PHILOSOPHERS’ FALSE ESTIMATES OF THEIR OWN LABOURS.
Galileo was confident that the most important part of his contributions to the knowledge of the solar system was his Theory of the Tides—a theory which all succeeding astronomers have rejected as utterly baseless and untenable. Descartes probably placed far above his beautiful explanation of the rainbow, his à priori theory of the existence of the vortices which caused the motion of the planets and satellites. Newton perhaps considered as one of the best parts of his optical researches his explanation of the natural colour of bodies, which succeeding optical philosophers have had to reject; and he certainly held very strongly the necessity of a material cause for gravity, which his disciples have disregarded. Davy looked for his greatest triumph in the application of his discoveries to prevent the copper bottoms of ships from being corroded. And so in other matters.—Edinburgh Review, No. 216.