58 NOVUM ORGAXUM. 



back to natural philosophy. For want of this, astronomy, 

 optics, music, many mechanical arts, medicine itself, and 

 (what perhaps is more wonderful) moral and political philo 

 sophy, and the logical sciences have no depth, but only 

 glide over the surface and variety of things ; because these 

 sciences, when they have been once partitioned out and 

 established, are no longer nourished by natural philosophy, 

 which would have imparted fresh vigour and growth to 

 them from the sources and genuine contemplation of mo 

 tion, rays, sounds, texture, and confirmation of bodies, and 

 the affections and capacity of the understanding. But we 

 can little wonder that the sciences grow not when separated 

 from their roots. 



81. There is another powerful and great cause of the 

 little advancement of the sciences, which is this : it is 

 impossible to advance properly in the course when the goal 

 is not properly fixed. But the real and legitimate goal of 

 the sciences is the endowment of human life with new 

 inventions and riches. The great crowd of teachers know 

 nothing of this but consist of dictatorial hirelings : unless 

 it so happen that some artisan of an acute genius and 

 ambitious of fame gives up his time to a new discovery, 

 which is generally attended with a loss of property. The 

 majority, so far from proposing to themselves the augmen 

 tation of the mass of arts and sciences, make no other use 

 of an inquiry into the mass already before them, than is 

 afforded by the conversion of it to some use in their 

 lectures, or to gain, or to the acquirement of a name and 

 the like. But if one out of the multitude be found, who 

 courts science from real zeal and on its own account, 

 even he will be seen rather to follow contemplation and 

 the variety of theories than a severe and strict investi 

 gation of truth. Again if there even be an unusually 

 strict investigator of truth, yet will he propose to himself as 

 the test of truth the satisfaction of his mind and under 

 standing as to the causes of things long since known, and 

 not such a test as to lead to some new earnest of effects, 

 and a new light in axioms. If therefore no one have laid 

 down the real end of science we cannot wonder that there 

 should be error in points subordinate to that end. 



82. But in like manner as the end and goal of science 

 is ill defined, so even were the case otherwise men have 

 chosen an erroneous and impassable direction. For it is 

 sufficient to astonish any reflecting mind, that nobody 

 should have cared or wished to open arid complete a way 



