XLII THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
by Bacon’s simile of the spider spinning its web out of its own body. 
By such reasonings he says the human mind “produces cobwebs of 
learning, admirable indeed for the fineness of the thread, but of no 
substance or profit.” Like cobwebs, in fact, these speculations served 
only to entangle the mind. 
While passing a just judgment on this false method, in his desire 
to overthrow it, he went to the other extreme, and in effect denied the 
propriety of any theory whatever. 
It is often said that Bacon’s method is necessarily an unfruitful 
one; but I think it has not been altogether so. Robert Boyle in his 
investigations on the relation between the volumes and pressures of 
gases, on the composition of the air, etc., claimed to have strictly 
followed the method of observation, and to have avoided hypotheses 
altogether. Professor Campbell, of Lick Observatory, classified a large 
number of stars according to their spectra. He also classified them 
according to the velocities with which they move. By direct comparison 
of the two classifications, without any preconceived theory, he dis- 
covered a remarkable connection between velocity and spectral type. 
It is possible for a botanist by classifying plants according to the 
regions in which they grow to draw useful conclusions as to similarities 
of climate. 
Nevertheless it is difficult to see how any one can go very far in a 
research, without asking why. Even in forming the judgments of every 
day life, we are continually using hypotheses. 
The relative places of the methods of classification and hypothesis 
may be illustrated thus. One visiting a strange city for the first time 
may walk along the streets, look at the buildings, consider their archi- 
tecture, enter some of them, study the contents of libraries and 
museums, and so acquire a great deal of knowledge of details of the 
city and its life, which he may tabulate as statistics; but if he wishes 
to study the general design of the city, he will find it useful to ascend 
some high tower, from which he may look upon it as a whole. By a 
bird’s-eye view he can better judge the relative positions of the buildings 
he has visited, and get some understanding of why they were placed 
where they are. He may perhaps notice some important building 
which he had overlooked when he was passing along the streets, 
confused by the bustle of the passers-by and the noise of the traffic. 
When he comes down again to the street level he can resume his 
researches more intelligently, or by further observation from other 
prominent points, assisted by further excursions on foot, he may draw 
a map of the city which will be useful both to him and to those who 
come after him. 
