36 OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. a ae 
which have had better intelligence and confederacy with — 
the imagination of man than with his reason, are three 
in number; astrology, natural magic, and alchemy: 
of which sciences, nevertheless, the ends or pretences 
are noble. For astrology pretendeth to discover that 
correspondence or concatenation which is between the 
superior globe and the inferior: natural magic pretendeth 
to call and reduce natural philosophy from variety of 
speculations to the magnitude of works: and alchemy 
._pretendeth to make separation of all the unlike parts 
of bodies which in mixtures of nature are incorporate. 
But the derivations and prosecutions to these ends, both 
in the theories and in the practices, are full of error 
and vanity; which the great professors themselves have 
sought to veil over and conceal by enigmatical writings, 
and referring themselves to auricular traditions and such 
other devices, to save the credit of impostures. And yet 
surely to alchemy this right is due, that it may be 
compared to the husbandman whereof Alsop makes 
the fable; that, when he died, told his sons that he 
had left unto them gold buried under ground in his 
vineyard ; and they digged over all the ground, and 
gold they found none; but by reason of their stirring 
and digging the mould about the roots of their vines, 
they had a great vintage the year following: so assuredly 
the search and stir to make gold hath brought to light a 
great number of good and fruitful inventions and ex- 
periments, as well for the disclosing of nature as for the 
use of man’s life. 
12. And as for the overmuch credit that hath been 
given unto authors in sciences, in making them dictators, 
that their words should stand, and not consuls to give 
advice; the damage is infinite that sciences have’ received 
as bce ee 
