THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE WORK. 19 



but inserts and mixes her own nature into that of things, 

 whilst clearing and recollecting her notions. 



The first two species of idols are with difficulty eradi 

 cated, the latter can never be so. We can only point them 

 out, and note and demonstrate that insidious faculty of 

 the mind, least new shoots of error should happen to 

 spring up, from the destruction of the old, on account of 

 the mind s defective structure; and we should then find 

 ourselves only exchanging instead of extinguishing errors ; 

 whilst it ought on the other hand to be eternally resolved 

 and settled, that the understanding cannot decide other 

 wise than by induction and by a legitimate form of it. 

 Wherefore the doctrine of the purifying of the understand 

 ing, so as to fit it for the reception of truth, consists of 

 three reprehensions; the reprehension of the schemes of 

 philosophy, the reprehension of methods of demonstration, 

 and the reprehension of natural human reason. But when 

 these have been gone through, and it has at last been 

 clearly seen, what results are to be expected from the 

 nature of things and the nature of the mind, we consider 

 that we shall have prepared and adorned a nuptial couch 

 for the mind and the universe ; the divine goodness being 

 our bridemaid. But let the prayer of our epithalamium 

 be this; that from this union may spring assistance to 

 man, and a race of such discoveries as will in some measure 

 overcome his wants and necessities. 



AND THIS IS THE SECOND PART OF THE WORK. 



It is our intention not only to open and prepare the 

 way, but also to enter upon it. The third part, therefore, 

 of our work embraces the phenomena of the universe; 

 that is to say, experience of every kind, and such a natural 

 history as can form the foundation of an edifice of philo- 

 phy. For there is no method of demonstration, or form of 

 interpreting nature, so excellent as to be able to afford and 

 supply matter for knowledge, as well as to defend and sup 

 port the mind against error and failure. But those who 

 resolve not to conjecture and divine, but to discover and 

 know, not to invent buffooneries and fables about worlds, 

 but to inspect, and as it were dissect the nature of this real 

 world, must derive all from things themselves. Nor can 

 any substitution or compensation of wit, meditation, or 

 argument (were the whole wit of all combined in one), sup 

 ply the place of this labour, investigation, and personal 

 examination of the world ; our method then must neces 

 sarily be pursued or the whole for ever abandoned. But 



