INTRODUCTION. xlv 



because it appeared contrary to the letter 

 of Scripture, persecuted Galileo for affirming 

 that the earth moved round the sun. Lord 

 Verulam clearly saw the evil consequences 

 that would result to the cause of true phi- 

 losophy, if the sober study of nature, and 

 all experimental research into the works of 

 creation, were to be denounced as impious, 

 because of some seeming discordance with 

 the letter of Scripture, or because a narrow- 

 minded theologian could not discern where 

 the writers of the Bible adopted popular 

 phraseology, in condescension to the innocent 

 prejudices and uninformed understandings of 

 those to whom they addressed themselves ; 

 and he therefore employed all the energy of 

 his powerful mind to persuade the learned 

 theologian, that for the discovery of physical 

 truth we must have recourse to induction 

 from experiment and soberly conducted in- 

 vestigation of physical phenomena, while for 

 spiritual we should seek to draw living 

 waters from the fountain of life contained 

 in Scripture. The Bible was not intended 

 to make us philosophers, but to make us wise 

 unto salvation. 



But it does not follow, because we are to 



