8o BACON 



ophy. Divine philosophy is a science, or rather the rudiments 

 of a science, derivable from God by the light of nature, and the 

 contemplation of his creatures ; so that with regard to its ob- 

 ject, it is truly divine; but with regard to its acquirement, 

 natural. The bounds of this knowledge extend to the confuta- 

 tion of atheism, and the ascertaining the laws of nature, but not 

 to the establishing of religion. And, therefore, God never 

 wrought a miracle to convert an atheist, because the light of 

 nature is sufficient to demonstrate a deity; but miracles were 

 designed for the conversion of the idolatrous and superstitious, 

 who acknowledged a God, but erred in their worship of him 

 the light of nature being unable to declare the will of God, or 

 assign the just form of worshipping him. For as the power and 

 skill of a workman are seen in his works, but not his person, so 

 the works of God express the wisdom and omnipotence of the 

 Creator, without the least representation of his image. And 

 in this particular, the opinion of the heathens differed from the 

 sacred verity, as supposing the world to be the image of God, 

 and man a little image of the world. The Scripture never gives 

 the world that honor, but calls it the work of his hands ; making 

 only man the image of God.a And, therefore, the being of a 

 God, that he governs the world, that he is all-powerful, wise, 

 prescient, good, a just rewarder and punisher, and to be adored, 

 may be shown and enforced from his works ; and many other 

 wonderful secrets, with regard to his attributes, and much more 

 as to his dispensation and government over the universe, may 

 also be solidly deduced, and made appear from the same. And 

 this subject has been usefully treated by several. 



But from the contemplation of nature, and the principles of 

 human reason, to dispute or urge anything with vehemence, 

 as to the mysteries of faith, or over-curiously to examine and 

 sift them, by prying into the manner of the mystery, is no safe 

 thing : " Give unto faith the things that are faith's." And the 

 heathens grant as much in that excellent and divine fable of the 

 golden chain, where " men and gods are represented as unable 

 to draw Jupiter to earth, but Jupiter able to draw them up to 

 heaven. "b So that it is a vain attempt to draw down the sublime 

 mysteries of religion to our reason, but we should rather raise 

 our minds to the adorable throne of heavenly truth. And in 

 this part of natural theology, we find rather an excess than any 

 defect ; which we have, however, turned a little aside to note, 



