THE NEW PHILOSOPHY. 237 



ence, all friendly offices, all despatch of business ; it has enabled 

 man to descend to the depths of the sea, to soar into the air, 

 to penetrate securely into the noxious recesses of the earth, to 

 traverse the land in cars which whirl along without horses, and 

 the ocean in ships which sail against the wind. These are but 

 a part of its fruits, and of its first fruits. For it is a philosophy 

 which never rests, which has never attained it, which is never 

 perfect. Its law is progress. A point which yesterday was 

 invisible is its goal to-day, and will be its starting-point to- 

 morrow." 



I have said that Lord Bacon endeavored to found his theory 

 of philosophy on common sense ; — I think he established the 

 process by which he could reach the highest philosophical truth, 

 upon the principles of common honesty. He proposed no new 

 method of reasoning. The danger and weakness of syllogism 

 were discovered long before he was born ; the value of induc- 

 tion had been recognized by scholastic and scientist for cen- 

 turies. But Bacon realized that a process of induction which 

 failed to recognize all existing and possible facts, whether by 

 accident or design, is as fatal to truth and sound philosophy as 

 a syllogism which, unmindful of the fallacy of accidents, proves 

 that we eat raw meat :— " we buy raw meat in the market ; what 

 we buy in the market we eat : therefore we eat raw meat." 

 He knew well that the inventor and discoverer who would arrive 

 at any conclusion, valuable to himself and mankind, or the 

 scientific explorer who would open new paths to useful knowl- 

 edge, could not afford to shut his eyes to any facts or phenomena 

 connected with the work upon which he was engaged. He felt 

 that the recognition of error and failure is as important in all 

 investigation as the recognition of truth. He turned the process 

 of induction, therefore, from the scholastic business of making 

 a good syllogism, perhaps of no value whatever, to the phil- 

 < osophical business of making a great discovery, or arriving at 

 a great truth, invaluable to millions of the sons of men toiling 

 to elevate themselves into the highest regions of civilization, 

 with all their mortal necessities and their immortal aspirations. 

 He was as impatient of fallacy, as he was of an accumulation 

 of facts from which no principles could be deduced, and so he 

 threw aside the books of the ancient schoolmen, because they 

 taught nothing for the discovery of useful truth ; and he burnt 



