Pagina 266 di 1391

Anticipations or divinations, or prophetic glimpses of truths

whether concerning man or nature, seem to stand in the same

relation to ancient philosophy which hypotheses bear to modern

inductive science. These 'guesses at truth' were not made at

random; they arose from a superficial impression of uniformities

and first principles in nature which the genius of the Greek,

contemplating the expanse of heaven and earth, seemed to

recognize in the distance. Nor can we deny that in ancient times

knowledge must have stood still, and the human mind been deprived

of the very instruments of thought, if philosophy had been

strictly confined to the results of experience.