bited when the son of Lord Macclesfield stood a contested election in Oxfordshire, about three years after the passing of the Bill in the introduction of which his father, as we have seen, had taken so meritorious and prominent a part. Absurd as the incident may appear, even beyond the usual absurdities of elections, one of the most vehement cries raised against the son on the occasion was, us back the eleven days we have been robbed of." "Give This was too good a thing not to be seized upon by the wits of the day. It has accordingly been immortalised by Hogarth, who, in his picture of the Election Feast, introduced a banner carried by one of the crowd, bearing the inscription, "GIVE US BACK OUR ELEVEN DAYS." The same ludicrous misapprehension was also ridiculed in rhyme, a specimen of which I have before me; but it partakes, perhaps, too much of the doggrel character to be worth reciting.* * In seventeen hundred and fifty three, When the country folk first heard of this act, It puzzled their brains, their senses perplex'd, The foolish and disgraceful blunder did not, however, stop here; it was exhibited on a more solemn occasion. When Bradley, the celebrated mathematician and astronomer (who, as you have already learned from a passage in Lord Macclesfield's speech, had lent his assistance in preparing the Bill), was some years afterwards dying of a lingering illness, the common people ascribed his sufferings to a judgment from Heaven for having had a share in that impious undertaking. Thus it is that almost every improvement has to breast the current of ignorance and prejudice, and that the cry of impiety and irreligion is raised against the clearest advances in science and civilisation. Not dreaming that Levites would alter our text; Which nobody can deny.1 1 From the Jew's Triumph, a ballad, published 1753 or 1754. See England under the House of Hanover, by Thomas Wright, vol. i. p. 254. 153 DISCOURSE VI. ON THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICAL THE subject to which I have to solicit your attention this evening is, the General Principles of Physical Investigation. We hear almost every day a great deal said on the improved methods of philosophising, on induction, and on the inductive philosophy of Lord Bacon; but it appears to me, that the true principles of scientific investigation, although pretty generally disseminated, are rather felt than clearly and accurately understood. We learn them from imitation,-from seeing them exemplified in the researches of eminent philosophers -and few think of making them an object of distinct and separate attention. Yet it is manifestly of importance that the inquirer should be perfectly aware of the nature of the process in which he is engaged, in order that he may conduct it in the best practicable manner, avoiding such needless embarrassments and errors as might retard his progress and vitiate his results. When he has a distinct conception of the object and nature of physical investigation, he will be best able to conduct it, on any occasion, to a successful issue. A simple and accurate exposition of these important points would, therefore, be of the greatest utility. Although I have not the presumption to think that I can present such a one to my hearers on the present occasion, I venture to hope that I may be able to lay before them a few useful suggestions connected with the subject. In the first place, it will be well to settle with ourselves what is the ultimate object of all physical investigation. It has been stated, on high authority, that this object is to control the powers of nature for the advantage of mankind; to make the qualities of material objects subservient to human happiness. This is frequently insisted upon by Lord Bacon, in his own peculiar manner. "The greatest error of all the rest," says he, "is the mistaking or misplacing of the last or farthest end of knowledge: 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; and 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 storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man's estate." This passage, splendid in its imagery rather than precise in its purport, appears to me to lose sight of a distinction to be drawn between the ultimate result of investigation on the happiness of mankind, the end to be kept in view during our researches, and the actuating feelings which impel men to undertake them. These are somewhat indiscriminately huddled together. The ultimate result is unquestionably, as he says, "the Glory of the Creator," and "the relief of man's estate," in the latter of which division should be included (whether he intended it or not) the elevation of the human race, in their moral and intellectual character, as well as in their physical condition. Assured, however, that to dissipate ignorance and error cannot fail to redound both to the glory of God and to the welfare of man, the end to be kept in view by every inquirer throughout his researches is solely the attainment of truth, irrespective of any other circumstances whatever. To ascertain the real properties of ourselves and of the objects around us, and the actual events which are now occurring or have occurred in past times, is surely the simple purpose of all scientific or philosophical investigation, when once begun. |