I o 6 Of the Advancement of Learning. Lib. Ill 



Chap. V. 



1. The Partition of the Operative Knowledge of Nature into Mei 

 chanick^ and Magick^ : Relpondent to the parts of Speculative 

 Knowledge 5 Mechanick_toPhyfick^-^ Magick.to Metafhyfic^. § A 

 purging of the word Magia. II. Two Appendices to Operative 

 Knowledge, A» Inventary of the Eftate of man. A Catalogue of 

 Polycbrejis, or things of multifarioHi ufe. 



I, ' %'^HE Operative knowledge of Nature, we will likewife divide intd 

 X two Parts y and that from a kind of Neceffity. For thbl}i« 

 •uifton is (ubordinate to the former Divijion of Speculative Knovpledge^ 

 for Phjjick^^ and the Enquiry of Efficient and Material Caufes , produce f 

 Mechanic k^: but Metaphyfick^ and the enquiry of Forms produces Afagic^: 

 As for Final Caufes, the enquiry is barren , and as a Virgin confecrate fa 

 Cod brings forth nothing. Nor are we ignorant that there is a Mechoii 

 nical Knowledge, which is meerlym/'eric^/, s^nd operary^ not depend^ 

 ing on Phyfickj, but this we have referred to Natural Hijiory, and lepa- 

 rateit from Natural Philofophy : Speaking here only of that Mechanical 

 Knowledge which is eonnext with Caufes Phyfical. But yet there falls 

 out a certain i?/ec)bj«irVj/, or experimental Knowledge which neither ig 

 altogether Operative, nor yet properly teaches fo high asfpeculative 

 Philofophy : For all the Inventions of Operations which have come to 

 mens itnowledge , either have fallien out by cafual incidence 5 and af^ 

 terwards deliver'd from hand to hand, or were fought by a purpofed 

 experiment. Thofe which have been found out by intentional ex- 

 periment, they have been difclofed either by the light of C<i«/ej, and 

 Axioms i or found out by extending, or ttansferring, or compounding 

 former inventions 5 which is a matter more fagacious and witty, fhan 

 Philofophical. And this part which by no means we defpife, we fhall 

 briefly touch hereafter, when we (hall treat of Literate experience a* 

 mongft the parts of Logick. As for the Alechanicl^ now in hand, Ari^ 

 Jiotle hath handled it promilcuoufly ; Hero in fpiritalibus ; as likewile 

 Ceorgius Agricola a modern Writer,very diligently in his Minerals ; and 

 many others in particular Treatiles on that fubjed: , fb as I have nothing 

 to (ay of Deficients in this kind 5 but that the promifcuous Mechanicals 

 tf/ Ariftotle, ought to have been with more diligence continued, by the 

 pens of recent Writers ; elpecially with choice of(uch experiraentals, 

 of which either the Caufes are more oblcure, or the EfFefts more no- 

 ble. But they who in(i(t upon the(e, do, as ft were, orly coaft along 

 the fhoar, Premendo littus iniqmim. For in ray judgement there can 

 hardly beany radical alteration, or novation in Nature, cither by any 

 fortuitous adventures j or by eflays of Experiments ; or from the light 

 of Phyfical Caufes ; but only through the invention o^ Forms. There* 

 fore if we.have (et down that part o^ Metaphyjick^ as Deficient, which en- 

 treatttln)f Forms 5 it follows that Natural Magicl^ alfo, which is a Re* 

 lative UQto it, is likewife Deje^jve. 



§ But 



