BACON 



the earth, was the oblique path of the sun in the zodiac, whence 

 its heat becomes very unequal, partly from the alternation of 

 night and day, partly from the succession of summer and winter. 

 Yet must he immediately corrupt and pervert his discovery, by 

 dictating to nature according to his habit, and dogmatically 

 assigning the cause of generation to the approach of the sun, and 

 that of corruption to its retreat ; whilst, in fact, each circum- 

 stance indifferently and not respectively contributes both to 

 generation and corruption; for unequal heat tends to generate 

 and corrupt, as equable heat does to preserve. 4. The fourth 

 difference between the heat of the sun and fire is of great conse- 

 quence; namely, that the sun, gradually, and for a length of 

 time, insinuates its effects, whilst those of fire (urged by the 

 impatience of man) are brought to a termination in a shorter 

 space of time. But if anyone were to pay attention to the 

 tempering of fire, and reducing it to a more moderate and gentle 

 degree (which may be done in various ways), and then were to 

 sprinkle and mix a degree of humidity with it ; and, above all, 

 were to imitate the sun in its inequality ; and lastly, were pa- 

 tiently to suffer some delay (not such, however, as is propor- 

 tioned to the effects of the sun, but more than men usually ad- 

 mit of in those of fire), he would soon banish the notion of any 

 difference, and would attempt, or equal, or perhaps sometimes 

 surpass the effect of the sun, by the heat of fire. A like instance 

 of alliance is that of reviving butterflies, benumbed and nearly 

 dead from cold, by the gentle warmth of fire ; so that fire is no 

 less able to revive animals than to ripen vegetables. We may 

 also mention the celebrated invention of Fracastorius, of apply- 

 ing a pan considerably heated to the head in desperate cases of 

 apoplexy, which clearly expands the animal spirits, when com- 

 pressed and almost extinguished by the humors and obstructions 

 of the brain, and excites them to action, as the fire would operate 

 on water or air, and in the result produces life. Eggs are some- 

 times hatched by the heat of fire, an exact imitation of animal 

 heat ; and there are many instances of the like nature, so that 

 no one can doubt that the heat of fire, in many cases, can be 

 modified till it resemble that of the heavenly bodies and of 

 animals. 



Again, let the required natures be motion and rest. There 

 appears to be a settled classification, grounded on the deepest 

 philosophy, that natural bodies either revolve, move in a straight 

 line, or stand still and rest. For there is either motion without 

 limit, or continuance within a certain limit, or a translation to- 

 wards a certain limit. The eternal motion of revolution appears 

 peculiar to the heavenly bodies, rest to this our globe, and the 

 other bodies (heavy and light, as they are termed, that is to say, 

 placed out of their natural position) are borne in a straight line 



