CHAPTER V.
OF OBSERVATIONS.
There are several reflections connected with the art of making observations and experiments, which may be conveniently arranged in this chapter.
Section I.
Of Minute Precision.
No person will deny that the highest degree of attainable accuracy is an object to be desired, and it is generally found that the last advances towards precision require a greater devotion of time, labour, and expense, than those which precede them. The first steps in the path of discovery, and the first approximate measures, are those which add most to the existing knowledge of mankind.
The extreme accuracy required in some of our modern inquiries has, in some respects, had an unfortunate influence, by favouring the opinion,
