We cannot conceive how the Foetus is form'd in the Womb, nor as much as how a Plant springs from the Earth we tread on ... And if we are ignorant of the most obvious things about us, and the most considerable within our selves, 'tis then no wonder that we know not the constitution and powers of the creatures, to whom we are such strangers.

Time, as a river, hath brought down to us what is more light and superficial, while things more solid and substantial have been immersed.

That though we are certain of many things, yet that Certainty is no absolute Infallibility, there still remains the possibility of our being mistaken in all matters of humane Belief and Inquiry.

And for mathematical science, he that doubts their certainty hath need of a dose of hellebore.

The belief of our Reason is an Exercise of Faith, and Faith is an Act of Reason.

We cannot conceive how the Foetus is form'd in the Womb, nor as much as how a Plant springs from the Earth we tread on ... And if we are ignorant of the most obvious things about us, and the most considerable within our selves, 'tis then no wonder that we know not the constitution and powers of the creatures, to whom we are such strangers.

Some pretences daunt and discourage us, while others raise us to a brisk assurance.