Volume 1

Rohault's System of natural philosophy / illustrated with Dr. Samuel Clarke's notes taken mostly out of Sir Isaac Newton's philosophy. With additions [by R. Laughton and C. Morgan]. Done into English by John Clarke.

  • Jacques Rohault
Date:
1723
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Rohault's System of natural philosophy / illustrated with Dr. Samuel Clarke's notes taken mostly out of Sir Isaac Newton's philosophy. With additions [by R. Laughton and C. Morgan]. Done into English by John Clarke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    felf, attacks them before he underftands them. And hence come thofe trifling Difcourfes or Diflertations, for the moft Part anony¬ mous ones, which never fail immediately to appear, wherein are feldom any Thing clfe but Reproaches and very low ]cfts 5 and not being able to overthrow Truths that are fo firmly eftablifhed 5 they try to turn them into Ridicule, by Plowing that they are contrary to fome ancient Maxim or popular Error, which tickle the Ears of half-witted People, who are accuftomed to take Things without any Proof: And that which is very remarkable here, is, that thefe Writers for the moft Part attack the Works of others only becaufe they think them con¬ trary to Ariftotle; and yet becaufe they have read nothing of this Philofopher but only thofe Citations which they found in their philofophical Ledures, it very often hap¬ pens that the Thing which they thus at¬ tempt to confute, is what Ariftotle himfelf has faid in exprefs Terms. We may fafely affirm, that the Ancients did more ] uftice to Men's Labours, and without doubt it was in a good Meafure owing to this, that Phi- lofophy made fome Progrefs in the firftA- ges of it 5 fo far were they from fuffering thofe who had made any new Difcoveries, to be cried down at a Venture and without any Reafon; every Body knows that there were publick Rewards appointed for fuch; even to have fometim.es Statues creded to them 5 fo firmly were they pcrfuaded in b 4 ' thofe