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Show ;6o Wrong Ajfent or Error. Book IV. Bacon was a Mathematician, or a Magician : In thefe and fuch like Cafes, where the Alfent one way or other, is of no I!nportance to the Interefl: of any one, no ACtion, n<i Concernment of l1ts followmg, or depending thereon, there 'tis not fl:range, that the Mtnd ll10?ld g1ve 1t felt up to the common Opinion, or tender 1t felf to the firll Comer .. Thefe and the ]ike Opinions, are of fa little weight and moment, that hke Motes m the Sun their Tendencies are very ratcly taken nonce of. They are there, as if were, by Chance, and the Mind lets them float _at liberty. But where the Mi~d judges, the Propolition has Concernment m It, where the Affent at not Alfenting, is thought to draw Confequences after It of rname~! artd Good or Evil to depend on chullng, or rcfufing the right tide 'and the Mind fets it felfferiounyto enquire, nnd examin~ the"Prdbnbifity; there, I think, it is not in our Choice, to take which fide. we pleafe, if manifell: odds appears on etther: The greater Probnb1hty, I rhmk, in that Cafe, will determine the ACfent; and a Man can no more avOid af:. fenting, or taking itto be true, where he percetves the greate: Probability, than he can avoid know1ng It to be true, where he pcrce1ves the A-greement or Difagreement of any two Jtf,as.. . . . If this be fo the Foundation of Errour Will he tn wrong Meafures of Probability · ;s the Foundation of Vice, in wrong Mcafures of Good. §. 17. Fo~rthly, The fourth and Jail: wrong ii'Jeafore of Probability I IJJall take notice of, and which keeps in Ignorance, or Error, more Pedple than all the other together, is .that which I have mentioned in the fore-going Chapter, I mean, the!!..''~~'"!, up our Aj{ent to. t/;e common recerved OpiNions, e1ther of our Fnends, or Party; Ne1ghbourhood , or Country. How many Men have no other ground for their Tenets, than the fuppofed Honell:r, or Learning, or Number of thofe of the fame Profeilion? As ifhonefl, or bookilh Men could not err, or Truth were to be ell:ablilbed by the Vote of the Multitude; yet this with moll Men Jerves the Turn. The Tenet has had the attell:ation of reverend Anttqu1ty; 1t come> to me with the Pafs·port of former Ages,andtherclore I am fecure in the Reception I give it: other Men have been,and are of the fame Opinion, (for that is all is faid,)and therefore it is reafonable for me. to embrace 11. A Man may more jull:ifiablv throw up Crofs and P1le for IllS Opm1ons, than take them up by fuch Meafures. All Men are liable to Error, and moll: Men are in many Points, byPailion or Interell:, under Temptation to it. If we could but fee the fecret motives, that influenced the Men of Name and Learning in the World, and the Leaders of Parties, we lbould not always find, that it was the embracing pf Truth for its own fake, that made them efpoufe the DoCtrines, they owned and maintained. This at leafi is certain, there is not an Opinion fo al:>furd, which a Man may not receive upon this ground. There is no Error to be namfd, which has not had its Profelfors: And a Man !hall never want crool<ed Paths to walk m, 1f he thinks he is in the right way, where-ever he has the F oat· fieps of others to follow. §. 1 H. But notwithfianding the great Noife is made in the World about Errors and Opinions, I mull: do Mankind that Right, os to f.1y, Thue ar< not fo ma'!J Mtn in Errorr, tmd wro11g Opi11ious, as is comm011!y Juppofed. Not that I think they embrace rhe Truth; but indeed, bee1ufe concerning thofc Doc:trines they l<eep (uch a fiir about, they have no Thought, no Opinion at all. For if any one fl10uld a little cntechife the greatd(par~ of the Partifans of moll: of the Sec:ts in the World, he would not find, con· cerning thofe Matters they ore fo zealous for, that they have any Opinions of their own: much lefs would he have Reafon to think, that they rook Chap. Xl.e"X. took them upap the Examination of Argument<:, lllid ~P.pe:fraH~ ofPro. bability. They are ref~lved to flick to •."Pnrry, rh•t Educiiion i,>t 1nte" r~(l; has engaged them m; and there, l1ke tHe C01TfmM SOldiers ofdn /irl my, Jhew their Coimigeaqd Warmlh,' :ls iheir LaodetSJ ditecl, witfilnit ever exornitiing, or fa ttiuclt•as knowing. tl1~ Gaifc' rlltf bart tend for!. I< 11 it Man's Life lhews, that he ltas no ferious Regnrd tlY R~llgton ., m,-{~J1it Reafon lhould we think, thaohobeats ·his Head abour~h1! Opin[onsi1~1t!s Church, and troubles himfelf td examirle' tlte grouil~s bf this or thlit 1:)0• thine 1 'Tis enough for llini to obey his .Leaders, tO 1\-iite" his Hand, a'hJ his Tongue ready for the .fupport of•rhc ,oommon ·OJufe , anrf tl\~by approve himfclf to thofe,wlio t:ari give llimCrcdit,PrHer\nent,orl'ro!el1ibn in that Society. Thus Men become I'tdfelfoPS of,~nd Colrlbotanrs for ihofe Opinions,they were never cbnvi'nced cf,ndr Ptofelir~s to; no,nor e\>t,r:lrlul .fo much as floating in theit He:cds: Ahd:ehough< one cannot f."iJ; tile·r<i are fewer improbable Opinions in the World than there are; yet' this is ceriaid , 1:here are fewer thaf aefually alfctit t'b them' tltat? is lmllgined. ' l.r. .. " '·· C .H A P/11 JOf. '~ ' I! .... OJ tbe-'Di'vijion of. tffe. ~l:,ittzl:ei. ' ' 1 ·" '/ ' • ' '. I I .·~~·1 f • 1 ( !t). ~- r. A L L that carl fall within tlr~ compafs of humane Underl!att• ding, being eith~r, Firfl, TIIC Nature of Things,_ as they are in themfelves, their Relattons, and the1r manner of OperatiOn : Or, Secondly, that which Man himfelf ought to do, as a rational and voluntary Agent, for the Attainment of any Ends, efpedally Happinefs : Or, Thirdly, The ways and means, whereby the Knowledge of both the one and the other of thefe, are attained and communicated ; I think, Sci en" may be divided properly into thefe T/;ree forts. _ --- ~.~. Firjl, The Knowledge of Things, as they are in their own proper Beings, their Olnllitutions, l'roperties, and Operations, whereby I mean not only Matter, and Body, but Spirits alfo, which have their proper Na· tures Olnll:itutions, and Operations as well as Bodies. This in a little more'enlarg~ Senfe oftbe W?rd,I call q>vauui,or natural Philofophy. The end of this ,. bare fpeculattve Truth, and whatfocvcr can afford the Mind of Man any fuch, falls under this branch,_ wheth~r it be God himfelf, Angels, Spirits, Bedies, OJ any other of the1r Alfec:t10ns, as Number, and Figure, &c. §.1. &condly,rrpo•TJIGi!, The Ski!! ofRight applyin& our own Powers and Actions for the Attamment ofTiungs good and ufeful. The moll: conliderablc ~ndcr this Head, is Etbicks, which is the feeking out thofe Rules, and Meafures of humane ACtions, which lead to Happinefs, and the Means to prac:tife them. The end of tltis is not bare Speculation, and the KnowlCdge of Truth; but Right, and a ConduCt fuitable to it. 9.4· Thirdly, The llli•d BFaacl~ may bec:rfled_ ~P.tG>'Tt.rfl,orrhi! !/o!trme of Sigm, the moll: ufuaJ whereofbemg Words, It IS aptly enough termed alfo Ao)o',.;, Logick; the bufinefs whereof,is to confider the Nature of S1~ns,t!1e Mind makes ufe of for the underfiandmg of Tlungs, or conveymg Its Knowledge to others. For Iince the Things, the Mind contemplates, arc Au none |