Page:Theophrastus - History of Stones - Hill (1774).djvu/321

 Matters where Mitakes are unavoidable) whether by his own or others Obervation. With how many hundred Errors did the Species Plantarum make its firt Appearance; how many of them have been rectified; and how many yet remain to be et right? Yet no one, ever blamed Linnæus for his firt Conjectures; nor has the World een any other Book of Science of equal Value.

Such Errors are the Children of imperfect Information; and mut be found in all who attempt to write for general Utility.

Let others therefore freely repeat thee my Experiments, and add more of their own; and with an honet Freedom tell the Reult of all: My ingle Attention can only make a few Experiments, where true Knowledge demands a thouand: But the Reult of different Trials will bring forth Truth.

It never was more needed in Philoophy than in the Part before us; for with all the Plauibility of Sytem, we cannot but perceive, upon, this free and fair Enquiry, that the Student in Foils has yet to work upon a Chaos: And that the Paths into a better Light, are topped and cloed up utterly: Not by Ignorance; but what is much wore, by authenticated Error; authenticated even by greatet Names. We mut unwind this Charm, if ever we hope to gain the right Clue to lead us thro' the Labyrinth of Nature: We.mutt break the fated Taliman; and all the eemingly impregnable Structures