46 NOVUM ORGANUM. 



salutare admodum est, si mente sobria fidei tantum 

 dentur qnre fidei sunt ir&amp;gt; . 



LXVI. 



Et dc malis auctoritatibus philosophiarum, qua? aut 

 in vulgaribus notionibus, aut in paucis experimentis, aut 

 in superstitlone fuiidatrc sunt, jam dictum est. Dicen- 

 dum porro est et de vitiosa materia contemplationum lfi , 

 proesertim in philosophia naturali. Inh citur autem in- 

 tellectus humanus ex intuitu eoruni, qua; in artibus 

 mechanicis finnt, in quibus corpora per compositiones 

 aut separationes ut plurimum alterantur 1; ; ut cogitet 

 simile quiddam etiam in natura rerum universali fieri. 

 Undo fluxit commentum illud elementorum, deque 

 illorum concursu, ad constituenda corpora naturalia. 

 Rursus, quum homo natimv libertatem contemplatur, 

 incidit in species rerum, animalium, plantarum, mine- 

 ralium; unde facile in earn labitur cogitationem, ut 

 existimet esse in natura quasdam form as rerum pri- 

 marias, quas natura educcre molitur; atque reliquam 

 varietatem ex impedimentis et aberrationibus natunv 

 in opere suo conficiendo, aut ex diversarum specierum 

 confiictu l8 , et transplantatione alterius in alteram, pro- 



K) Allusion to St. Matth. xxii. 21. belief in &quot;primary forms.&quot; The 



Bacon s mind clearly could dis- former leads one to dissect &quot; usque 



pense with &quot; Mysteries;&quot; not deny- ad atoinum,&quot; which must be pre- 



ing or disbelieving them, but set- supposed for it : the latter intro- 



ting them aside. In this (as in many duces &quot; occult properties&quot; &c., with 



other points) he forms a strong con- which the Scholastic physics so much 



trast to his cotemporary Sir T. abounded : see the end of this A ph. 

 Browne, whose mind seemed actu- &quot; This former tendency is caused 



ally to require Mysteries as a part by seeing an analogy between Me- 



of its necessary sustenance. Rel. chanical Arts, in their &quot; Synthesis,&quot; 



Med. ch. ix. and the operations of scientific In- 



10 This faultiness in the &quot; matter vention. Cf. D. Stewart s Phil, of 



of our Contemplations&quot; arises either the Human Mind, Introd. II. 2. 

 from our delighting to watch what lt! This &quot; conflictus&quot; of different 



is Synthetic, or from a love for &quot; Forms &quot; is a difficulty which Ari- 



such Analytic speculations as to the stotle in the Met. suggests as an 



&quot; Species rerum&quot; as to lead to a objection to the Platonic views. 



