358 NOVUM ORGANUM. 



and motions, by greatly increasing their apparent size ; by the help of 

 which the exact figure and outline of body in fleas, flies, and worms, 

 as well as colours and motions previously invisible, are seen to our 

 astonishment. Moreover, they say that a straight line drawn with a 

 pen or pencil appears through such glasses very uneven and crooked ; 

 the truth being that neither the motion of the hand, although assisted 

 by a ruler, nor the impression of the ink or colours is really even, 

 although the inequalities are so minute as not to be discerned without 

 the aid of such glasses. And men have superadded a sort of super 

 stitious observance in this matter (as is the case in things new and 

 wonderful), viz., that glasses of this kind confer honour on the works 

 of Nature, but dishonour those of Art. But this only means that 

 natural textures are much more subtle than artificial ones. For this 

 instrument is only effective for minute objects ; so that if Democritus 

 had seen such a glass, he would perhaps have jumped for joy, and 

 have thought that a means had been discovered for detecting the atom 

 (which he affirmed was altogether invisible). But the incompetency 

 of such glasses, except for minutiae (and even for them when they exist 

 in a body of some size)&amp;gt; does away with their utility. For if the inven 

 tion could be extended to larger bodies, or to the details of larger 

 bodies, so that the texture of linen cloth might appear like a net, and 

 if in this manner the hidden details and inequalities of gems, liquids, 

 urine, blood, wounds, and many other things might be discerned, then, 

 without doubt, great advantages might be reaped from that invention. 



Of the second class are those other glasses, which Galileo has taken 

 such pains to invent, by the aid of which, as if by means of boats and 

 vessels, a nearer intercourse with the heavenly bodies can be com 

 menced and carried on. For hence we learn that the galaxy is a 

 knot or collection of small stars, entirely separate and distinct from 

 one another a fact which the ancients only suspected. Hence it 

 seems to be shown that the spaces of the planetary orbits, as they are 

 called, are not entirely devoid of stars ; but that the heavens begin to 

 fill with stars before we come to the starry sphere itself, although these 

 are smaller, too small, indeed, to be seen without glasses. By this 

 means we can see certain smaller stars circling about the planet 

 Jupiter (whence it may be conjectured that there is more than one 

 centre of motion among the stars). By this means the inequalities of 

 light and shade in the moon are more distinctly seen and placed ; so 

 that a sort of selenography might be made. By this means the spots 

 in the sun and similar things are discerned ; all indeed noble dis 

 coveries, so far as we can safely place faith in demonstrations of this 

 kind. But we regard these things with especial suspicion, because 

 experiment stops with these few observations ; and many other things, 

 equally worthy of investigation, are not discovered by the same plan. 



Of the third class are rods for measuring land, astrolabes, and the 

 like, which do not enlarge the sense of vision, but rectify and direct it. 

 And if there be other Instances which help the remaining senses in 

 their immediate and individual action, and yet are of such a kind as 

 to add nothing to the information at present possessed, they make 



