AM inclined to believe that the intention of the Sacred Scrip- 

 tures is to give to mankind the information necessary for their 

 Salvation. 



But I do not hold it necessary to believe that the same God who has 

 endowed us with senses, with speech, with intellect, intended that we 

 should neglect the use of these, and seek by other means for knowl- 

 edge which these are sufficient to procure us ; especially in a science 

 like astronomy, of which so little notice is taken by the Scriptures, 

 that none of the planets, excepting the sun and moon and once or 

 twice only Venus, by the name of Lucifer, are so much as named at 

 all^^t 



This therefore being granted, methinks that in the discussion of nat- 

 ural problems we ought not to begin at the authority of texts of 

 Scripture but at sensible experiments and necessary demonstrations. 



GALILEO. 



