PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGS OF LORD BACON. 385 
** tion and experiment the predominant character of philoso- 
phy *.” Itis withconsiderable diffidence that I dissent from 
any statement made on the subject of Bacon’s philosophy by the 
author of the splendid and instructive essay here referred to. 
But I must be permitted to express some surprise, that Ae should 
represent Bacon’s aims and labours as having been professedly 
limited to the revival of a method of discovery which had 
been well known to, and successfully practised by Anistorue. 
Nothing can be more certain, than that Bacon rests the whole 
hopes of his philosophy, upon the novelty of his logical pre- 
cepts +; and that he uniformly represents the ancient philo- 
sophers, particularly Arisrorie, as having been wholly re- 
gardless of the inductive method in their physical inquiries. 
Bacon does not, indeed, say, that the ancient philosophers ne- 
ver employed themselves in observing Nature ; but.he main- 
tains, that there is a wide difference between observation as 
it was employed by them, and the art of observing for the 
purposes of philosophical discovery. “ Alia enim est ratio 
“ naturalis historize, que propter se confecta est ; alia ejus, quee 
“ collecta est, ad informandum intellectum in ordine ad con- 
“ dendam philosophiam }.” Bacon does not accuse AristTo- 
Tir of having always reasoned without any reference to facts; 
but he contends, that Aristorte has nowhere stated the rules 
for aiding and regulating the understanding in the process of 
discovery by means of facts ; and that the use which he has 
made of them in his philosophy, is very different from the use 
which is made of them in the philosophy of induction. “ Ille 
“ enim prius decreverat, neque experientiam ad constituenda 
Vou. VIII. P. IL 3C “ decreta 
* Edinburgh Review, No. liti. p. 186. 
+ Novum Organ. Lib. i. Aph. 82. 95. 97. 125. 
+ Ibid. Lib. i. Aph. 98. : 
