68 DESCARTES. 



and the circumstances upon which they depend are 

 almost always so special and minute as to be highly 

 difficult to detect. But in this I have adopted the 

 following order: first, I have essayed to find in 

 general the principles, or first causes, of all that is or 

 can be in the world, without taking into considera- 

 tion for this end anything but God himself who has 

 created it, and without educing them from any 

 other source than from certain germs of truths 

 naturally existing in our minds. In the second 

 place, I examined what were the first and most 

 ordinary effects that could be deduced from these 

 causes; and it appears to me that, in this way, I 

 have found heavens, stars, an earth, and even on 

 the earth, water, air, fire, minerals, and some other 

 things of this kind, which of all others are the most 

 common and simple, and hence the easiest to know. 

 Afterwards, when I wished to descend to the more 

 particular, so many diverse objects presented them- 

 selves to me, that I believed it to be impossible for 

 the human mind to distinguish the forms or species 

 of bodies that are upon the earth, from an infinity of 

 others which might have been, if it had pleased God 

 to place them there, or consequently to apply them 

 / to our use, unless we rise to causes through their 

 effects, and avail ourselves of many particular 

 experiments. Thereupon, turning over in my mind 

 all the objects that had ever been presented to my 

 senses, I freely venture to state that I have never 

 observed any which I could not satisfactorily explain 

 by the principles I had discovered. But it is neces- 

 sary also to confess that the power of nature is so 



