The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

FABLE OF CUPID. 4-39
appeared a kind of maturity and concoction of discriminates the impressions and notes of harwater; and, that a body and mass of water was monic, and, what is by far more remarkable, of
spread through the whole as a common fuel; that articulate sounds, which enters without confusing
the sea surrounded the land; that there was avery the differences of scents, not only those general
vast and subterraneous force of sweet waters, ones of pure and fetid, of dull, acute, and the
whence come springs and rivers, which, like veins, like, but also the peculiar and specific, as of the
carry the waters through both the face and bowels rose or the violet; which accommodates itself
of the earth; and that, in the heights above were equally to those remarkable and very powerful
immense congregations of vapours and waters, qualities of hot and cold, also of wet and dry, in
and, as it were, another universe of waters, for which aqueous vapours, dense fogs, spirits of
the reparation and renovation of the waters below, salts, fumes of metals, fly suspended in the
and of the sea. He, moreover, thought that those height; lastly, in which the rays of light and
waters and vapours fed the heavenly fires, for the closer agreements and variances of things
that-those worlds could not subsist without some move and make a noise; so that the air is, as it
nourishment, and that this was the only nourish- were, a second chaos, in which so many seeds of
mrent that they could possess. He remarked that things move, wander, try their powers, and are
the figure of water, as seen in drops or particles tried. Lastly, if you consider its genial and
of water, was that of the universe, round and vivifying power, which conducts you to the elespherical, and that the undulation of water was ments of things and manifests them, they seem
apparent even in air and fire; lastly, that the mo- to be also the more excellent parts of the air, so
tion of water was suited to its nature, neither too that the words air, spirit, and life, are often used
slow nor too quick, and of all generations the as if they were synonymous. And, with reason,
most numerous was the generation of fishes and since some degree of respiration seems the insepewater animals. But Anaximenes chose air for the rable companion of life a little more advanced,
one sole element. For, if bulk is to come into (excepting those little beginnings of life in emconsideration in treating upon the elements of bryos and in eggs,) so that fishes are suffocated
things, air seems by far the most bulky, and to by the congealing of water. Also, fire itself,
occupy the greatest space. For, unless a separate unless kept alive by the surrounding body of air,
vacuum be given, or the superstition of the hete- is extinguished, and seems only worn-out air irrirogeneous nature of the heavenly and sublunary tated and inflamed; as water, on the other hand,
bodies be resorted to, whatever is extended from can appear to be the conjunction and reception of
the globe of the earth to the furthest region of air. Nor is there any necessity to maintain that
the heavenly expanse, and is neither star nor me- the earth constantly exhales the air, nor that it
teor, seems to be filled with aerial substance. passes through water into the form of air. But
And the abode of this earthly globe is thought to Heraclitus, who was more acute, but not so much
be as a point, in comparison of the circuit of the to be relied upon, held fire to be the element of
heavens. But in the ether itself, how very small things. For it was not a middle nature, which
a portion is besprinkled with stars, when in the is wont to be extremely uncertain and corruptinearer spheres they are seen single, in the last, ble, but the highest and most perfect nature,
although there is a great number of them, yet, which is a considerable bound, as it were, to
considering the interstellar spaces, but a small corruption and change, which Heraclitus sought
part of space seems to be occupied by stars; so for instituting the origin of things. Now,
that they all appear to swim in one immense sea he saw that the greatest variety and perturof ether. Nor is that part of ether and spirit in- bation of things was found in solid and conconisiderable, which has its seat and settlement sistent bodies. For such bodies can be organic,
in the waters and the hollow places of the earth, and, as it were, a kind of machines, which acquire
whence the waters receive their tides. They are, innumerable variations according to their shape,
nioreover, extended, and swell; but not only has as the bodies of animals and plants. Even among
the earth its porousness, but also its tremors and these, such as are not organic upon a closer
agitations, evident signs of wind and air pent up inspection, are found to be very dissimilar. For,
within it. But if a middle nature is proper to how great is the dissimilarity between those very
elements, in order to the being susceptible of so parts of animals which are called similar! the
great a variety, that is certainly found in air. For brain, the crystalline humour, the white of the
air is, as it were, the common bond of things, not eye, the bones, membranes, cartilages, nerves,
only because it is everywhere close at hand, and veins, flesh, fat, marrow, blood, sperm, breath,
takes the place of other things, and possesses chyle, and the rest; also between the parts of
itself of void spaces, but so much the more from vegetables, roots, barks, stalks, leaves, flowers.
its appearing to have a middle and a diaphorous seeds, and the like! But fossils are not certainly
nature. For this is that body which receives and organic, but yet are variously mixed together in
conveys light, darkness, and the tints of all colours one hind, and show mutually a very great variety.
and shades, which, by its admirably nice motion, Wherefore, that base of the diversity of entities