862 REPORT— 1900. 



magnet, and Sir i?rancis Drake, led away by that entbusiasol of Whlcli t haVe 

 already spoken, in his great voyage round the world added new glories to English 

 navigation. 



As conceptions more exact and observations more accurate were made, it 

 became necessary in some way to shorten the laborious calculations previously 

 carried on. Hence we get about this time the invention of logarithms by Napier 

 of Merchiston. 



But this evident advancement of the mind was opposed fiercely by the powers 

 of the Church, resulting in the burning of Giordano Bruno at Venice, in the 

 year 1600, for upholding the Copernican theory. 



There now came upon the scene one of the greatest thinkers of our country, to 

 whom all Englishmen, if not all Europeans, should feel the deepest gratitude, the 

 great thinker, Francis Bacon, who, in his various works which he has left behind 

 him, bequeathed to future ages that system of inductire philosophy which has 

 done so much for the advancement of learning. 



As you will remember, his first doctrine is that we must avoid the errors which 

 are inherent in the human race, and which he classes under the four heads of 

 ' Idols of the tribe/ ' Idols of the den,' ' Idols of the forum or market,' and ' Idols 

 of the theatre.' 



Having got rid of erroneous and preconceived opinions, he lays down rules of 

 right thinking, afforded by scientific facts which have been invaluable in the 

 investigation of science. 



?Ie does not touch upon religious and controversial subjects which engaged 

 the attention of so large a proportion of his contemporaries, but directs the whole 

 force of his philosophy to the acquisition of what he calls ' fruits,' that is to say, 

 the pursuit of truth for its own sake. 



And as Macaulay says of him, although he is best known by his essays, yet of 

 his more philosophical works he remarks that * they have moved the intellects 

 which have moved the world.' 



We now have to consider for a moment a name which should be highly 

 honoured among all men of science, but especially among engineers, for to Galileo 

 we are indebted for the first principles of mechanics. He invented the thermo- 

 meter about 1602, and the telescope which bears his name in 1609. 



In 1586 he composed his first essay on the hydrostatic balance, and his observa- 

 tions on the swinging of the great bronze lamp in the Cathedral of Pisa, as well 

 as his experiments on the centre of gravity, and on falling bodies from the leaning 

 tower, laid the foundation of the exact determination of some of our simplest 

 mechanical conceptions. 



His astronomical observations of the moon, his discovery of Jupiter's satellites 

 in 1610, as well as the rings of Saturn and the phases of Venus, gave to the 

 Copernican theory the basis of fact which was before wanting. 



It is needless to say that Galileo advocated most strongly the theory of his 

 predecessor Copernicus, and for the doctrines which he so taught he was brought 

 before the Inquisition, imprisoned, and his latter days rendered miserable by the 

 persecution of the Church. 



Contemporary with Galileo was his illustrious correspondent Kepler, who in 

 the most laborious manner, from the observations of Tycho Brahe and other 

 accurate astronomers, gradually gave to the world tho?6 laws which bear his name, 

 and fixed for all time the fact that the planets revolved around the sun, not in 

 circular, but in elliptical orbits. 



These teachings, assisted by the illustrious Gassendi, were gradually forming 

 in the minds of men a somewhat more accurate idea of the universe in which we 

 live. 



We now come to one of those great minds, who, in the realm of philosophy, had 

 a vast influence in turning the thoughts of men into direct channels. I allude to 

 that distinguished Frenchman, Ren4 Descartes. 



I do not propose to inquire into his axiom, ' I think, therefore I am ; ' into his 

 conception of innate ideas, nor into his theory of vortices, but would merely point 

 out what may be almost called his great discovery, namely, the application of 



