46 METHOD OF DISCOVERY 



investigation is not, as many people seem to suppose, 

 some kind of modern black art. I say that you might 

 easily gather this impression from the manner in which 

 many persons speak of scientific inquiry, or talk about 

 inductive and deductive philosophy, or the principles of 

 Baconian philosophy." I do protest that, of the 

 vast number of cants in this world, there are none, to 

 my mind, so contemptible as the pseudo-scientific cant 

 which is talked about the " Baconian philosophy." 



To hear people talk about the great Chancellor, and 

 a very great man he certainly was, you would think 

 that it was he who had invented science, and that there was 

 no such thing as sound reasoning before the time of Queen 

 Elizabeth * Of course you say, that cannot possibly be 

 true ; you perceive, on a moment's reflection, that such 

 an idea is absurdly wrong ; and yet, so firmly rooted is this 

 sort of impression, I cannot call it an idea, or conception, 

 the thing is too absurd to be entertained, but so com- 

 pletely does it exist at the bottom of most men's minds, 

 that this has been a matter of observation with me for 

 many years past. There are many men who, though 

 knowing absolutely nothing of the subject with which 

 they may be dealing, wish, nevertheless, to damage the 

 author of some view with which they think fit to disagree. 

 What they do, then, is not to go and learn something 

 about the subject, which one would naturally think the 

 best way of fairly dealing with it ; but they abuse the 

 originator of the view they question, in a general manner, 

 and wind up by saying that, " After all, you know, the 

 principles and method of this author are totally opposed 

 to the canons of the Baconian philosophy." Then every- 

 body applauds, as a matter of course, and agrees that it 

 must be so. But if you were to stop them all in the middle 

 of their applause, you would probably find that neither 

 the speaker nor his applauders could tell you how or in what 

 way it was so ; neither the one nor the other having 

 the slightest idea of what they mean when they speak 

 of the " Baconian philosophy." 



You will understand, I hope, that I have not the slightest 

 to join in the outcry against either the morals, the 

 intellect, or the great genius of Lord Chancellor Bacon. 

 He was undoubtedly a very great man, let people say 

 \\lKit they \\iil of him; but notwithstanding all that he 

 did for philosophy, it would be entirely wrong to suppose 



