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curriculi," or “ experiment crucis;” should refuteerrors, without formally classifying them as “ idolaspecus,” or “ idola fori; ” would this be any argumenteither that those systematic distinctions were unknownto him, or that the philosophical arrangement of them,according to their characteristic differences, was an idle,useless, or chimerical speculation ?

We conceive, upon the whole, we hardly need urgemore to vindicate the exalted rank to which Bacon isentitled among the philosophres, not only of his own,but of any age. He was, doubtless, deficient in mathe-matical knowledge, and he did not, himself, push hisprinciples to the discovery of any actual physical laws.He did not, perhaps, shine with so much lustre amonghis contemporaries, as he does to posterity. We walkfamiliarly on the surface of the earth without perceivingthe light it reflects, but to the distant lunarians it is abrilliant luminary. The immediate value of the dis-coveries of Galileo was more striking. Bacon wrote forages to come. And it may be safely affirmed, that,though we could name several philosophers who, placedin the same circumstances as Galileo , might have madethe same discoveries, yet we cannot say this of Bacon ;we might find substitutes for the one, but not for theother. Galileo was the immediate minister of science,whose services enlightened his own times: Bacon wasits prophet , whose credit was not established till hispredictions were verified. Galileo entered and took pos-session of the vast regions which science was henceforthto call her own. Bacon , from his lofty elevation, tooka complete survey of the rich territory of the promisedland; but expired, like Moses on Mount Nebo , withouthimself entering it. In a word, we must entirely agreewith D’Alembert , that, “ when one considers the soundand enlarged views of this great man, the multitude ofthe objects to which his mind was turned, and the bold-ness of his style, which unites the most sublime imageswith the most rigorous precision, one is disposed to regard

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