belief that these insects are produced by generation or fecundity\r\nfrom seeds deposited by their tribes in bodies on the verge of\r\nputrefaction.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-96\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-96\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[96]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe correct measure of the activity of flame may be\r\nobtained by multiplying its natural force into the square of its\r\nvelocity. On this account the flame of vivid lightning mentioned in\r\n\u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-23\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eNo. 23\u003c/a\u003e contains so much vigor,\r\n its velocity being greater than that\r\narising from other heat.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-97\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-97\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[97]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe fires supply fresh heat, the water has only a certain\r\nquantity of heat, which being diffused over a fresh supply of cooler\r\nwater, must be on the whole lowered.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-98\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-98\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[98]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIf condensation were the cause of the greater heat, Bacon\r\nconcludes the centre of the flame would be the hotter part, and \u003ci\u003evice\r\nversâ\u003c/i\u003e. The fact is, neither of the causes assigned by Bacon is the\r\ntrue one; for the fire burns more quickly only because the draught of\r\nair is more rapid, the cold dense air pressing rapidly into the heated\r\nroom and toward the chimney.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-99\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-99\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[99]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon appears to have confounded combustibility and\r\nfusibility with susceptibility of heat; for though the metals will\r\ncertainly neither dissolve as soon as ice or butter, nor be consumed\r\nas soon as wood, that only shows that different degrees of heat are\r\nrequired to produce similar effects on different bodies; but metals\r\nmuch more readily acquire and transmit the same degree of heat than any\r\nof the above substances. The rapid transmission renders them generally\r\ncold to the touch. The convenience of fixing wooden handles to vessels\r\ncontaining hot water illustrates these observations.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-100\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-100\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[100]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nAnother singular error, the truth being, that solid\r\nbodies are the best conductors; but of course where heat is diffused\r\nover a large mass, it is less in each part, than if that part alone\r\nabsorbed the whole quantum of heat.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-101\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-101\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[101]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis general law or form has been well illustrated by\r\nNewton’s discovery of the decomposition of colors.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-102\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-102\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[102]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003ci\u003eI.e.\u003c/i\u003e, the common link or form which connects the\r\nvarious kinds of natures, such as the different hot or red natures\r\nenumerated above.—See \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-3\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAphorism iii.\r\n part 2\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-103\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-103\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[103]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis is erroneous—all metals expand considerably when\r\nheated.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-104\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-104\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[104]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n“\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eQuid ipsum\u003c/span\u003e,” the \u003cspan class=\"greek\" title=\"to ti ên einai\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eτὸ τὶ ἦν εἶναι\u003c/span\u003e of Aristotle.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-105\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-105\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[105]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nTo show the error of the text, we need only mention the\r\ncase of water, which, when confined in corked vases, and exposed to\r\nthe action of a freezing atmosphere, is sure to swell out and break\r\nthose vessels which are not sufficiently large to contain its expanded\r\nvolume. Megalotti narrates a hundred other instances of a similar\r\ncharacter.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-106\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-106\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[106]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon’s inquisition into the nature of heat, as an\r\nexample of the mode of interpreting nature, cannot be looked upon\r\notherwise than as a complete failure. Though the exact nature of this\r\nphenomenon is still an obscure and controverted matter, the science\r\nof thermotics now consists of many important truths, and to none of\r\nthese truths is there so much as an approximation in Bacon’s process.\r\nThe steps by which this science really advanced were the discovery\r\nof a measure of a heat or temperature, the establishment of the laws\r\nof conduction and radiation, of the laws of specific heat, latent\r\nheat, and the like. Such advances have led to\r\n \u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003eAmpère\u003c/span\u003e’s hypothesis,\r\nthat heat consists in the vibrations of an imponderable fluid; and to\r\nLaplace’s theory, that temperature consists in the internal radiation\r\nof a similar medium. These hypotheses cannot yet be said to be even\r\nprobable, but at least they are so modified as to include some of the\r\npreceding laws which are firmly established, whereas Bacon’s “form,”\r\nor true definition of heat, as stated in the text, includes no laws\r\nof phenomena, explains no process, and is indeed itself an example of\r\nillicit generalization.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nIn all the details of his example of heat he is unfortunate. He\r\nincludes in his collection of instances, the \u003cem\u003ehot\u003c/em\u003e tastes of aromatic\r\nplants, the caustic effects of acids, and many other facts which\r\ncannot be ascribed to heat without a studious laxity in the use of the\r\nword.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-107\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-107\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[107]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBy this term Bacon understands general phenomena, taken\r\nin order from the great mass of indiscriminative facts, which, as\r\nthey lie in nature, are apt to generate confusion by their number,\r\nindistinctness and complication. Such classes of phenomena, as being\r\npeculiarly suggestive of causation, he quaintly classes under the title\r\nof prerogative inquiries, either seduced by the fanciful analogy, which\r\nsuch instances bore to the \u003ci lang=\"la\"\u003eprerogativa centuria\u003c/i\u003e\r\n in the Roman Comitia,\r\nor justly considering them as Herschel supposes to hold a kind of\r\nprerogative dignity from being peculiarly suggestive of causation.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nTwo high authorities in physical science (v. Herschel,\r\n \u003cabbr title=\"Natural Philosophy\"\u003eNat. Phil.\u003c/abbr\u003e,\r\n\u003cabbr title=\"article\"\u003eart.\u003c/abbr\u003e 192; Whewell’s Philosophy of the\r\n Inductive Sciences, vol. ii.\r\np. 243) pronounce these instances of little service in the task of\r\ninduction, being for the most part classed not according to the ideas\r\nwhich they involve, or to any obvious circumstance in the facts of\r\nwhich they consist, but according to the extent and manner of their\r\ninfluence upon the inquiry in which they are employed. Thus we\r\nhave solitary instances, migrating instances, ostensive instances,\r\nclandestine instances, so termed according to the degree in which\r\nthey exhibit, or seem to exhibit, the property, whose nature we would\r\nexamine. We have guide-post instances, crucial instances, instances of\r\nthe parted road, of the doorway, of the lamp, according to the guidance\r\nthey supply to our advance. Whewell remarks that such a classification\r\nis much of the same nature as if, having to teach the art of building,\r\nwe were to describe tools with reference to the amount and place of the\r\nwork which they must do, instead of pointing out their construction\r\nand use; as if we were to inform the pupil that we must have tools for\r\nlifting a stone up, tools for moving it sidewise, tools for laying it\r\nsquare, and tools for cementing it firmly. The means are thus lost\r\nin the end, and we reap the fruits of unmethodical arrangement in\r\nthe confusion of cross division. In addition, all the instances are\r\nleavened with the error of confounding the laws with the causes of\r\nphenomena, and we are urged to adopt the fundamental error of seeking\r\ntherein the universal agents, or general causes of phenomena, without\r\nascending the gradual steps of intermediate laws.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-108\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-108\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[108]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nOf these nine general heads no more than the first is\r\nprosecuted by the author.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-109\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-109\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[109]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis very nearly approaches to Sir I. Newton’s discovery\r\nof the decomposition of light by the prism.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-110\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-110\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[110]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe mineral kingdom, as displaying the same nature\r\nin all its gradations, from the shells so perfect in structure in\r\nlimestone to the finer marbles in which their nature gradually\r\ndisappears, is the great theatre for instances of migration.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-111\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-111\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[111]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon was not aware of the fact since brought to light\r\nby Römer, that down to fourteen fathoms from the earth’s mean level\r\nthe thermometer remains fixed at the tenth degree, but that as the\r\nthermometer descends below that depth the heat increases in a ratio\r\nproportionate to the descent, which happens with little variation in\r\nall climates. Buffon considers this a proof of a central fire in our\r\nplanet.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-112\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-112\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[112]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nAll the diversities of bodies depend upon two\r\nprinciples, \u003ci\u003ei.e.\u003c/i\u003e, the quantity and the position of the elements\r\nthat enter into their composition. The primary difference is not that\r\nwhich depends on the greatest or least quantity of material elements,\r\nbut that which depends on their position. It was the quick perception\r\nof this truth that made Leibnitz say that to complete mathematics it\r\nwas necessary to join to the analysis of quantity the analysis of\r\nposition.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-113\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-113\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[113]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nQuery?\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-114\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-114\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[114]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe real cause of this phenomenon is the attraction\r\nof the surface-water in the vessel by the sides of the bubbles. When\r\nthe bubbles approach, the sides nearest each other both tend to raise\r\nthe small space of water between them, and consequently less water is\r\nraised by each of these nearer sides than by the exterior part of the\r\nbubble, and the greater weight of the water raised on the exterior\r\nparts pushes the bubbles together. In the same manner a bubble near\r\nthe side of a vessel is pushed toward it; the vessel and bubble both\r\ndrawing the water that is between them. The latter phenomenon cannot be\r\nexplained on Bacon’s hypothesis.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-115\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-115\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[115]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nModern discoveries appear to bear out the sagacity of\r\nBacon’s remark, and the experiments of Baron Cagnard may be regarded\r\nas a first step toward its full demonstration. After the new facts\r\nelicited by that philosopher, there can be little doubt that the solid,\r\nliquid and aëriform state of bodies are merely stages in a progress\r\nof gradual transition from one extreme to the other, and that however\r\nstrongly marked the distinctions between them may appear, they will\r\nultimately turn out to be separated by no sudden or violent line of\r\ndemarcation, but slide into each other by imperceptible gradations.\r\nBacon’s suggestion, however, is as old as Pythagoras, and perhaps\r\nsimultaneous with the first dawn of philosophic reason. The doctrine of\r\nthe reciprocal transmutation of the elements underlies all the physical\r\nsystems of the ancients, and was adopted by the Epicureans as well as\r\nthe Stoics. Ovid opens his last book of the Metamorphoses with the\r\npoetry of the subject, where he expressly points to the hint of Bacon:—\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"poem poem29\" lang=\"la\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"stanza\"\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i13\"\u003e——“Tenuatus in auras\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eAëraque humor abit, etc., etc.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003chr class=\"tb\"\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eInde retro redeunt, idemque retexitur ordo.”—xv.\r\n 246–249.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote no-indent\"\u003e\r\nand Seneca, in the third book of his Natural Philosophy,\r\n \u003cabbr title=\"question\"\u003equest.\u003c/abbr\u003e iv.,\r\nstates the opinion in more precise language than either the ancient\r\nbard or the modern philosopher.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-116\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-116\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[116]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe author’s own system of \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eMemoria Technica\u003c/span\u003e may be found\r\nin the \u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003eDe Augmentis\u003c/span\u003e, chap. xv.\r\n We may add that, notwithstanding Bacon’s\r\nassertion that he intended his method to apply to religion, politics,\r\nand morals, this is the only lengthy illustration he has adduced of any\r\nsubject out of the domain of physical science.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-117\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-117\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[117]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe collective instances here meant are no other than\r\ngeneral facts or laws of some degree of generality, and are themselves\r\nthe result of induction. For example, the system of Jupiter, or Saturn\r\nwith its satellites, is a collective instance, and materially assisted\r\nin securing the admission of the Copernican system. We have here in\r\nminiature, and displayed at one view, a system analogous to that of the\r\nplanets about the sun, of which, from the circumstance of our being\r\ninvolved in it, and unfavorably situated for seeing it otherwise than\r\nin detail, we are incapacitated from forming a general idea, but by\r\nslow and progressive efforts of reason.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nBut there is a species of collective instance which Bacon does not seem\r\nto have contemplated, in which particular phenomena are presented in\r\nsuch numbers at once, as to make the induction of their law a matter\r\nof ocular inspection. For example, the parabolic form assumed by a\r\njet of water spouted out of a hole is a collective instance of the\r\nvelocities and directions of the motions of all the particles which\r\ncompose it seen together, and which thus leads us without trouble to\r\nrecognize the law of the motion of a projectile. Again, the beautiful\r\nfigures exhibited by sand strewed on regular plates of glass or metal\r\nset in vibration, are collective instances of an infinite number of\r\npoints which remain at rest while the remainder of the plate vibrates,\r\nand in consequence afford us an insight into the law which regulates\r\ntheir arrangement and sequence throughout the whole surface. The richly\r\ncolored lemniscates seen around the optic axis of crystals exposed to\r\npolarized light afford a striking instance of the same kind, pointing\r\nat once to the general mathematical expression of the law which\r\nregulates their production. Such collective instances as these lead us\r\nto a general law by an induction which offers itself spontaneously,\r\nand thus furnish advanced posts in philosophical exploration. The laws\r\nof Kepler, which Bacon ignored on account of his want of mathematical\r\ntaste, may be cited as a collective instance. The first is, that the\r\nplanets move in elliptical orbits, having the sun for their common\r\nfocus. The second, that about this focus the \u003ci\u003eradius vector\u003c/i\u003e of each\r\nplanet describes equal areas in equal times. The third, that the\r\nsquares of the periodic times of the planets are as the cubes of their\r\nmean distance from the sun. This collective instance “opened the way”\r\nto the discovery of the Newtonian law of gravitation.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-118\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-118\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[118]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIs not this very hasty generalization? Do serpents move\r\nwith four folds only? Observe also the motion of centipedes and other\r\ninsects.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-119\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-119\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[119]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nShaw states another point of difference between the\r\nobjects cited in the text—animals having their roots within, while\r\nplants have theirs without; for their lacteals nearly correspond with\r\nthe fibres of the roots in plants; so that animals seem nourished\r\nwithin themselves as plants are without.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-120\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-120\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[120]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon falls into an error here in regarding the\r\nsyllogism as something distinct from the reasoning faculty, and only\r\none of its forms. It is not generally true that the syllogism is only a\r\nform of reasoning by which we unite ideas which accord with the middle\r\nterm. This agreement is not even essential to accurate syllogisms; when\r\nthe relation of the two things compared to the third is one of equality\r\nor similitude, it of course follows that the two things compared\r\nmay be pronounced equal, or like to each other. But if the relation\r\nbetween these terms exist in a different form, then it is not true\r\nthat the two extremes stand in the same relation to each other as to\r\nthe middle term. For instance, if \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eA\u003c/var\u003e is double\r\n of \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eB\u003c/var\u003e,\r\nand \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eB\u003c/var\u003e double of \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eC\u003c/var\u003e,\r\n then \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eA\u003c/var\u003e is quadruple\r\nof \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eC\u003c/var\u003e. But then the relation of\r\n \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eA\u003c/var\u003e to \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eC\u003c/var\u003e is\r\ndifferent from that of \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eA\u003c/var\u003e to \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eB\u003c/var\u003e\r\n and of \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eB\u003c/var\u003e to\r\n\u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eC\u003c/var\u003e.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-121\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-121\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[121]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nComparative anatomy is full of analogies of this kind.\r\nThose between natural and artificial productions are well worthy of\r\nattention, and sometimes lead to important discoveries. By observing\r\nan analogy of this kind between the plan used in hydraulic engines for\r\npreventing the counter-current of a fluid, and a similar contrivance in\r\nthe blood vessels, Harvey was led to the discovery of the circulation\r\nof the blood.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-122\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-122\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[122]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis is well illustrated in plants, for the gardener can\r\nproduce endless varieties of any known species, but can never produce\r\na new species itself.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-123\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-123\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[123]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe discoveries of \u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003eTournefort\u003c/span\u003e\r\n have placed moss in the\r\nclass of plants. The fish alluded to below are to be found only in the\r\ntropics.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-124\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-124\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[124]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThere is, however, no real approximation to birds in\r\neither the flying fish or bat, any more than a man approximates to a\r\nfish because he can swim. The wings of the flying fish and bat are\r\nmere expansions of skin, bearing no resemblance whatever to those of\r\nbirds.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-125\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-125\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[125]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSeneca was a sounder astronomer than Bacon. He ridiculed\r\nthe idea of the motion of any heavenly bodies being irregular, and\r\npredicted that the day would come, when the laws which guided the\r\nrevolution of these bodies would be proved to be identical with those\r\nwhich controlled the motions of the planets. The anticipation, was\r\nrealized by Newton.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-126\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-126\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[126]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBut see Bacon’s own corollary at the end of the\r\nInstances of Divorce, \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-37\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAphorism xxxvii\u003c/a\u003e.\r\n If Bacon’s remark be accepted,\r\nthe censure will fall upon Newton and the system so generally received\r\nat the present day. It is, however, unjust, as the centre of which\r\nNewton so often speaks is not a point with an active inherent force,\r\nbut only the result of all the particular and reciprocal attractions of\r\nthe different parts of the planet acting upon one spot. It is evident,\r\nthat if all these forces were united in this centre, that the sum would\r\nbe equal to all their partial effects.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-127\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-127\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[127]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSince Newton’s discovery of the law of gravitation, we\r\nfind that the attractive force of the earth must extend to an infinite\r\ndistance. Bacon himself alludes to the operation of this attractive\r\nforce at great distances in the Instances of the Rod,\r\n \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-15\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAphorism xlv\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-128\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-128\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[128]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSnow reflects light, but is not a source of light.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-129\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-129\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[129]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon’s sagacity here foreshadows Newton’s theory of the\r\ntides.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-130\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-130\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[130]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe error in the text arose from Bacon’s impression\r\nthat the earth was immovable. It is evident, since gravitation acts\r\nat an infinite distance, that no such point could be found; and even\r\nsupposing the impossible point of equilibrium discovered, the body\r\ncould not maintain its position an instant, but would be hurried, at\r\nthe first movement of the heavenly bodies, in the direction of the\r\ndominant gravitating power.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-131\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-131\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[131]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nFly clocks are referred to in the text, not pendulum\r\nclocks, which were not known in England till 1662. The former, though\r\nclumsy and rude in their construction, still embodied sound mechanical\r\nprinciples. The comparison of the effect of a spring with that of a\r\nweight in producing certain motions in certain times on altitudes and\r\nin mines, has recently been tried by Professors Airy and Whewell in\r\nDalcoath mine, by means of a pendulum, which is only a weight moved by\r\ngravity, and a chronometer balance moved and regulated by a spring.\r\nIn his \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-37\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ethirty-seventh Aphorism\u003c/a\u003e, Bacon\r\n also speaks of gravity as an\r\nincorporeal power, acting at a distance, and requiring time for its\r\ntransmission; a consideration which occurred at a later period to\r\nLaplace in one of his most delicate investigations.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nCrucial instances, as Herschel remarks, afford the readiest and\r\nsecurest means of eliminating extraneous causes, and deciding between\r\nthe claims of rival hypotheses; especially when these, running parallel\r\nto each other, in the explanation of great classes of phenomena, at\r\nlength come to be placed at issue upon a single fact. A curious example\r\nis given by M. Fresnel, as decisive in his mind of the question between\r\nthe two great theories on the nature of light, which, since the time\r\nof Newton and Huyghens, have divided philosophers. When two very clean\r\nglasses are laid one on the other, if they be not perfectly flat, but\r\none or both, in an almost imperceptible degree, convex or prominent,\r\nbeautiful and vivid colors will be seen between them; and if these be\r\nviewed through a red glass, their appearance will be that of alternate\r\ndark and bright stripes. These stripes are formed between the two\r\nsurfaces in apparent contact, and being applicable on both theories,\r\nare appealed to by their respective supporters as strong confirmatory\r\nfacts; but there is a difference in one circumstance, according as\r\none or other theory is employed to explain them. In the case of the\r\nHuyghenian theory, the intervals between the bright stripes ought to\r\nappear absolutely black, when a prism is used for the upper glass, in\r\nthe other half bright. This curious case of difference was tried, as\r\nsoon as the opposing consequences of the two theories were noted by\r\nM. Fresnel, and the result is stated by him to be decisive in favor\r\nof that theory which makes light to consist in the vibrations of an\r\nelastic medium.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-132\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-132\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[132]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nBacon plainly, from this passage, was inclined to\r\nbelieve that the moon, like the comets, was nothing more than\r\nilluminated vapor. The Newtonian law, however, has not only established\r\nits solidity, but its density and weight. A sufficient proof of the\r\nformer is afforded by the attraction of the sea, and the moon’s motion\r\nround the earth.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-133\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-133\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[133]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nRather the refraction; the sky or air, however,\r\n\u003cem\u003ereflects\u003c/em\u003e the blue rays of light.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-134\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-134\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[134]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe polished surface of the glass causes the reflection\r\nin this case, and not the air; and a hat or other black surface put\r\nbehind the window in the daytime will enable the glass to reflect\r\ndistinctly for the same reason, namely, that the reflected rays are not\r\nmixed and confused with those transmitted from the other side of the\r\nwindow.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-135\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-135\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[135]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThese instances, which Bacon seems to consider as\r\na great discovery, are nothing more than disjunctive propositions\r\ncombined with dilemmas. In proposing to explain an effect, we commence\r\nwith the enumeration of the different causes which seem connected\r\nwith its production; then with the aid of one or more dilemmas, we\r\neliminate each of the phenomena accidental to its composition, and\r\nconclude with attributing the effect to the residue. For instance, a\r\ncertain phenomenon (\u003cvar\u003ea\u003c/var\u003e) is produced either by\r\n phenomenon (\u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eB\u003c/var\u003e)\r\nor phenomenon (\u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eC\u003c/var\u003e); but\r\n \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eC\u003c/var\u003e cannot be the cause of \u003cvar\u003ea\u003c/var\u003e,\r\nfor it is found in \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eD\u003c/var\u003e, \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eE\u003c/var\u003e,\r\n \u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eF\u003c/var\u003e, neither of which\r\nare connected with \u003cvar\u003ea\u003c/var\u003e. Then the true cause of\r\n phenomenon (\u003cvar\u003ea\u003c/var\u003e) must be\r\nphenomenon (\u003cvar class=\"smc\"\u003eB\u003c/var\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nThis species of reasoning is liable to several paralogisms, against\r\nwhich Bacon has not guarded his readers, from the very fact that he\r\nstumbled into them unwittingly himself. The two principal ones are\r\nfalse exclusions and defective enumerations. Bacon, in his survey of\r\nthe causes which are able to concur in producing the phenomena of the\r\ntides, takes no account of the periodic melting of the Polar ice, or\r\nthe expansion of water by the solar heat; nor does he fare better in\r\nhis exclusions. For the attraction of the planets and the progression\r\nand retrograde motion communicated by the earth’s diurnal revolution,\r\ncan plainly affect the sea together, and have a simultaneous influence\r\non its surface.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nBacon is hardly just or consistent in his censure of Ramus; the end of\r\nwhose dichotomy was only to render reasoning by dilemma, and crucial\r\ninstances, more certain in their results, by reducing the divisions\r\nwhich composed their parts to two sets of contradictory propositions.\r\nThe affirmative or negative of one would then necessarily have led to\r\nthe acceptance or rejection of the other.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-136\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-136\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[136]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003ePère\u003c/span\u003e Shenier first pointed out the spots on the sun’s\r\ndisk, and by the marks which they afforded him, computed its revolution\r\nto be performed in twenty-five days and some hours.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-137\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-137\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[137]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nRust is now well known to be a chemical combination of\r\noxygen with the metal, and the metal when rusty acquires additional\r\nweight. His theory as to the generation of animals, is deduced from the\r\nerroneous notion of the possibility of spontaneous generation (as it\r\nwas termed). See the next paragraph but one.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"label-left\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-138\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-138\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[138]\u003c/a\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"poem poem-fn138\" lang=\"la\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"stanza\"\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i0\"\u003e“Limus ut hic durescit, et hæc ut cera liquescit\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003cspan class=\"i05\"\u003eUno eodemque igni.”—\u003cabbr title=\"Virgil\"\u003eVirg.\u003c/abbr\u003e\r\n\u003cabbr title=\"Eclogæ\"\u003eEcl.\u003c/abbr\u003e viii.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-139\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-139\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[139]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee \u003ca href=\"#Tab-3_Inst-38\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eTable of Degrees, No. 38\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-140\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-140\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[140]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nRiccati, and all modern physicists, discover some\r\nportion of light in every body, which seems to confirm the passage in\r\nGenesis that assigns to this substance priority in creation.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-141\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-141\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[141]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nAs instances of this kind, which the progress of\r\nscience since the time of Bacon affords, we may cite the air-pump and\r\nthe barometer, for manifesting the weight and elasticity of air: the\r\nmeasurement of the velocity of light, by means of the occultation\r\nof Jupiter’s satellites and the aberration of the fixed stars: the\r\nexperiments in electricity and galvanism, and in the greater part of\r\npneumatic chemistry. In all these cases scientific facts are elicited,\r\nwhich sense could never have revealed to us.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-142\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-142\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[142]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe itinerant instances, as well as frontier instances,\r\nare cases in which we are enabled to trace the general law of\r\ncontinuity which seems to pervade all nature, and which has been aptly\r\nembodied in the sentence, “\u003cspan lang=\"la\"\u003enatura non\r\n agit per saltum\u003c/span\u003e.” The pursuit\r\nof this law into phenomena where its application is not at first\r\nsight obvious, has opened a mine of physical discovery, and led us to\r\nperceive an intimate connection between facts which at first seemed\r\nhostile to each other. For example, the transparency of gold-leaf,\r\nwhich permits a bluish-green light to pass through it, is a frontier\r\ninstance between transparent and opaque bodies, by exhibiting a body\r\nof the glass generally regarded the most opaque in nature, as still\r\npossessed of some slight degree of transparency. It thus proves that\r\nthe quality of opacity is not a contrary or antagonistic quality to\r\nthat of transparency, but only its extreme lowest degree.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-143\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-143\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[143]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nAlluding to his theory of atoms.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-144\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-144\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[144]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nObserve the approximation to Newton’s theory. The same\r\nnotion repeated still more clearly in the ninth motion. Newton believed\r\nthat the planets might so conspire as to derange the earth’s annual\r\nrevolution, and to elongate the line of the apsides and ellipsis that\r\nthe earth describes in its annual revolution round the sun. In the\r\nsupposition that all the planets meet on the same straight line, Venus\r\nand Mercury on one side of the sun, and the earth, moon, Mars, Jupiter\r\nand Saturn on the side diametrically opposite; then Saturn would\r\nattract Jupiter, Jupiter Mars, Mars the moon, which must in its turn\r\nattract the earth in proportion to the force with which it was drawn\r\nout of its orbit. The result of this combined action on our planet\r\nwould elongate its ecliptic orbit, and so far draw it from the source\r\nof heat, as to produce an intensity of cold destructive to animal\r\nlife. But this movement would immediately cease with the planetary\r\nconcurrence which produced it, and the earth, like a compressed spring,\r\nbound almost as near to the sun as she had been drawn from it, the\r\nreaction of the heat on its surface being about as intense as the cold\r\ncaused by the first removal was severe. The earth, until it gained its\r\nregular track, would thus alternately vibrate between each side of\r\nits orbit, with successive changes in its atmosphere, proportional to\r\nthe square of the variation of its distance from the sun. In no place\r\nis Bacon’s genius more conspicuous than in these repeated guesses at\r\ntruth. He would have been a strong Copernican, had not Gilbert defended\r\nthe system.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-145\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-145\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[145]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis is not true except when the projectile acquires\r\ngreater velocity at every successive instant of its course, which is\r\nnever the case except with falling bodies. Bacon appears to have been\r\nled into the opinion from observing that gunshots pierce many objects\r\nat a distance from which they rebound when brought within a certain\r\nproximity of contact. This apparent inconsistency, however, arises from\r\nthe resistance of the parts of the object, which velocity combined with\r\nforce is necessary to overcome.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-146\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-146\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[146]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis passage shows that the pressure of the external\r\natmosphere, which forces the water into the egg, was not in Bacon’s\r\ntime understood.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-147\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-147\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[147]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nWe have already alluded, in a note prefixed to the same\r\naphorism of the first book, to Newton’s error of the absolute lightness\r\nof bodies. In speaking again of the volatile or spiritual substances\r\n(\u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-40\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAph. xl. \u003cabbr title=\"book\"\u003eb.\u003c/abbr\u003e ii.\u003c/a\u003e) which he supposed\r\n with the Platonists and some of the\r\nschoolmen to enter into the composition of every body, he ascribes to\r\nthem a power of lessening the weight of the material coating in which\r\nhe supposes them inclosed. It would appear from these passages and the\r\ntext that Bacon had no idea of the relative density of bodies, and the\r\ncapability which some have to diminish the specific gravity of the\r\nheavier substances by the dilation of their parts; or if he had, the\r\nreveries in which Aristotle indulged in treating of the soul, about the\r\nappetency of bodies to fly to kindred substances—flame and spirit to\r\nthe sky, and solid opaque substances to the earth, must have vitiated\r\nhis mind.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-148\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-148\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[148]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nRömer, a Danish astronomer, was the first to\r\ndemonstrate, by connecting the irregularities of the eclipses of\r\nJupiter’s satellites with their distances from the earth, the necessity\r\nof time for the propagation of light. The idea occurred to Dominic\r\nCassini as well as Bacon, but both allowed the discovery to slip out of\r\ntheir hands.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-149\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-149\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[149]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe author in the text confounds inertness, which is a\r\nsimple indifference of bodies to action, with gravity, which is a force\r\nacting always in proportion to their density. He falls into the same\r\nerror further on.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-150\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-150\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[150]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe experiments of the last two classes of instances are\r\nconsidered only in relation to practice, and Bacon does not so much as\r\nmention their infinitely greater importance in the theoretical part of\r\ninduction. The important law of gravitation in physical astronomy could\r\nnever have been demonstrated but by such observations and experiments\r\nas assigned accurate geometrical measures to the quantities compared.\r\nIt was necessary to determine with precision the demi-diameter of the\r\nearth, the velocity of falling bodies at its surface, the distance of\r\nthe moon, and the speed with which she describes her orbit, before the\r\nrelation could be discovered between the force which draws a stone to\r\nthe ground and that which retains the moon in her sphere.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nIn many cases the result of a number of particular facts, or the\r\ncollective instances rising out of them, can only be discovered by\r\ngeometry, which so far becomes necessary to complete the work of\r\ninduction. For instance, in the case of optics, when light passes from\r\none transparent medium to another, it is refracted, and the angle\r\nwhich the ray of incidence makes with the superficies which bounds the\r\ntwo media determines that which the refracted ray makes with the same\r\nsuperficies. Now, all experiment can do for us in this case is, to\r\ndetermine for any particular angle of incidence the corresponding angle\r\nof refraction. But with respect to the general rule which in every\r\npossible case deduces one of these angles from the other, or expresses\r\nthe constant and invariable relation which subsists between them,\r\nexperiment gives no direct information. Geometry must, consequently,\r\nbe called in, which, when a constant though unknown relation subsists\r\nbetween two angles, or two variable qualities of any kind, and when\r\nan indefinite number of values of those quantities are assigned,\r\nfurnishes infallible means of discovering that unknown relation either\r\naccurately or by approximation. In this way it has been found, when\r\nthe two media remain the same, the cosines of the above-mentioned\r\nangles have a constant ratio to each other. Hence, when the relations\r\nof the simple elements of phenomena are discovered to afford a general\r\nrule which will apply to any concrete case, the deductive method must\r\nbe applied, and the elementary principles made through its agency to\r\naccount for the laws of their more complex combinations. The reflection\r\nand refraction of light by the rain falling from a cloud opposite to\r\nthe sun was thought, even before Newton’s day, to contain the \u003cem\u003eform\u003c/em\u003e of\r\nthe rainbow. This philosopher transformed a probable conjecture into\r\na certain fact when he deduced from the known laws of reflection and\r\nrefraction the breadth of the colored arch, the diameter of the circle\r\nof which it is a part, and the relation of the latter to the place\r\nof the spectator and the sun. Doubt was at once silenced when there\r\ncame out of his calculus a combination of the same laws of the simple\r\nelements of optics answering to the phenomena in nature.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-151\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-151\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[151]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nAs far as this motion results from attraction and\r\nrepulsion, it is only a simple consequence of the last two.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-152\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-152\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[152]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThese two cases are now resolved into the property of\r\nthe capillary tubes and present only another feature of the law of\r\nattraction.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-153\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-153\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[153]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThis is one of the most useful practical methods in\r\nchemistry at the present day.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-154\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-154\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[154]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-25\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAphorism xxv\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-155\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-155\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[155]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nQuery?\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-156\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-156\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[156]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nObserve this approximation to Newton’s theory.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-157\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-157\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[157]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThose differences which are generated by the masses and\r\nrespective distances of bodies are only differences of quantity, and\r\nnot specific; consequently those three classes are only one.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-158\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-158\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[158]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nSee the citing instances, \u003ca href=\"#Book-II_Aph-40\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eAphorism xl\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-159\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-159\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[159]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nAristotle’s doctrine, that sound takes place when bodies\r\nstrike the air, which the modern science of acoustics has completely\r\nestablished, was rejected by Bacon in a treatise upon the same subject:\r\n“The collision or thrusting of air,” he says, “which they will have to\r\nbe the cause of sound, neither denotes the form nor the latent process\r\nof sound, but is a term of ignorance and of superficial contemplation.”\r\nTo get out of the difficulty, he betook himself to his theory of\r\nspirits, a species of phenomena which he constantly introduces to give\r\nhimself the air of explaining things he could not understand, or would\r\nnot admit upon the hypothesis of his opponents.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-160\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-160\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[160]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nThe motion of trepidation, as Bacon calls it, was\r\nattributed by the ancient astronomers to the eight spheres, relative to\r\nthe precession of the equinoxes. Galileo was the first to observe this\r\nkind of lunar motion.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-161\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-161\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[161]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nPart of the air is expanded and escapes, and part\r\nis consumed by \u003ca class=\"correction\" title=\"Original has \u0027th\u0027\" id=\"fn161_the\"\u003ethe\u003c/a\u003e flame. When condensed, therefore,\r\n by the cold\r\napplication, it cannot offer sufficient resistance to the external\r\natmosphere to prevent the liquid or flesh from being forced into the\r\nglass.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-162\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-162\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[162]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nHeat can now be abstracted by a very simple process,\r\ntill the degree of cold be of almost any required intensity.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-163\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-163\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[163]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIt is impossible to compare a degree of heat with a\r\ndegree of cold, without the assumption of some arbitrary test, to which\r\nthe degrees are to be referred. In the next sentence Bacon appears to\r\nhave taken the power of animal life to support heat or cold as the\r\ntest, and then the comparison can only be between the degree of heat or\r\nof cold that will produce death.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"continued-footnote\"\u003e\r\nThe zero must be arbitrary which divides equally a certain degree of\r\nheat from a certain degree of cold.—\u003ci\u003eEd.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"footnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003ca id=\"Footnote-164\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#Anchor-164\" title=\"Return to text\"\u003e[164]\u003c/a\u003e\r\nIt may often be observed on the leaves of the lime and\r\nother trees.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"transnote\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntitle\"\u003eTranscriber’s Notes\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv class=\"epub-hide\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eSome page numbers do not appear\r\ndue to removed blank pages.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eThe list of \u003ca href=\"#Contents\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003eContents\u003c/a\u003e was added\r\nfor reader’s convenience.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003ePunctuation errors were corrected.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eInconsistent hyphenation was retained.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003e“\u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003eDe la Lande\u003c/span\u003e”\r\n and “\u003cspan lang=\"fr\"\u003eLa Lande\u003c/span\u003e” both appear in text and\r\n were retained.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003e“Shenier”, editor’s spelling of “Scheiner”, was retained.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eOn \u003ca href=\"#Book-I_Aph-65_para-2\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ep. 37\u003c/a\u003e, a\r\n paragraph break was inserted before \"There is a clear example …\".\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eOn \u003ca href=\"#p44_the\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ep. 44\u003c/a\u003e, “the” was changed from\r\n “The” (the usual method).\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eOn \u003ca href=\"#p85_that\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ep. 85\u003c/a\u003e, “that” was changed from\r\n “That” (that a species).\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eOn \u003ca href=\"#p86_that\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ep. 86\u003c/a\u003e, “that” was changed from\r\n “That” (that an instrument).\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eOn \u003ca href=\"#p118_aeriform\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ep. 118\u003c/a\u003e, “aëriform” was\r\n changed from “aeriform”.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eOn \u003ca href=\"#p178_borrow\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ep. 178\u003c/a\u003e, “borrow” was\r\n changed from “brorrow”.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eOn \u003ca href=\"#p204_sufficiently\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ep. 204\u003c/a\u003e, “sufficiently”\r\n was changed from “sufficietly”.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eOn \u003ca href=\"#p219_quantity\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003ep. 219\u003c/a\u003e, “quantity” was\r\n changed from “quanity” (quantity of gold).\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eIn \u003ca href=\"#fn5_psychological\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003efootnote [5]\u003c/a\u003e,\r\n “psychological” was changed from “pyschological”.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eIn \u003ca href=\"#fn23_that\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003efootnote [23]\u003c/a\u003e, “that” was\r\n changed from “tha”.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eIn \u003ca href=\"#fn33_72\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003efootnote [33]\u003c/a\u003e, \"72\" was changed\r\n from “22”.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eIn \u003ca href=\"#fn60_ix\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003efootnote [60]\u003c/a\u003e, “ix.” was\r\n changed from “x.”.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eIn \u003ca href=\"#fn71_ousia\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003efootnote [71]\u003c/a\u003e,\r\n “\u003cspan title=\"ousia\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eοὐσία\u003c/span\u003e” was changed from\r\n “\u003cspan title=\"oudia\" lang=\"grc\"\u003eοὐδία\u003c/span\u003e”.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eIn \u003ca href=\"#fn86_necessary\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003efootnote [86]\u003c/a\u003e,\r\n “necessary” was changed from “necesary”.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eIn \u003ca href=\"#fn87_liquor\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003efootnote [87]\u003c/a\u003e, “liquor” was\r\n changed from “liqour” (the liquor rose).\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"tntext\"\u003eIn \u003ca href=\"#fn161_the\" class=\"pginternal\"\u003efootnote [161]\u003c/a\u003e, “the” was\r\n changed from “th” (by the flame).\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\r\n\u003c/article\u003e"}],"SectionSequence":["Back Link","Work Title","Deck","Author","Period","Era","Composition","Date Note","Region","Terra Avita","Terra Avita Region","Modern Country","Original Title","Language","Primary Discipline","Secondary Discipline","Tradition","Full Versions","Core Thesis","Classification","Arguments","Influence","Significance","Evidence Note","Full Text"],"Counts":{"ContextCards":3,"GeoCards":4,"DisciplineCards":2,"Links":11,"Sections":25,"Styles":3,"Scripts":1}}