9 g BACON 



assigned the causes of particular things to the necessity of mat- 

 ter without any intermixture of final causes, seem, so far as we 

 can judge from the remains of their philosophy, much more 

 solid, and to have gone deeper into nature, with regard to phys- 

 ical causes, than the philosophy of Aristotle or Plato; and 

 this only because they never meddled with final causes, which 

 the others were perpetually inculcating. Though in this re- 

 spect Aristotle is more culpable than Plato, as banishing God, 

 the fountain of final causes, and substituting nature in his stead ; 

 and, at the same time, receiving final causes through his affec- 

 tion to logic, not theology. 



These final causes, however, are not false, or unworthy of in- 

 quiry in metaphysics, but their excursion into the limits of phys- 

 ical causes hath made a great devastation in that province; 

 otherwise, when contained within their own bounds, they are 

 not repugnant to physical causes ; for the cause, that " the hairs 

 of the eyelids are to preserve the sight," is no way contradictory 

 to this, that " pilosity is incident to the orifices of moisture " 

 " Muscosi fontes," P etc. ; nor does the cause which assigns the 

 firmness of hides in beasts to a protection against the injuries 

 of extreme weather, militate against the other causes, which 

 attributes the firmness to the contraction of the pores on the ex- 

 terior of the skin, through cold and deprivation of air ; and so 

 of the rest : these two kinds of causes agreeing excellently to- 

 gether; the one expressing the intention, and the other the 

 consequence only. 



Nor does this call Divine Providence in question, but rather 

 highly confirms and exalts it ; for as he is a greater politician, 

 who can make others the instruments of his will, without ac- 

 quainting them with his designs, than he who discloses himself 

 to those he employs ; so the wisdom of God appears more won- 

 drous, when nature intends one thing, and Providence draws 

 out another, than if the characters of Providence were stamped 

 upon all the schemes of matter and natural motions. So Aris- 

 totle had no need of a God, after having once impregnated 

 nature with final causes, and laid it down that "nature does noth- 

 ing in vain-; always obtains her ends when obstacles are re- 

 moved," q etc. But Democritus and Epicurus, when they ad- 

 vanced their atoms, were thus far tolerated by some, but when 

 they asserted the fabric of all things to be raised by a fortuitous 

 concourse of these atoms, without the help of mind, they be- 



