THE MEDIAEVAL ATTITUDE 



was one of the earliest practical fruits of the philo- 

 sophical labours of Francis Bacon, The experimental 

 method of research which that great man so strenu- 

 ously expounded in his writings was a vehement pro- 

 test against the deductive method which till then 

 had been in vogue. His great aim was to enforce the, 

 patient investigation of Nature by observation and 

 experiment. He desired that a body of accurately as- 

 certained facts should be amassed, from which alone, 

 in his opinion, the processes of Nature could be un- 

 derstood, and a solid foundation could be laid on 

 which discovery and invention might proceed apace."" 

 The Association proposed by Bacon thus became that 

 Royal Society which later was to include Huxley in 

 its membership and to honour him with its presi- 

 dency. Huxley's own opinion of the superlative influ- 

 ence on science which this Society has exerted can be 

 easily found elsewhere in his writings when he bewails 

 the fact that England neglects such societies and 

 supports many things of the baser sort. 



Huxley, finally, in his criticism, states: "Any one 

 who has studied the history of science knows that 

 almost every great step therein has been made by the 

 'anticipation of Nature,' that is, by the invention of 

 hypothesis, which, though verifiable, often had very 

 little foundation to start with; and, not unfrequently, 

 in spite of a long career of usefulness, turned out to be 



13 Record of the Royal Society, supervised and edited by the Presi- 

 dent, Sir Archibald Geikie, K.C.B. Oxford University Press, 1912. 



I 109 ^ 



