36 OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. [iV. n. 



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 ^Esop 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 



