46 NOVUM ORGANUM 



for their pursuit. Hence, like Atalanta, they leave the 

 course to pick up the golden apple, interrupting their 

 speed, and giving up the victory. But in the true course 

 of experiment, and in extending it to new effects, we should 

 imitate the Divine foresight and order; for God on the first 

 day only created light, and assigned a whole day to that 

 work without creating any material substance thereon. In 

 like manner we must first, by every kind of experiment, 

 elicit the discovery of causes and true axioms, and seek for 

 experiments which may afford light rather than profit. 

 Axioms, when rightly investigated and established, pre 

 pare us not for a limited but abundant practice, and bring 

 in their train whole troops of effects. But we will treat 

 hereafter of the ways of experience, which are not less 

 beset and interrupted than those of judgment; having 

 spoken at present of common experience only as a bad 

 species of demonstration, the order of our subject now re 

 quires some mention of those external signs of the weakness 

 in practice of the received systems of philosophy and con 

 templation 34 which we referred to above, and of the causes 

 of a circumstance at first sight so wonderful and incredible. 

 For the knowledge of these external signs prepares the way 

 for assent, and the explanation of the causes removes the 

 wonder; and these two circumstances are -of material use 

 in extirpating more easily and gently the idols from the 

 understanding. 



LXXI. The sciences we possess have been principally 

 derived from the Greeks; for the addition of the Roman, 

 Arabic, or more modern writers, are but few and of small 

 importance, and such as they are, are founded on the basis 



34 See Ax. Ixi. toward the end. This subject extends to Ax. Ixxviii. 



