100 NOVUM ORGANUM 



Now this cannot be done without dissecting and anatomiz 

 ing the world most diligently; but we declare it necessary 

 to destroy completely the vain, little and, as it were, apish 

 imitations of the world, which have been formed in various 

 systems of philosophy by men s fancies. Let men learn 

 (as we have said above) the difference that exists between 

 the idols of the human mind and the ideas of the divine 

 mind. The former are mere arbitrary abstractions; the 

 latter the true marks of the Creator on his creatures, as 

 they are imprinted on, and defined in matter, by true and 

 exquisite touches. Truth, therefore, and utility, are here 

 perfectly identical, and the effects are of more value as 

 pledges of truth than from the benefit they confer on 

 men. 



CXXV. Others may object that we are only doing that 

 which has already been done, and that the ancients followed 

 the same course as ourselves. They may imagine, there 

 fore, that, after all this stir and exertion, we shall at last 

 arrive at some of those systems that prevailed among the 

 ancients: for that they, too, when commencing their medi 

 tations, laid up a great store of instances and particulars, 

 and digested them under topics and titles in their common 

 place books, and so worked out their systems and arts, and 

 then decided upon what they discovered, and related now 

 and then some examples to confirm and throw light upon 

 their doctrine; but thought it superfluous and troublesome 

 to publish their notes, minutes, and commonplaces, and 

 therefore followed the example of builders who remove 

 the scaffolding and ladders when the building is finished. 

 Nor can we indeed believe the case to have been otherwise. 

 But to any one, not entirely forgetful of our previous obser 

 vations, it will be easy to answer this objection or rather 



