232 OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 



appropriate his whole labour and continue his whole age in 

 that function and attendance ; and therefore must have 

 a proportion answerable to that mediocrity or competency 

 of advancement which may be expected from a profession 

 or the practice of a profession. So as, if you will have 

 sciences flourish, you must observe David's military law, 

 which was, ' That those which staid with the carriage 

 should have equal part with those which were in the 

 action ' ; else will the carriages be ill attended : So readers 

 in sciences are indeed the guardians of the stores and 

 provisions of sciences whence men in active courses are 

 furnished, and therefore ought to have equal entertain- 

 ment with them ; otherwise if the fathers in sciences be of 

 the weakest sort or be ill-maintained, 



Etpatrum invalidi referent jejunia nati. 



Another defect I note, wherein I shall need some 

 alchemist to help me, who call upon men to sell their 

 books and to build furnaces ; quitting and forsaking 

 Minerva and the Muses as barren virgins, and relying 

 upon Vulcan. But certain it is that unto the deep, fruit- 

 ful, and operative study of many sciences, specially natural 

 philosophy and physic, books be not only the instru- 

 mental ; wherein also the beneficence of men hath not 

 been altogether wanting ; for we see spheres, globes, 

 astrolabes, maps, and the like, have been provided as 

 appurtenances to astronomy and cosmography, as well as 

 books : we see likewise that some places instituted for 

 physic have annexed the commodity of gardens for simples 

 of all sorts, and do likewise command the use of dead 

 bodies for anatomies. But these do respect but a few 

 things. In general, there will hardly be any main pro-X 

 ficience in the disclosing of nature, except there be some 

 allowance for expenses about experiments ; whether they be 

 experiments appertaining to Vulcanus or Daedalus, furnace 

 or engine, or any other kind ; and therefore as secretaries 

 and spials of princes and states bring in bills for intelligence, 

 so you must allow the spials and intelligencers of nature to 

 bring in their bills, or else you shall be ill advertised. 



