perhaps, offer him their services, besides that in general their promises
exceed their performance, and that they sketch out fine designs of which
not one is ever realized, they will, without doubt, expect to be
compensated for their trouble by the explication of some difficulties, or,
at least, by compliments and useless speeches, in which he cannot spend
any portion of his time without loss to himself. And as for the
experiments that others have already made, even although these parties
should be willing of themselves to communicate them to him (which is what
those who esteem them secrets will never do), the experiments are, for the
most part, accompanied with so many circumstances and superfluous
elements, as to make it exceedingly difficult to disentangle the truth
from its adjuncts- besides, he will find almost all of them so ill
described, or even so false (because those who made them have wished to
see in them only such facts as they deemed conformable to their
principles), that, if in the entire number there should be some of a
nature suited to his purpose, still their value could not compensate for
the time what would be necessary to make the selection. So that if there
existed any one whom we assuredly knew to be capable of making discoveries
of the highest kind, and of the greatest possible utility to the public;
and if all other men were therefore eager by all means to assist him in
successfully prosecuting his designs, I do not see that they could do
aught else for him beyond contributing to defray the expenses of the
experiments that might be necessary; and for the rest, prevent his being
deprived of his leisure by the unseasonable interruptions of any one. But
besides that I neither have so high an opinion of myself as to be willing
to make promise of anything extraordinary, nor feed on imaginations so
vain as to fancy that the public must be much interested in my designs;
I do not, on the other hand, own a soul so mean as to be capable of
accepting from any one a favor of which it could be supposed that
I was unworthy.