3G6 INTRODUCTION 



than vicious wines can be remedied with brandy and 

 honey, or ill cookery with enormous proportions of 

 spice and sugar : Nam Res nolunt male administrari&quot; 

 One example from Dr. Grew s epistle to his discourse 

 will suffice, where he says : &quot; I know, my Lord, that 

 there are some men, who have just so much understand 

 ing, as only to teach them how to be ambitious : the 

 flattering of whom, is somewhat like the tickling of 

 children, till they fall a dancing.&quot; 



The annexed Commentary has for its object to 

 show the several sources from which it is not 

 less probable than possible that the Marquis derived 

 a certain amount of information for his guidance in 

 endeavouring to advance and refine on the same by his 

 own efforts at improvement. Many intelligent persons, 

 particularly classical scholars, and men of purely 

 literary tastes, whose reading has not embraced the 

 study of the literature of science, have supposed that 

 the whole or greater part of the Marquis of Worcester s 

 inventions emanated solely from his own unguided 

 inventive skill ; and not a few may have imagined it 

 would be derogatory to the originality of an inventor 

 to suppose him walking in the steps of others, however 

 much he might outstrip their attainments in the same 

 branch of inquiry. But all invention is progressive- 

 first, laws of nature are discovered, then applications are 

 invented, and last follow divisions and sub-divisions of 

 endless great, small, and minute improvements. The 

 Marquis originated many improvements, but assuredly 

 only one pre-eminent invention, his great &quot; fire water- 

 work.^ It would have been easy for us to make the 

 commentary consist of essays on modern improvements, 

 more or less traceable to the suggestive character of the 

 &quot; Century.&quot; But we stop where the Marquis laid down 

 his pen, preferring rather to show that materials 



