INTERPRETATION&quot; OF NATURE. 29 



to matters not unknown, but almost at our feet, in which 

 the mind acquiesces lightly, and is satisfied, but by no 

 means penetrating into the interior of nature. And they 

 have always this fault, which is alike in all, that they con 

 nect together experiments and known effects in a kind of 

 system, and, as it were, with a net, made to the just 

 measure of what is known ; but never exhibit any cause 

 or canon, which may mark out new and formerly unknown 

 effects and experiments. 



Having thus traversed these outskirts of philosophy, cast 

 ing his eyes on every side, he turned them to the depths of 

 antiquity, as to a kind of clouded and dim region. And he 

 saw that if he chose to deal unfairly, there would be no 

 difficulty in persuading men, that with the ancient sages, 

 long before the Grecian times, natural science flourished 

 with greater vigour, but perhaps in greater silence : and 

 that it were, therefore, more dignified to refer to them those 

 discoveries which are now made : as new men are used to 

 do, who connect with themselves the nobility of some an 

 cient stem by the rumours of genealogy and conjecture. 

 But, relying on the evidence of facts, he rejected every 

 form of imposture ; and, whatever might be his opinion 

 about those times, thought that it had no more relation 

 to the matter in hand whether our discoveries were known 

 to the ancients, and in the revolution of things have sunk 

 and risen again ; than it should be any concern, whether 

 the New World be that island Atlantis, and so known to 

 the ancients, or was first discovered by us. For inventions 

 are to be sought in the light of nature, not traced in the 

 shades of antiquity. Meanwhile some may remark that 

 he has passed over the art or philosophy of chymistry; 

 which he has done from respect, being unwilling to class it 

 with those philosophies which are entirely barren of works, 

 since it has displayed and given many noble discoveries. 

 Indeed this art accords with the fable of the old man, who 

 bequeathed his sons a treasure buried in his vineyard with 

 out showing them where, whereby they set themselves with 

 diligence to dig the vineyard, and did not find the treasure, 

 but, by their husbandry, the vintage was made more abun 

 dant. In like manner the sons of chymistry, while they 

 are busy seeking the hidden gold, whether real or not, have 

 by turning over and trying, brought much profit and con 

 venience to mankind. Yet their inventions issued in no 

 other or better way than the birth and advancement of me 

 chanical arts, that is by mere experience. For their philo 

 sophy and speculation are unsound, and harsher than those 



