78 OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 



in her wanderings, to be able to lead her afterwards to 

 the same place again. Neither am I of opinion, in this 

 history of marvels, that superstitious narrations of 

 sorceries, witchcrafts, dreams, divinations, and the like, 

 where there is an assurance and clear evidence of the 

 fact, be altogether excluded. For it is not yet known 

 in what cases and how far effects attributed to super 

 stition do participate of natural causes : and therefore 

 howsoever the practice of such things is to be con 

 demned, yet from the speculation and consideration 

 of them light may be taken, not only for the discern 

 ing of the offences, but for the further disclosing of 

 nature. Neither ought a man to make scruple of 

 entering into these things for inquisition of truth, as 

 your Majesty hath showed in your own example ; who 

 with the two clear eyes of religion and natural philo 

 sophy have looked deeply and wisely into these shadows, 

 and yet proved yourself to be of the nature of the sun, 

 which passeth through pollutions and itself remains as 

 pure as before. But this I hold fit, that these narra 

 tions, which have mixture with superstition, be sorted 

 by themselves, and not to be mingled with the narra 

 tions which are merely and sincerely natural. But as 

 for the narrations touching the prodigies and miracles 

 of religions, they are either not true, or not natural ; 

 and therefore impertinent for the story of nature. 



5. For history of nature wrought or mechanical, 

 Historia ^ ^ some collections made of agricul- 

 M cha^ca ^ ure &amp;gt; an( ^ likewise of manual arts ; but 

 commonly with a rejection of experiments 

 familiar and vulgar. For it is esteemed a kind of dis 

 honour unto learning to descend to inquiry or medita 

 tion upon matters mechanical, except they be such as 

 may be thought secrets, rarities, and special subtilties ; 

 which humour of vain and supercilious arrogancy is 

 justly derided in Plato ; where he brings in Hippias, 

 a vaunting sophist, disputing with Socrates, a true and 

 unfeigned inquisitor of truth ; where the subject being 

 touching beauty, Socrates, after his wandering manner 

 of inductions, put first an example of a fair virgin, and 



