94 The Advancement of Learning 



substances, or their differing qualities and natures; whereof 

 there needeth no enumeration, this part being but as a gloss, 

 or paraphrase, that attendeth upon the text of natural 

 history. Of these three I cannot report any as deficient. 

 In what truth or perfection they are handled, I make not 

 now any judgment; but they are parts of knowledge not 

 deserted by the labour of man. 

 5. For Metaphysique, we Have assigned unto it the inquiry 

 of formal and final causes; which assignation, as to the 

 former of them, may seem to be nugatory and void ; because 

 of the received and inveterate opinion that the inquisition 

 of man is not competent to find out essential Forms or true 

 differences: of which opinion we will take this hold, that 

 the invention of Forms is of all other parts of knowledge the 

 worthiest to be sought, if it be possible to be found.^ As 

 for the possibility, they are ill discoverers that think there 

 is no land, when they can see nothing but sea. But it is 

 manifest that Plato, in his opinion of Ideas, as one that had 

 a wit of elevation situate as upon a chff, did descry, that 

 Forms were the true object of knowledge ; ^ but lost the real 

 fruit of his opinion, by considering of Forms as absolutely 

 abstracted from matter, and not confined and determined 

 by matter; and so turning his opinion upon theology, 

 wherewith all his natural philosophy is infected.^ But if 

 any man shall keep a continual watchful and severe eye upon 

 action, operation, and the use of knowledge, he may advise 

 and take notice what are the Forms, the disclosures whereof 

 are fruitful and important to the state of man. For as to 

 the forms of substances, man only except, of whom it is said, 

 Formavit hominem de limo terrce, et spiravit in faciem ejus 

 spiraculum vitcB, and not as of all other creatures, Producant 

 aqucB, producat terra :^ the Forms of substances, I say, as 

 they are now by compounding and transplanting multiplied, 

 are so perplexed, as they are not to be inquired; no more 

 than it were either possible or to purpose to seek in gross the 

 Forms of those sounds which make words, which by com- 

 position and transposition of letters are infinite. But, on 



• See Nov. Org. ii. i. Datae naturae formam , . . invenire, opus et 

 intentio est humanae scientiae. The first twenty chapters of bk. ii. 

 of the Nov. Org. are an attempt at expansion of this saying. 



• Plato, Rep. X. init. • Nov. Org. i. 96. 



• Gen. ii. 7 ; i. 20, 24. 



