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notions and blind experiments; and what the posterity and issue of so honourable a match may be, it is not hard to consider.

Printing, a gross1 invention; artillery, a thing that lay not far out of the way; the needle, a thing partly known before: what a change have these three made in the world in these times; the one in state of learning, the other in state of the war, the third in the state of treasure, commodities, and navigation! And those, I say, were but stumbled upon and lighted upon by chance. Therefore, no doubt, the sovereignty of Man lieth hid in knowledge; wherein many things are reserved, which kings with their treasure cannot buy, nor with their force command; their spials and intelligencers can give no news of them, their seamen and discoverers cannot sail where they grow; now we govern nature in opinions, but we are thrall3 unto her in necessity; but if we would be led by her in invention, we should command her in action.

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1 Gross. Probably palpably obvious; which it was (as has been above remarked) as soon as a cheap paper was invented.

2 Spials.

Scouts.

For he by faithful spials was assured

That Egypt's king was forward on his way.'-Fairfax.

3 Thrall. Slave.

‘No thralls like them that inward bondage have.'

ANNOTATION.

No better annotation can be given than in Bacon's own words,―The mistaking or misplacing of the last or farthest end of knowledge, is the greatest error of all the rest: For, men have entered into a desire of learning and knowledge, sometimes upon a natural curiosity, and inquisitive appetite; sometimes to entertain their minds with variety and delight; sometimes for ornament and reputation; and sometimes to enable them to victory of wit and contradiction; and most times for lucre and profession ;--but seldom sincerely to give a true account of their gift of reason, to the benefit and use of men: As if there were sought in knowledge, a couch whereupon to rest a searching and restless spirit; or a terras for a wandering and variable mind to walk up and down with a fair prospect; or a tower of state for a proud mind to raise itself upon; or a fort or commanding ground for strife and contention; or a shop for profit or sale;—and not a rich store-house for the glory of the Creator, and the relief of man's estate."

Advancement of Learning.

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GENERAL INDEX.

ABSURD, Bacon's use of the word, 301.

Advocates, temptations of, 587.

Age, old, Aristotle's description of, 451; and youth, mental qualities
of, 455.

Agreement, external, in religion, 57.

Althorp, Lord, anecdote of, 562.

Ambition, true end of, 120; not essentially evil, 412.

Anger, different modes of appeasing, 594; distinguished from hatred,
593.

Ants, mistake concerning, 258.

Approbation, love of, 564; distinct from love of admiration, 565.
Aristotle, 60, 62, 110, 260, 309, 371, 420, 432, 451, 593.
Arminians, the, 603.

Associations, definite object in, 316, 428, 547-

Atheism, causes of, 177; credulity of, 171; of Pagan nations, 173.

BACON, moral character of, 434.

Bending the wand, 420.

Benevolence, example of our Lord the rule for, 143; ill-directed,
evils of, 141; nature of, mistaken, 144.

Birth, noble, aphorism of Warburton respecting, 149; how estimated, 150.
Bomolochus, 37I.

Booker, his vocabulary of obsolete words in our Authorized Version
recommended, iii.

Books for children, 36, 132, 529; popular, 517; some to be tasted, 541.
Bow, a backed, 292.

Brute life, Turkish regard for, 145.

CABINET Council, presidency of, 233.

Candid men, 135.

Caution, defect of, in the cunning, 254.

Cavillers, difficulty of dealing with, xxi., 488.

Celerity in decision and execution, importance of, illustrated, 235,

239, 274, 290, 299.

Celibacy of clergy, 98, 132.

Censure, equivalent to praise, 567.

Ceremonies, necessity of, 553; religious, multiplication of, 200.

Change of course, 126; irregularly introduced, 279.

Character, similarity of, in men of opposite parties, 549.

Children, books for, 36, 132, 529; employment of, as almoners, 426;

gratuitous disappointment of, 77; learning by rote, 520; choice of
a profession for, 93; precocious, 456.

Chinese, recklessness of life in, 19.

Christening of a ship, 187.

Cingalese farmer, anecdote of, 527.
Clouds, fable of the, 133.

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