Bacon's work, we shall here give a few examples to illustrate the nature of some of his principal cases. One, of what he calls "glaring instances," has just been mentioned. In these, the nature, or cause enquired into, (which in this case is the cause of the assumption of a peculiar external form, or the internal structure of a crystal,) "stands naked and alone, and this in an eminent manner, or in the highest degree of its power." No doubt, such instances as these are highly instructive; but the difficulty in physics is to find such, not to perceive their force when found.
(193.) The contrary of glaring are "clandestine instances," where "the nature sought is exhibited in its weakest and most imperfect state." Of this, Bacon himself has given an admirable example in the cohesion of fluids, as a clandestine instance of the "nature or quality of consistence, or solidity." Yet here, again, the same acute discrimination which enabled Bacon to perceive the analogy which connects fluids with solids, through the common property of cohesive attraction, would, at the same time, have enabled him to draw from it, if properly supported, every consequence necessary to forming just notions of the cohesive force; nor does its reference to the class of clandestine instances at all assist in bringing forward and maturing the final results. When, however, the final result is obtained,—when our induction is complete, and we would verify it,—this class of instances is of great use, being, in fact, frequently no other than that of extreme cases, such as we have already spoken of (in § 177.); which, by placing our conclusions, as
