LIB. I. 49, 50- 



generat ad quod milt scientias : quod enim mavult 

 homo verum esse, id potius credit 61 . Rejicit itaque 

 difficilia, ob inquirendi impatientiam ; sobria, quia coar- 

 ctant spem ; altiora naturae, propter superstitionem ; 

 lumen experientise, propter arrogantiam et fastum, ne 

 virleatur metis versari in vilibus et fluxis ; paradoxa 62 , 

 propter opinionem vulgi ; denique innumeris modis, 

 iisque interdum imperceptibilibus, affect us intellectum 



inibuit et inficit. 



L. 



At longe maximum impedimentum et aberratio in- 

 tellectus humaiii provenit a stupore et incompetentia 

 et fallaciis scnsuum (;:&amp;gt;) ; ut ea, quac sensum feriunt, illis, 

 quaj sensum immediate mm feriunt, licet potioribus, 

 prseponderent. Itaque contem])latio fere desiuit cum 

 aspectu; adeo ut rcrum invisibilium exigua aut nulla 

 sit observatio. Itaque omnis operatic spirituum 64 in 



&quot; depravation of Man s Nature&quot; 

 shew itself only in the lower part of 

 us, and not in the higher ? 



In the &quot; Cogitata e t visa&quot; Bacon 

 speaks of an &quot; Opinio humida&quot; 



61 From Demosth. Ol. iii. o yap 

 /SouAeTcu rovd eKacTTos (Herat. 



62 The greatest Truths which have 

 shone on the world have come first 

 before the opinion of the Vulgar as 

 Paradoxes. 



63 The infirmity of the senses was 

 the Eleatic thesis, and a knowledge 

 of their errors led to Bp. Berkeley s 

 views. 



04 We here get upon Scholastic 

 language. &quot; Spiritus&quot; was a term 

 by which men covered their igno 

 rance of the Processes of Nature. 

 One cannot wonder that with all 

 his dislike of the Schoolmen Bacon 

 made use of their language. For 

 his object was not to make a new- 

 nomenclature ; and so he took such 



terms as he found in general use. 

 And one may also believe that see 

 ing something unexplained in the 

 Processes of Nature he was willing 

 to acquiesce (having no better views 

 to put forward) in the language and 

 theories of the Schoolmen. Locke, 

 after him, made use of similar terms. 

 &quot; If on some occasions Bacon as 

 sumes the existence of Animal Spi 

 rits, as the medium of communica 

 tion between Soul and Body, it 

 must be remembered, that this was 

 then the universal belief of the 

 Learned, and that it was at a much 

 later period not less confidently 

 avowed by Locke. Nor ought it to 

 be overlooked (I mention it to the 

 credit of both Authors) that in such 

 instances the fact is commonly so 

 stated as to render it easy for the 

 reader to detach it from the Theory.&quot; 

 D. Stewart s Knoycl. Brit. vol. I. 

 Diss. i. p. 33- 



