THE PATH OF EVOLUTION 



ment of the earth around the Sun, which he ridiculed 

 as being an utter absurdity. 



The methods of induction first formalized by Bacon 

 have been practiced unconsciously by thousands of 

 persons without reference to his rules and without 

 knowledge thereof. In like manner, before his day, 

 the greatest minds at times employed it necessarily, 

 seeking through it the light of truth and in studying 

 the works of God. 



Bacon, as it has been stated, had made no practical 

 application of the rules for investigation that he had 

 announced. In common with most of the philoso- 

 phers who had preceded him, he made few, if any, 

 observations of natural phenomena. They preferred 

 to theorize as to the causes of the facts they consid- 

 ered established, rather than to verify their correctness 

 by careful research, or to gather new facts by personal 

 investigations. The implements or appliances neces- 

 sary for such work in many instances were not yet 

 constructed. The beginning of science waited for 

 the men who would watch and experiment. The 

 tools wherewith to work would then also be invented. 



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