THE REVIVAL OF SCIENCE 283 



believer in horoscopes " I was born in the 

 planetary hour of Saturn and I think I have a 

 piece of that leaden planet in me." He was, 

 however, perhaps a little in advance of some of 

 his contemporaries ; at any rate, he recognised 

 that foretellings based on star-gazing do not 

 always " make good." " We deny not the in- 

 fluence of the stars but often suspect the due 

 application thereof." During the civil war, both 

 sides used astrologers and acted on their prog- 

 nostications ; but, on the whole, the firm belief 

 that future events could be foretold by a study 

 of the planetary system was waning. " They " 

 (i.e., the stars) " incline but do not compel . . . 

 and so gently incline that a wise man may resist 

 them ; sapiens dominabitur astris : they rule, but 

 God rules them."* This was said by Robert 

 Burton, and it probably represents the average 

 opinion of the more educated in our period. 



The part played by alchemy in the life of the 

 times can be judged by Ben Jonson's " Alchemist," 

 first acted in 1610, which affords a true insight 

 into the fashionable craze of the time. The play 

 was constantly presented from that date until 



* "Anatomy of Melancholy," Part I., Sec. II., Mem. i, 

 Sec. IV. 



