Observations upon Experimental Philosophy.
“Written by The Thrice Noble, Illustrious and Excellent Princesse The Duchess of Newcastle. Printed by A. Maxwell, London 1666.”
“Reason reforms and instructs sense, in all its actions; But both the rational and sensitive knowledge and perception, being divideable as well as composeable, it causes ignorance, as well as knowledge amongst Nature’s Creatures; for though Nature is but one body and has no share or copartner, but is intire and whole in itself, as not composed of several parts or substances, and consequently has but one Infinite natural knowledge and wisdom, yet by reason she is also divideable and composeable, according to the nature of a body, we can justly and with all reason say, that as Nature is divided into infinite several parts, so each several part has a several and particular knowledge and perception both sensitive and rational, and again that each part is ignorant of the others knowledge and perception; when as otherwise, considered altogether and in general, as they make up but one infinite body of Nature, so they make also but one infinite general knowledge. And thus Nature may be called both Individual, as not having single parts subsisting without her, but all united in one body; and Divideable, by reason she is partable in her own several corporeal figurative motions, and not otherwise; for there is no Vacuum in Nature, neither can her parts start or remove from the Infinite body of Nature, so as to separate themselves from it, for there is no place to flee to but body and place are all one thing, so that the parts of Nature can only joyn and disjoyn to and from parts, but not to and from the body of Nature.”
After a careful study of the above lucid passage, it may not greatly astonish the reader to learn that Grainger says:—
“James Bristow, of Corpus Christi college in Oxford, undertook to translate a volume of her philosophical works into the same language,” i.e. into Latin; “but he was forced to desist from the undertaking. Such was the obscurity and perplexity of the subject, that he could not find words where he had no ideas.”
In writing about this book, the Duchess gives vent to the following smoothly flowing lines:—
When I did write this book I took great pains,
For I did walk and think and break my brains.
And certainly there are unmistakably symptoms of broken brains in that work.