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ciples, that they were to be facrificed to mere fpeculative truth^-. 

 (if truths) of much lefs importance ^ a truly harfli, intolerant and 

 defpotic maxim ! as ill calculated to point out the moft advantage- 

 ous road to fcience, as the maxim that a ftraight line fhould 

 always be followed, would be to infure us the btft road to the 

 fummit of a mountain, though prefenting in that direftion a 

 feries of fcabrous and abrupt precipices; and hence departed from 

 by Lavoifier himfelf, as we have feen in the inftances ol fait petre 

 and borax, and indeed by the whole French School in the inftances 

 of "water and diamond, as already mentioned : For common fenfe 

 in fome inftance or other feldom fails of afferting its rights, yet 

 Lavoifier tells us he was cenfured (by fome chymical bigots) for 

 this condefcenfion. The principles of religion and juftice are the 

 only that can in no poflible oafe yield to conveniency. 



Among many juft reflexions that occur in the preface to La- 

 voifier's celebrated elementary treatifc of chymiftry, there are 

 fome conneded \yith this fubjedt that appear to me not quite 

 corre<fl. Thus, p. x. (of the original) he tells us '• ^that the only 

 •" way of avoiding t-hefe errors (unfounded hypothefes) is to fup- 

 " prefs reafoning, or at leaft to Amplify it as much as poflible, as 

 " it proceeds from us, and can alone lead us aflray ; to try it al- 

 " ways by the teft of experiment, to preferve qnly the fads, 

 " which are the data given by nature and which cannot deceive 

 " us ; to fbek for truth only in the natural concatenation of ex- 



" peri men ts 



