56 METHOD OF DISCOVERY. 



leave this room with a very clear conviction that scien- 

 tific investigation is not, as many people seem to sup- 

 pose, some kind of modern black art. I say that you 

 might easily gather this impression from the manner in 

 which many persons speak of scientific inquiry, or talk 

 about inductive and deductive philosophy, or the 

 principles of the " Baconian philosophy." I do protest 

 that, of the vast number of cants in this world, there 

 are none, to my mind, so contemptible as the pseudo- 

 scientific cant which is talked about the " Baconian 

 philosophy." 



To hear people talk about the great Chancellor, — - 

 and a very great man he certainly was, — you would 

 think that it was he who had invented science, and 

 that there was no such thing as sound reasoning 

 before the time of Queen Elizabeth ! Of course, 

 you say, that cannot possibly be true ; you per- 

 ceive, on a moment's reflection, that such an idea is 

 absurdly wrong; and yet, so firmly rooted is this 

 sort of impression, — I cannot call it an idea, or con- 

 ception, — the thing is too absurd to be entertained, — 

 but so completely does it exist at the bottom of most 

 men's minds, that this has been a matter of observation 

 with me for many years past. There are many men 

 who, though knowing absolutely nothing of the subject 

 with which they may be dealing, wish, nevertheless, to 

 damage the author of some view with which they think 

 fit to disagree. What they do, then, is not to go and 

 learn something about the subject, which one would 

 naturally think the best way of fairly dealing with it; 

 but they abuse the originator of the view they question, 



