144 ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. [bOOK III. 



CHAPTER V. 



DivisioL jf the Practical Branch of Natural Philosophy into Mechanics 

 and Magic (Experimental Philosophy), which correspond to the Spe- 

 culative Division — Mechanics to Physics, and Magic to Metaphysics. 

 The word Magic cleared from False Interpretation. Appendix to 

 Active Science twofold ; viz., an Inventory of Human Helps and a 

 Catalogue of Things of Multifarious Use. 



The practical doctrine of nature we likewise necessarily 

 divide into two parts, corresponding to those of speculative ; 

 for physics, or the inquiry of efficient and material causes, 

 produces mechanics ; and metaphysics, the inquiry of forms, 

 produces magic ; whilst the inquiry of final causes is a barren 

 thing, or as a virgin consecrated to God. We here under- 

 stand that mechanics which is coupled with physical causes; 

 for besides the bare effective or empirical mechanics, which 

 has no dependence on physics, and belongs to natural his- 

 tory, there is another not absolutely operative, and yet not 

 strictly philosophical. For all discoveries of works either 

 had their rise from accident, and so were handed down from 

 age to age, or else were sought by design ; and the latter 

 were either discovered by the light of causes and axioms, or 

 acquired by extending, transferring, or compounding some 

 former inventions, which is a thing more ingenious and saga- 

 cious than philosophical. But the mechanics here under- 

 stood is that treated by Aristotle promiscuously, by Hero in 

 his Pneumatics, by that very diligent writer in metallics, 

 George Agricola, and by numerous others in particular sub- 

 jects ; so that we have no omission to note in this point, only 

 that the miscellaneous mechanics, after the example of Aris- 

 totle, should have been more carefully continued by the 

 moderns, especially with regard to such contrivances whose 

 causes are more obscure, or their effects more noble; whereas 

 th writers upon these subjects hitherto have only coasted 

 along the shore, — "premendo littus iniquum."*^ And it appears 

 to us that scarce anything in nature can be fundamentally 

 discovered, either by accident, experimental attempts, or the 

 light of physical causes, but only by the discovery of forms.'' 

 Since, therefore, we have set down as ^vanting that part of 



» Hor. Odes, b. ii. ode x. 3. 



*» Bacon means by lonus geneial laws which co-opcvate with certAi^ 

 %gent»' in producing the qualities of bodies. S/iaii\ 



