CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 49 



looked upon him as a great treasure of learning. I could 

 wish that you would give us your thoughts, too, of both 

 the ancient and modern historians, and add this to your 

 preface. I remember my Lord Bacon rashly censures all, 

 and rejects the whole design as supervacaneous ; but yet, 

 methinks, not without some contradiction to his own 

 principles ; for if a particular nature or phenomenon may 

 be in some particular body more bare and obvious, with- 

 out doubt the greater number we have of particular 

 histories, the plentifuller and clearer light we may ex- 

 pect from them. For my part, I think it absolutely 

 necessary that an exact and minute distinction of things 

 precede our learning by particular experiments, what dif- 

 ferent palts each body or thing may consist of; likewise 

 concerning the best and most convenient ways of sepa- 

 ration of those parts, and their virtues and force upon 

 human bodies as to the uses of life ; all these, besides 

 the different textures, are things subsequent to natural 

 history, unless you make the last assistant, as indeed all 

 the rest are, were they truly known ; but I am too bold 

 to venture thus much, before my master, and I hope you 

 will now soon let the world know they have too long 

 neglected what you can teach them to prize. Another 

 time we will, if you please, talk of the advantage England 

 has in being an island, to set a copy of this nature to the 

 rest of the world, and to set forth exactly what she has 

 of her own. I am but a learner, and a very young one 

 in minerals, but I am pretty confident that it is yellow 

 Amber they find not unplentifully after great storms on 

 Lindsey coast. I have near lib. i. by me that I bought 

 of the poor fishermen's wives at Thedle Thorpe ; some 

 pieces of it are transparent and of a dark yellow ; others 

 alike transparent, but of a brighter yellow ; others again 

 are of a pale yellow and troubled, as though they were 

 fattish : likewise of the jet, i. e. the great pieces and 

 grove, i. e. the small dust, I have of both by me, and I 

 do think them not channel, because they burn with much 

 difficulty and are not kindled but on wind-hearths, as I 



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