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Show p8 Improvement of our Knowledge. Book IV. by Contemplation of our JdeaJ, we cannot difccvcr, there Experience Obfervation, and natural Hiflory, mufl give us Ly our Senfes, and by retail, an infight into corporeal Subflanccs. The !{nO\~ ledge of Bodies we mufl get by our Senfes, -.arily employed in taking notice of theit ~alities, and Operations on one another ; and what we hope to know offeparated Spirits in this World, we mull, I think, expect only from Revelation. He thtt flmll confider, hoiV little ge11eral MaximJ, pre<ariou.r Principles, a11d Ffypotl;eju laid do1vn at P/eafure, !Jave promoted true KnoiVledge, or helped to fatisfie the Enquiries of rational Men after real Improvements. How little, l fay, the fetting out at the end, has for rna· ny Ages together advanced Men's Progrefs towards the !\now ledge of na· tural Philolophy, will think, we have Reafon to thank thofe Men, who in this latter Age have taken anotherCourfe,and hove trod out to us, though not an eafier way to learned Tgnorance,yct a Curer way to profitable Knowledge. 9. IJ. Not that we may not, to explain any PhtEnomena of Nature, make ufe of anr probable Hypothejis whatfoevcr: HypothejeJ, if they are well made, are at leaf\ great helps to the Memory, and often direct us to new Difcoverics. But my Meaning is, that we fl1ould not take up any one too ha./lily, (which the Mind, that would always penetrate into the Caufes of Things, and have Principles to refl on, is very apt to do,) till we have very well e>:amined Particulars, and made feveral Experiments, in that thing we would explain by our Hypothcfis, and fee whether it will agree to them all; whether our Principles will carry us quite through and not be as intonfiflent with one P!JtEnomewon of Nature, as they feent to accommodate,. and explain another. And at leaf\, that we take care that the Name of Principles deceive us not, nor impofe on us, by making us receive that fori an unqueflionable Truth, which is really, at bell, buc a very doubtful conjecture, fuch as are moll (I had a! moll faid all) of the Hypothefes in natural Philofophy. · 9. 14. But whether natudl Philofophy be capable of Certainty, or no, the ways to enhrge our Knowledge, as far as we arc capable, feem to me, in lhort, to be thefe two : Fir./1, The Firflis to. get, andfettleiw our JJ1ind,,as for as we can clear dij/iwtl,~wdcon.fiowt Ideas ofthofeThings we would confider and l<no;.,, Fo; it bei.ng evident,that our !{nowled'ge.cannot exceed our !deaJ, where they arc en her tmperfect, or obfcure, we cart not expect to have certain and pe>f~ Knowledge. ' . S(condly, The other is the Art of f•ding out thofe intermediate Ideas, wh1ch rna~ ihew us the Agreement, or Repugnancy of other /deas,whicb cannot be 1mmed~ately compared. ' ~·1.5· That thefe two (and not the relying on Maxims, and drawing Confequenccs from fome g~neral PropofitJons) are the rtght Method ofim· pr6vmg our Knowledge 10 other Ideas of Modes, the Confideration of Mathematical Knowledge will eafily inform us. Where lirfl: we fl1all iind( that h~ that l12s not a perfect, and clear Idea of thofe Angles, or Figures of wluch he defires to know any thing, is utterly thereby uncapa· ble of any Knowledg~ ab'?ut tl~em. Suppofe but a Man, not to have a p<rfect. exa& Idea of a r~ght Angle, a Scalenum, or Trape.ium; and there I> nothmg mo:e clear, ~hat he will in vain feel< any Demonflration about them. And farther 11 IS ev1denr, that it was not the influence of rhofe Maxims, which are taken for Principles in Mathematicks that hath led tho Maflers of that Science into thofe wonderful ·Pifcove;;es 'they have l)lade. Let a Man of good Parts know all the Maxims generally made ufe ~f m Mathemattcks never fo rcrfeetly, and contemplate their Extent and ' Confequcnces Chap.XIU. Conjiderationr concer.,ning our Knowledge. 3 2.9' and Confequentes, as much as he pleafes, he will by their Afliflence, I !uppofe, fcarce ever come to know that the fquare of the Hypotien~ufon in a right angled Triangle, is equal to the fquares of tlie two other ftdes. The Knowledge, that the Whole is equal to all its Parts, and if you take Equal from Equal, the rem:hnder will be Equal, fire. helped him not I prefume, to this Demonflration : And a Man may, l think, pore lo~g enough on thofe Anoms, Without ever fecmg one jot the more of mathematical Truths. They have been dikovercd by the T houghts otherways applied : The Mind had other Objects, other Views before it, far diilC· .rent from thofe Maxims, when it firfl got the Knowledge of fuch ~ind•of Truths in Mathematicks, which Men well enough acquainted with t(lpfe rece)vcd ,Axioms, bur ignorant of their Method, who fir(l made thefe o(,. mn{!fuauon.•, ean nGver fuffictemly adm~ro. And who knows \\-hat Me~ t~ds may hereafter be found out to enhrge our Knowledge in ot\Jer 'I'bing,o;, as well as that of Algebra in M~thcmaticl<s, wh\ch fo readily lind£ out Jde., of(@antities to meafure bthers by, whofe Equality or Pro' portion we could otherwife very hardly, or, perhaps, never c0mc to knowJ . ! C H A P. Xlll . -~ . • ;..~u , Some farther (onfidcratibm concerning our J(nowlrdge, §. i:ovr K•owledge, as in qther Things, fo in this, lias a gre:it QJ!i! . formily with our, Sight, that it IS nei~her whoUy 11tceffi,rj, •9; ,.fopUy '!'oluntary. If pur !{now ledge were a\t~gether nccelfary, ,all. M~n's KnoJVledge woufd,..not only be alike, b~t every Man. would know :i.{l tha~ is kno}l'"ble ; an,d if it were wholly voluhta!y1 fo01e Men ;ro lit~le re~rd or value it, }h~; ,i),ey would l,Jave ex~r~me httl~, or liPIJ" at alL . Men ~ha!' ~a'Ve Senfes,, C~nqot cpufe but teFeiVe fo1.ne Jdf~J by the~; and if ~hp>;, ~ave .\"'emo,r:y ,t, they. cannot bu; _ retam Come of them ; ~qd it they have any dilhnguiihing Faculty,connot but pcrce1ve the ligreement, llr Difagreement of fome of them one with another : lis he that has Eyes, i(hc..willopen thern by day, caQ.l)Ot put fee fome Objects, and perceive a dilf'ercrice in therri. llrit though a Man with his Eyes open in the r:ighf, canaot but fee: ye~ there be c.e,tainObject~~ which he may chufe wh~: thcr he w1ll turn Ius Eyes 'to; there may be m Ius reach a Book coritat· ning Pictures, and Difcoutfes, capable to delight, or inflru& hini, which . yet he niay never have the~ Will to op\:n, nevet take the Pains to look into. i ·; .. 11i!1ere is ajf_p;another thiqg in a Man·~ Power; ~Qjl tjlatis, thougq he turn.b.i§ Eyes fom~~irrie.s to)fa~qs an O'<)Fft1,yct he .11)3~ 'ilJJife whether heiw.iliJint~ntly/qt~e_y it, and W·\1\1 an acsuraq; fe;trqhJ chde,ayour to ,Piq fer.Yt~!lcthat is vjf{\lltt ill it. ~u.t, y,et what he does {fce1,,lie1 cannot ~"J !Jt~e~if!lcthan ha j.{oes: Ji <.J«fi"~ds nor. on lu~ Wi ~·tq.f~~ that 6l¥c~1 ~~<hwlk!aepears Yeli.QW 1. no~ tp lJCrfuad~ . l\iJYlfelf,1tiJ1\tt '.Xllat a&~alll f~l~ bt% feels ):old: ·T f)' E:)rth will no\ ~ppear paiflte~ with Fl~wcrs1 R<IJ' th~ l'j,elds covered with V erdure1whe~ev"'i he has a ~!9d' to It.; m11t~J~ 'ql<JIWJ!.W,, .)1e' Q.IJOOt help feet~ii>It wlnte and hoary, 1f he wtll 1/0.~ abr0:1d. Jufl th~s is it'wiihoutUndeiflandin~! all tha! is volu•t~ry m !l!Ur j{oqwledge,· ts the, employing, o, Wlth-hofrhng ,anr o'r Jf' Faculms h......: >,hi• cir tl1au 'o•t of Obw&s and a more, or lefs accurate furvey of "~' ~ 1·,· - ''" ·- ' · (j u - ' them. |