II.] ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. 165 



limits ol physical causes hath bred a vastness and solitude in that track. 

 For, otherwise, keeping their precincts and borders, men are extremely 

 deceived if they think there is an enmity or repugnancy at all between 

 them. For the cause rendered, that the hairs about the eye-lids are 

 for the safeguard of the sight, doth not impugn the cause rendered, 

 .hat pilosity is incident to orifices of moisture; Muscosi fnntes, etc. 

 Nor the cause rendered, that the firmness of hides is for the armour of 

 the body against extremities of heat or cold, doth not impugn the cause 

 rendered, that contraction of pores is incident to the outwardest parts, 

 in regard of their adjacencc to foreign or unlike bodies ; and so of the 

 rest : both causes being tnie and compatible, the one declaring an 

 intention, the other a consequence only. 



Neither doth this call in question, or derogate from divine provi 

 dence, but highly confirm and exalt it. For as in civil actions he is 

 the greater and deeper politician, that can make other men the instru 

 ments of his will and ends, and yet never acquaint them with his pur 

 pose, so as they shall do it, and yet not know what they do ; than he 

 that imparteth his meaning to those he employcth : so is the wisdom 

 of God more admirable, when nature intendeth one thing, and provi 

 dence draweth forth another ; than if he had communicated to parti 

 cular creatures, and motions, the characters and impressions of his 

 providence. And thus much for metaphysics ; the latter part whereof 

 1 allow as extant, but wish it confined to its proper place. 



Nevertheless there rcmuincth yet another part of natural philo 

 sophy, which is commonly made a principal part, and holdeth rank 

 with physic special, and metaphysic, which is mathematic ; but I think 

 it more agreeable to the nature of things, and to the light of order, to 

 place it as a branch of metaphysic : for the subject of it being quantity, 

 not quantity indefinite, which is but a relative, and belongeth to philo- 

 wphia prima, as hath been said, but quantity determined, or propor 

 tionable ; it appcarcth to be one of the essential forms of things ; as 

 th.it that is causative in nature of a number of effects : insomuch as 

 we see, in the schools both of Dcmocritus and Pythagoras, that the 

 one did ascribe Figure to the first seeds of things, and the other did 

 suppose Numbers to be the principles and originals of things ; and it 

 is true also, that of all other forms, as we understand forms, it is the 

 most abstracted and separable from matter, and therefore most proper 

 to metaphysic ; which hath likewise been the cause why it hath been 

 better laboured and inquired, than any of the other foims, which are 

 ttioro immersed into matter. 



For it being the nature of the mind of man, to the extreme pre 

 judice of knowledge, to delight in the spacious liberty of generalities, 

 as in a champain region, and not in the inclosurcs of particularity ; 

 the mathematics of all other knowledge were the goodliest fields to 

 satisfy the appetite. 



Hut for the placing of these sciences, it is not much material ; only 

 tvc have endeavoured, in these our partitions, to observe a kind of per 

 spective, that one part may cast light upon another 



The Mat .icmatics are either puie 01 mixed. To the pure mathc- 



n 



