LIB. I. 73, 74- 61 



assignasse ; non ordine inverse evenisse, ut ex philoso- 

 phia et causarum cognitione, ipsa experimenta inventa 

 aut deprompta essent. Itaque minim non erat, apud 

 -3gyptios (qui rernm inventoribus divinitatem et con- 

 secrationem attribuertmt) plures fuisse brutorum ani- 

 malium imagines, quam hominnm : quia bruta animalia, 

 per instinctus naturales, multa inventa pepererunt ; ubi 

 homines, ex sermonibus et conclusionibus rationalibus, 

 pauca aut nulla exhibuerint. 



At chemicorum industria 51 nonnulla peperit ; sed 

 tanquam fortuito et obiter, aut per experimentorum 

 quandam variationem, (ut mechanic! solent) non ex 

 arte aut theoria aliqua ; nam ea, quam confinxerunt, ex 

 perimenta magis perturbat, quam juvat. Eorum etiam, 

 qui in magia (quam vocant) natural! versati sunt, pauca 

 reperiuntur inventa; eaque levia, et impostime pro- 

 piora. Quocirca, quemadmodum in religione cavetur, 

 ut fides ex operibus monstretur; idem etiam ad pbilo- 

 sophiam optime traducitur, ut ex fructibus judicetur, et 

 vana habeatur quse sterilis sit : idque eo magis, si loco 

 fructuum uvgc et o\\\x, producat disputationum et con- 

 tentionum carduos et spinas 52 . 



LXXIV. 



Capienda etiam sunt signa ex incrementis et pro- 

 gressibus philosopliiarum et scientiarum. Quae enim 



51 To them we owe alcohol, aqua- with great approbation ; for it points 

 fortis, vitriolic acid, volatile alkali, out one essential distinction between 

 gunpowder, and other discoveries ; Ancient and Modern Physics i. e. 

 by no means despicable, though not the absence in the former of any 

 to be compared with those which experiment : observation they had, 

 we have since arrived at by the re- as may be seen universally in Ari- 

 gular progress of Modern Chemis- stotle ; but the torture of Nature by 

 try. See Sir W. Herschel s Dis- experiment they did not venture 

 course on Nat. Phil. 103. upon. Consequently their discove- 



5 2 Allusion to St. Luke vi. 42, 43. ries might be curious, but were use- 

 Dugald Stewart Phil, of the Hu- less and barren of fruit for the pro- 

 man Mind, part II. chap. iv. i. motion of human happiness, 

 (note) quotes part of this Aphorism 



