senses, the weakness of the judgment, and the withholding of the assent. And to these we might add many other particulars, of the same tendency so that the difference betwixt them and us only lies here, that they will have nothing to be justly knowable in any way; and we not in the way which men have hitherto gone. And if we admit into our society, not only such of the ancients as hold this opinion in theory, and speculation, but such also as manifest the same in questions and objections, either by loudly complaining of the obscurity of things, or secretly revolving it in their minds, and only now and then whispering it out; there will be found the greatest men of antiquity in the number: heroes in contemplation, and such whose company any one might wish to be found in. For though perhaps one or two of the ancients have shewn a confidence, and a positiveness in pronouncing; yet this has been no prevailing practice till of late, in barbarous ages; and is only still retained. through faction, or party negligence and custom..

But as to the society we thus join in, every one will easily perceive that we only concur with them in the setting out; and differ widely from them in the end: for although there may at first seem no great difference between us, as they simply assert the insufficiency of the human understanding; and we only in a certain respect;

yet at last they, neither discovering, nor hoping to discover, any remedy of the misfortune, forsake the business, and falling foul on the certainty of the senses, subvert the firmest foundations of science: whilst we, by introducing a new method, endeavour to rectify and repair the errors, both of the senses and the mind itself. So that whilst they, looking upon the thing as past recovery, give themselves up to a certain licentiousness, and wandering of thought we, from our preconception, have undertaken a more remote and difficult task, which we ardently wish may rebound to the felicity of mankind.

The entrance of the road we pursue is described in the second part of our Instauration, or Novum Organum; and followed in the third part, the Phænomena of the Universe, in our Sylva Sylvarum; where we endeavoured to penetrate, and pass through the Woods of Nature, thick set and darkened with a great variety of experiments, as with leaves; and entangled and twined together, like shrubs and bushes, with the subtilty of observations.* We are now perhaps proceeding

* Hence appears another reason why the author's History of Nature was entitled Sylva Sylvarum; besides that of the simple meaning of those words, denoting only a Repository or Magazine of materials, of all sorts: for the figurative sense is, as here explained, a thick wood of experi

to the more open parts of nature; which however are still more difficult; and having got thro the woods, are come to the bottoms of the mountains for though the way was never attempted before, we shall lead on from particular histories to universals, in one certain and continued path.

And here we cannot but observe, that those two famous ways of the ancients in active life, have a great correspondence with the ways of contemplation; the one whereof being at the first plain and easy, leads on to cragged, dangerous, and impassable places; but the other beginning steep and difficult, ends in a plain: for in the same manner, he who at the first enquiry into nature, lays hold of certain immoveable principles in the sciences, and trusting to them, shall hope to find out every thing else, as it were at leisure; if he proceeds in his enquiries, without being over satisfied or dissatisfied by the way, will find himself got into the first of these roads. But he that shall be able to withhold his judgment, ascend by degrees, and pass as it were over the tops of mountains, climbing first up one, then up another, and so to a third, with true patience

ments and observations; and with relation thereto, the fourth part of the Instauration is sometimes called Filum Labyrinthi; as being the clue of the Sylva Sylvarum.

and unwearied diligence; will in due time arrive at the heights and top rounds of nature, where there is a sure footing, a serene station, and a beautiful prospect of things: with a gentle and easy descent, leading down to all practical arts.

Our design therefore is this; that as in the second part of our work, we have laid down precepts for a just and legitimate enquiry into nature; so in this fourth part we would give examples of such an enquiry, in a variety of subjects; in such a manner as we judge to have the exactest correspondence with truth. and therefore deliver as a manner chosen and approved.

We do not however, after the common custom of men, propose our own forms and methods of enquiry, as if they were inviolable, the only ones, and perfect in all their parts; so as to make it absolutely necessary to use them: for we would by no means cramp or confine the industry and felicity of mankind. There is no doubt but men of genius and leisure, either of themselves, or as being now freed from the difficulties which ne

*Hence we see the reason why this fourth part of the Instauration is sometimes called Scala Intellectus, or the steps of the understanding; by which it ascends to the regions of truth; or, without a figure, to the general axioms of sound philosophy; that at once contain both the theory and practice of all arts and sciences. And this philosophy was to have been the sixth and last part of the Instauration.

cessarily attend the first breaking of the ice of experience, may carry our method to greater perfection:* and it is our earnest desire, that the true art of conducting enquiries should improve; as it certainly will, since all arts must improve with new discoveries. Only this we must say, that after trying all the ways we could think of, and having had long experience of our present method of conducting enquiries, we have found none equal to it, for the commodiousness it affords in working with the understanding.

If we are accused of going into a new way of acquiring and delivering knowledge, and dropping the method of procedure by doctrine and precept, as if we over-looked it; and principally prosecute the business by examples; we answer, that we think there is the utmost reason for this procedure. And we would not have mankind ignorant of the course we take; for it is their business, not our own, that is now before us and we judge their common fortune is concerned in the execution.

And first; we seem by this method to secure one principal point, which is that of being clearly understood: for it is one thing to subjoin ex

The author's motto is "Moniti Meliora." See Dr. Hook's Method of Improving Philosophy; and M. Tschirnhaus's Medicina Mentis.