Kimyagerlerin Adı Söylenmeden Yaptığı İddialar

I can easily name, if it be required, [those who] have of late suffered themselves to be so far imposed upon, as to publish and build upon chymical experiments, which questionless they never tried; for if they had, they would, as well as I, have found them not to be true. And indeed it were to be wished, that now that those begin to quote chymical experiments that are not themselves acquainted with chymical operations, men would leave off that indefinite way of vouching the chymists say this, or the chymists affirm that, and would rather for each experiment they alleged name the author or authors upon whose credit they relate it; for, by this means they would secure themselves from the suspicion of falsehood (to which the other practice exposes them), and they would leave the reader to judge of what is fit for him to believe of what is delivered, whilst they employ not their own great names to countenance doubtful relations; and they will also do justice to the inventors or publishers of the true experiments, as well as upon the obtruders of false ones. Whereas by that general way of quoting the chymists, the candid writer is defrauded of the particular praise, and the impostor escapes the personal disgrace that is due to him.

The remaining part of this Preface must be imployed in saying something for Carneades, and something for myself.

And first, Carneades hopes that he will be thought to have disputed civilly and modestly enough for one that was to play the antagonist and the sceptic. And if he anywhere seem to slight his adversaries tenents and arguments, he is willing to have it looked upon as what he was induced to, not so much by his opinion of them, as the examples of Themistius and Philoponus, and the custom of such kind of disputes.