them, from his own assurances; being thus, at once, the work and servant of imposture.*

It is great pity he should ever have found such an abettor and apologist as Severinus; whose abilities might have been much better employed, than upon the fooleries of that man. It is Severinus, who has modulated the brayings of that asst; and by his own skill in music, played then sweetly off in a variety of tunes: and thus converted shocking and monstrous fictions, and falsehoods into pleasing and delightful fables. This author, indeed, is the more excusable, in that, being sick of the doctrine of the sophists, which is not only barren of works, but professedly tends to introduce despair, he went in quest of firmer foundations, in this general decay of philosophy and the arts. And thus when the

The Paracelsits will, doubtless, be for interposing here: But they are excluded by the condition of the enquiry. They must have better talents, and greater knowledge than their master, before they can judge of his merits.

The reader will please to remember, that this piece is imperfect, and in the original delivered under an uncertain form; sometimes by way of advice to a son, and sometimes in the form of pleading: which latter form we have endeavoured to keep to; as admitting a greater freedom of expression. The author was too well bred to use any coarse or vulgar language. What, therefore, may appear of this kind, must be supposed spoke under the veil of fiction.

works of Paracelsus offered themselves, and came recommended with pompous shew, the subterfuge of obscurity, affinity with religion, and other impostures, Serverinus gave into them, delivered not the real fountains of things, but only threw out promises and hopes, with somewhat of warmth and indignation: whereas, would he have acted as he ought, he should have left the determinations and maxims of wit and genius, and gone over to the real doctrines and precepts of nature; which alone is the way to shorten arts, and lengthen life.*

This charge we have brought against Paracelsus seems to astonish the rest of the chemists; who greedily swallow those decrees and points of doctrine which he has rather promulgated and promised, than actually laid down; or made good; and defended them with arrogance instead of caution. His whole tribe of followers appear linked to one another by the lying spirit that shews itself in their swoln hopes and promises; which they are constantly boasting. However, by wandering through the wilds of experience, they sometimes stumble upon certain useful dis

* Without some knowledge of the works of Severinus, the force and justice of what is here said will not be understood. The author appears to have had all the works he here cen sures strongly impressed upon his mind.

roveries; not by reason, but by accident:" whence, proceeding to form theories, they plainly carry the smoak and tarnish of their art along with them. For as that simple youth, who finding a stick upon the shore, would needs convert it into a ship; so these childish operators at the furnace must needs be raising philosophy from a few experiments of distillation; and introducing, at every turn, their own idols of separation and analysis, where no traces of them are really found.†

Yet we do not accuse them all in the lump; but make a difference between that little serviceable set, who, being not very solicitous about raising of theories, principally practise a certain mechanical subtilty in searching out, and laying hold of new inventions, and discoveries; with their extensive uses; after the manner of friar Bacon; and distinguish these from that impious tribe, who endeavour only at procuring applause to their theories, and court and beg it by a pretended zeal for religion, by large promises, and

* See de Augmentis Scientiarum, Sect XII. of Learned Experience.

+ This general censure of the chemists appear extremely just.

Add to him, as capital authors and actual inventors of later date, the Lord Verulam, Mr. Boyle, Becher, Homberg, and Stahl.

the art of imposture; which is the way of Basil Valentine, Hollandus, and much the greatest part of the chemical authors.*

Let Hippocrates be next called to the bar; whom we arraign 1. as a creature patched up of antiquity; and 2. a retailer of other men's knowledge; under whose authority, both Galen and Paracelsus ridiculously endeavour to shelter themselves, like asses under a tree.† To do him justice, he seems to have had his eyes at first perpetually fixed upon experience; but then they are fixed indeed, stupid and immoveable, without ranging, and searching for noble, manly, and full views and afterwards, recovering a little from this stupidity, he takes in certain idols ;|| though not those monstrous ones of theories, but such as are more neat, elegant, and surround the limits of history; and having drank these in, he becomes swoln, sophistical; and, according to the custom of the age he lived in, wraps himself up in brevity; and thus, as his followers imagine

* It may appear surprising, that the author should have known the chemists so well, as to judge and distinguish thus accurately between them.

+ See the note upon Sect. 7, above.

The author's censure of Hippocrates requires a reader of extensive knowledge, free from prejudice, and well broke to the self-denying doctrine of the Novum Organum. See the Novum Organum, Part I. Sect. II.

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utters oracles, of which they are ambitious of being thought the interpreters; whilst in reality he does no more than deliver sophistry, by broken, short and interrupted sentences, so as to prevent a confutation; or else in a haughty manner records such observations as are trite, vulgar, and known to every rustic.*

Celsus, as he is justly allowed, comes nearly up to the views and designs of Hippocrates, which are not so faulty, as they are useless; but he shews himself a more practised sophister, and a better modeller of history than his master. He is, however, for checking the advancement of science, from moral and civil considerations: thus paring off the extremities of errors, instead of cutting them down at the root.t

This free censure of the most eminent men will, doubtless, have a strange appearance to many; and yet, in truth, we produce it not as an inflam

Hippocrates has bore such a high character through several ages, that it is extremely hard to get rid of the prejudice but let his admirers specify what direct improvements he has made in physic; and whether he cured more patients in proportion, than his predecessors, or those in other countries, who never heard of his name.

+ In passing a judgment on Celsus, we must guard against being imposed upon by his style; and consider only his matter: which, perhaps, is little more, or better, at bottom, than that of Hippocrates.