An example of personification of nature in historical scientific writing, the
"If they, I say, confess the narrowness of human attainments, and dare not confide in the most plausible of their sentiments; if suck great and instructed spirits think we have not as yet phenomena enough to make as much as hypotheses; much less, to fix certain laws and prescribe methods to nature in her actings: what insolence is it then in the lesser size of mortals, who possibly know nothing but what they gleaned from some little system, or the disputes of men that love to swagger for opinions, to boast infallibility of knowledge, and swear they see the sun at midnight….
And perhaps human nature meets few more sweetly relishing and cleanly joys, than those, that derive from the happy issues of successful trials: yea, whether they succeed to the answering the particular aim of the naturalist or not; 'tis however a pleasant spectacle to behold the shifts, windings and unexpected caprichios of distressed nature, when pursued by a close and well managed experiment. …For 'tis a greater credit, if we judge by equal measures, to understand the art whereby the almighty wisdom governs the motions of the great automaton, and to know the ways of captivating nature, and making her subserve our purposes and designments; than to have learnt all the intrigues of policy, and the cabals of states and kingdoms; yea, then to triumph in the head of victorious troops over conquered empires. Those successes being more glorious which bring benefit to the world; then such ruinous ones as are dyed in human blood, and clothed in the livery of cruelty and slaughter."
Joseph Glanvill (1661) Scepsis Scientifica; or, The Vanity of Dogmatizing
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